American Airlines is beginning to reconfigure TWA's domestic fleet to remove seats to replicate American's roomier main cabin. TWA pioneered the concept of expanded coach seating, dubbed comfort class, in 1993. When that failed to catch on, the airline added back the seats.

Though coach passengers will be able to gain leg room, fewer will get to enjoy first-class comfort. Once the planes are reconfigured, MD-80s will have 16 first-class seats, down from 20, while seats in DC-9s and 717s will be reduced to 12 from 16. The 22 seats on TWA's Boeing 757s won't change.

Totally objective?

Who has the lowest airfares on the Web? According to a study by Stanford University's business school, the low-price leader is Hotwire.com. Out of 11,982 searches typed in over five days, Hotwire produced lower fares than Travelocity and Expedia at least 75 percent of the time, with an average saving of more than $200.

But wait — the study was paid for by Hotwire. In defense, Karl Peterson, president and chief executive, said the study was objective and "put some scientific scrutiny" to claims made by Internet travel sites.

Then why was Priceline.com left out? According to Peterson, including it would have meant naming your own fare and buying thousands of tickets, because Priceline doesn't display fares until a purchase is made.

That doesn't fly with Priceline. "We're consistently lower than Hotwire and the retail sites," said spokesman Brian Ek. "If you truly wanted to find out who had the best prices, why would you not put in a few dollars to buy some tickets and see?"

Flights and food

How you eat may affect how you fly, according to a survey of more than 1,250 Americans by DiMassimo Brand Advertising, an advertising agency that specializes in travel firms.

Participants were asked which menu they preferred: a high-calorie dinner of steak and pasta or a low-calorie meal with grilled swordfish. They then were asked about their travel habits.

The result: About 63 percent of big eaters were loyal to a particular airline, most often Midwest Express, Continental and TWA. All of these airlines are known for having hearty meals. Only 25 percent of the low-calorie group had airline loyalties.

The study also found that high-calorie eaters favor trips to the Grand Canyon, Disney World and Las Vegas. Their low-calorie counterparts prefer the Caribbean, California and France.