A Starflyer Is Born

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Ongoing concerns over fuel costs and aviation security make this an interesting time to be starting an airline, but StarFlyer starflyer.jp, a new Japanese carrier, is hoping that its combination of no-frills reservation procedures and slick cabin environments will help it win customers in a cutthroat market [an error occurred while processing this directive]. A seat on the company's Airbus A320s can only be purchased online or via a cell phone (assuming, in the latter case, that you're hooked up to a Japanese telecoms provider).

Once on board, passengers enjoy a chic, black interior and an Internet connection in every seat. Personal video screens, coat hooks, cup holders, retractable foot rests, the widest seat pitch in any economy class and a 30% increase in space between seats (achieved by removing nearly 30 seats from the A320's standard 170-seat configuration) add to the comfort — and when not in use, the middle seat in each row converts into a table. At the moment, the fledgling airline only makes the hour-and-a-half-long trip to Tokyo's domestic Haneda Airport from its home base in the western port city of Kitakyushu, but look out in future for routes to Shanghai and Seoul.