Extra legroom and gourmet meals needn't cost as much as you think.

If there's anything Tom Parsons hates more than flying coach, it's paying for something better. So he employs an arsenal of tactics to make sure he gets a premium seat at a bargain price.

For example, he recently paid $168 (not including taxes) for a discounted coach ticket between Dallas and Miami on American Airlines, then used frequent-flier miles to get a first-class upgrade that would normally have cost $1,930.

Parsons, who is the editor of Best Fares magazine, has also made a science of studying aircraft seat configurations. For example, on domestic flights, airlines generally offer two classes of service (coach and first-class), while international flights add an intermediate business class. Parsons makes a point of booking a seat in the front of the cabin to increase his chance of ending up in business class by default. "Airlines occasionally sell business-class seats as domestic coach service" on planes that are designed for international flights but used on a two-class domestic route, he explains.

Parsons always confirms his preferred seat at the time he books. And when he flies on TWA, he requests the "Y up fare"--a full-fare coach ticket (for which the ticketing symbol is Y) with a free upgrade to business class that's good on any route except those that originate from or terminate at TWA's St. Louis hub. To benefit from such special fares, "you have to ask for them," he says.

Normally, the price tag for extra legroom, gourmet meals served on china plates, and personal video screens that pop up from your armrest is out of reach--for example, a staggering $5,366 round trip for business class on British Airways between New York City and London--unless you're a business traveler flying on company time and money. Yet even at that price, premium service is much in demand, especially business class on long international flights (which is generally comparable to domestic first class).

Service is usually best on new aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, and on popular routes; it can be tough to get a seat in business class from New York to Frankfurt or Rome, says Joe Broesler of Hickory Travel Systems, in Saddle Brook, N.J. Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class, which the carrier touts as first-class service at a business-class price, includes an onboard lounge staffed by a beauty therapist who provides complimentary massages and manicures on select flights.