Would You Like Engines With Your Flight?

"After 9/11, airlines were looking for ways to cut costs and a strategic decision that we made was to find ways to cut costs that wouldn't be in areas customers would taste, feel or impact the services customers got," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark said.

A large part of Continental's business comes from its hub in Newark, N.J., which attracts frequent business travelers from the New York market. That market is still a lucrative one and while airlines are cutting costs in coach, they are still pumping new money into their business and first-class services.

"American was advertising a couple of years ago more room in coach and people aren't willing to pay the premium price," notes Neidl, the airline analyst with Calyon Securities. "They want a bare-bones ticket -- from there they may pay upward."