In the front of the cabin, airlines ladle on the la-di-da

Let us, for a moment, imagine how the other half flies.

Your limo pulls up to the terminal, and you glide into the club lounge. You enjoy a gourmet meal and sip a good single-malt whiskey, then board the plane, slip into designer pajamas and curl up in a private pod.

After viewing one of scores of movie selections on your 10.4-inch TV, you slip under the covers on a full-length mattress. If you awaken at 3 or 4 a.m., you can grab a glass of warm milk at the bar. On arrival, you hand off your suit to a valet for pressing, shower in a private room at the club lounge, then take a limo to the day’s first appointment.

No, you’re not a billionaire with your own private jet. You’re on a commercial carrier, and these services may be included in the price of your first- or business-class ticket.

For passengers in premium seats on long-haul routes, the skies are getting friendlier. Airlines in the last two years have spent billions making upper-crust cabins and service more luxurious on international routes. United Airlines is introducing similar upgrades on some coast-to-coast U.S. flights.

Meanwhile, coach passengers complain of cramped seats, nickel-and-diming and no meal service. American, which once touted itself as the champion of more legroom by ripping out thousands of coach seats, is reinstalling some of them.

It’s a tale of two Americas, says Tim Winship, editor and publisher of FrequentFlier.com, an informational website for those who accumulate miles.

“We’re seeing a widening chasm,” he said, “between what you get in the front of the cabin and what you get in the back of the bus.”

The great divide is all about pumping up the bottom line, experts say. Major airlines are losing more money than ever off coach as burgeoning low-cost competitors such as Southwest and JetBlue force them to keep fares low. Packed planes don’t mean profits.

“It’s not that they need more customers,” Winship said of the strapped big airlines. “They need customers paying more.”

United last month began phasing in p.s. (for “premium service”) on nonstops to JFK from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Martin C. White, senior vice president for marketing, explained it this way: “We want to focus on the high-yield business traveler.”

First-class fliers in p.s. get lie-flat seat beds. First-class and business fliers get laptop plug-ins and hand-held DVD players, among other perks. There are no regular coach seats, White said, only roomier Economy Plus, expected to command an average of $600 to $800 round trip.

United is making a “bold move” with p.s., said Ron Kuhlmann, vice president of Unisys R2A, an airline consulting firm in Oakland. But most of the push for posh, he added, focuses elsewhere -- on international routes.

That’s because these are the most profitable flights: free from low-cost competition, cheaper per mile to operate and, given the rigors of a long trip, more apt to command premium prices for comfort.

The airborne pillow fights for well-heeled customers are getting fierce.

Virgin Atlantic Airways, for instance, is spending $130 million to revamp Upper Class, including personal suites with an ottoman for guests and a leather armchair that flips over to make what it describes as “the longest fully flat bed in the world with a proper mattress for sleeping.”

Last month Virgin installed a handful of double suites for couples traveling together and began offering free, 30-minute “life coaching” sessions before takeoffs from London’s Heathrow airport. For years, the airline has offered limo service.

A cheeky seatback card advised: “Virgin Atlantic Airways does not allow captains to join passengers in their Upper Class Suites to read them bedtime stories. We feel that it is important that somebody fly the plane.”

The price of this luxury is about $10,000 round trip between London and Los Angeles, compared with economy fares that may start under $400.

Not to be outdone, British Airways, through Dec. 31, offers a guarantee in the Club World business cabin. If fliers don’t have “the best night’s sleep of any business class to London,” they can upgrade to first class on a future flight.

Singapore Airlines has spent $100 million to install “SpaceBeds.” At 26 inches wide and 78 inches long, they’re billed as “one of the industry’s widest and longest business-class seats.”

Northwest has introduced a seat that reclines nearly flat in business class, most recently in September on its first West Coast flights to Tokyo, from Portland, Ore. The bed, 20.25 inches wide and 79 inches long, comes with a leather-wrapped “privacy canopy,” a swivel cocktail table and more.

There’s also a mini-war over amenity kits in premium classes on overseas flights. American this year chose Temple Spa aromatherapy products. United countered with Crabtree & Evelyn’s “all-natural bath and body-care products.” Virgin encloses “special gifts” from Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng, such as cufflinks and hand mirrors.

Where will it all end? Probably short of short-haul flights.

Airlines know that customers “don’t see any value in spending a lot more money for a flight that’s three hours long,” said analyst Kuhlmann.

In fact, aside from United’s p.s. service, there haven’t been many recent upgrades in domestic premium service, said Matthew Bennett, publisher of FirstClassFlyer.com, an information- al website for premium fliers, as U.S. airlines struggled with post-Sept. 11 traumas.

But there has been a big piece of good news nonetheless.

“Domestic first-class fares have crumbled” under pressure from low-cost carriers, Bennett said. When America West last fall began nonstops between Los Angeles and New York, with one-way walk-up fares starting at $299, some first-class fares on the route fell 40%.

The net result: another sweet deal for the well-heeled.

Hear more tips from Jane Engle on Travel Insider topics at www.latimes.com/engle. She welcomes comments but can’t respond individually to letters and calls. Write to Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail jane.engle@latimes.com.