Three types of airline

Once it was easy. Scheduled airlines like Air France and British Airways had different classes, but even economy was better than charter, which had no legroom and no free drinks. then came the low-cost airlines, which didn't even have food service, but no-one cared because they offered the cheapest tickets.

But this year I have flown to Palma, Mallorca, with Iberia, the Spanish national airline, for less than any of the low-cost carriers were quoting. And to the caribbean with First Choice, a charter airline that offers a minimum of 33" seat pitch. That's two inches more than BA or Virgin, and four inches more than a typical charter. On a nine-hour flight, that's a lot of inches.

The moral of the story is to look at what you're getting rather than the packaging it comes in.