At $85, a roomy second-class seat from Beijing to Shanghai costs less than half of a full-fare economy-class air ticket, almost guaranteeing the new service's popularity in China's richest region.

First-class passengers enjoy "élite" security lines and priority boarding, and disembark before the unwashed in coach, held at bay by a flight attendant, are allowed to foul the jet-way.

Where once they advertised only in airline magazines handed out in first-class cabins, they have now embraced business class and, on some airlines, even economy class.