The ads compare Continental's business-class service with that of five other international airlines, but not Virgin.

But he added that it was a logical extension of business-class service on international flights, where it has been a money maker for airlines.

Fares will be the same as business-class service on scheduled transcontinental flights.

MaxJet says its business-class service is comparable to that on United States airlines.

Across the board, foreign carriers were rated far more favorably than domestic ones, especially for business-class and first-class service.

Independent surveys rank Delta's business-class service as one of the lowest in the industry.

Trying out a new business-class service on Delta.

Delta said its new business-class service is currently available on three 767's, with an additional eight 767's to be refurbished by the end of June.

Delta also recently introduced a better-quality international business-class service called BusinessElite.

Their business-class service also provides direct fiber-optic cable services via leased data circuits for larger companies.