Flying coach is an increasingly humbling experience. Whereas once coach passengers had to simply put up with mediocre food, curt service, and cramped leg room, now there's no food, nearly non-existent service, and extra charges for everything from using the bathroom to getting a few inches more legroom (even if you just want to snag an empty row on a sparsely populated flight). Thankfully, the Wall Street Journal reports that many of the country's major airlines are remodeling their coach cabins, at long last.

Many coach cabin "freshen ups" were postponed after 9-11. As the airlines struggled to stay afloat, it made more financial sense to keep first class as the cash-cow and biz class cabins in good shape, while letting the coach cabins fall to the wayside.

Now, US Airways has plans to put in leather seats in coach across its entire fleet. Continental is adding power outlets for coach customers on all its planes, and Delta is adding personal video-on-demand screens on its international flights. (About time, we shudder every time we get on an international flight and don't see mini TVs in coach). United has just added leather seats in all of its A320s and plans to ad power outlets and on-demand video units to its Boeing 777 fleet.

American is undertaking the biggest remodeling project. They're gutting the interiors of their 737s, adding power plugs in every row, Wi-Fi, new seats, better lighting, and LCD flat-screens. They'll also be cramming in 12 additional seats, probably needed to help pay for the big spruce up, but hey, at least coach passengers will be cramped in style…and able to power-up their laptops mid-flight.