Business-Class Rising? More Like Not Sinking Spectacularly

(MoneyWatch)  Today I was looking at a few articles, mainly stemming from the International Air Transport Association reporting its July numbers, which showed that first- and business-class travel showed an improvement. By improvement, that means that instead of falling 21.3 percent in June, it fell only 14.1 percent in July.

That's kind of like saying -- an improvement is getting shot in the leg instead of the chest. Maybe it is, but most people probably wouldn't like to be shot. It's bad news. Let's try not to make it good news until it really is, OK, IATA?

That said, the same IATA also projected that about $11 billion would be lost by airlines in 2009, but again came with the good news: only $3.8 billion projected to be lost in 2010.

I'm all for trying to be positive, but let's not spin this into the ridiculous. We are grown-ups and can take reality, since many of us are losing our homes and accustomed lifestyle. We should all be able to understand a certain level of uncertainty always exists in our economy, and we don't need blatant cheerleading.

Photo of business-class service courtesy of Singapore Airlines