Somewhat MM-related: Has anybody flown business class?

hoffse · October 2015

Neither H nor I ever have. This is something H super wants to do. It just requires a lot more points (or money) than flying economy.

I'm in the camp that I prefer to fly economy and splurge on nice hotels. H would rather splurge on business flights and stay in more basic hotels.

So far we don't do much of either, but one can dream right?

Has anybody on here flown business either with points or an upgrade? Worth it?

formerlyGDaisy09 · October 2015

nope, closest I've come is paying for more leg room on a Jet Blue Flight home from a work trip in Miami...after my co-workers who were staying an additional day kept me out at the bar until after mid-night before my 8am flight home.

ETA, totally worth $50.

vlagrl29 · October 2015

I could see doing it for special occasions like a flight on your honeymoon or maybe a super long flight but even when we flew to hawaii I was totally fine in economy.

julieanne912 · October 2015

Yes, and first class too, all using points with United for the upgrade last minute. The only time I felt it was worth it was on a large plane, like a 777. Business class on a 777 is awesome, and from what I could see, first class was even awesomer. Business class on the 777, you had your own little area with a table, your own TV that you could pick what channel you want to watch, and there were some decent food options for breakfast, and the seats recline all the way down if you want to sleep. First class, each person had their own "pod". Sadly, that flight I did was just from Chicago to San Francisco, so not very long, but it was continuing onto Beijing. I've never flown on a 747 but I imagine it similar to the 777.

But on your typical shorter haul domestic planes, like 737s or whatever else, it's not worth it... the seats are a bit more comfy and there's a bit more elbow and leg room, but that's about it.

ETA: So yeah, depending on the plane type and how long the flight is, it could be worth it. A long flight like to Europe? For sure. A short flight to Chicago? Nah. I think a nicer hotel would be a higher priority than the plane ride though, since you spend more time in the hotel than you do on the plane on a vacation.

dragonstarjk · October 2015

H and I never have, but I do want to fly first class just once as a bucket list item. We prefer to spend less on flights and hotels and splurge on restaurants.

simplyelise · October 2015

dragonstarjk said:

H and I never have, but I do want to fly first class just once as a bucket list item. We prefer to spend less on flights and hotels and splurge on restaurants.

Same! It's a bucket list travel thing for me. Probably when we're retired and going on a long haul flight. We're very cheap travelers right now.

jessica490 · October 2015

We never have and probably never will. I just can't justify paying for a better seat...I'd rather spend that extra $ on my vacation.

brij2006 · October 2015

We keep toying with the idea of upgrading to first class for our Hawaii trip. I'm cheap though. But my H is 6'5" and struggles with being cramped while flying. So he keeps bringing it up.

hoffse · October 2015

Yeah I don't think I would do it for a flight under 7 hours. I could see it for longer flights though.... or those flights to South America where you fly a red-eye both directions.

H is bringing it up for Asia because we're looking at minimum 14 hours in an airplane. I know a lot of people do it in economy, but not going to lie I'm intimidated. H isn't super tall, but he's over 6 foot. I think that's why he is so into it.

I could see us compromising on economy plus for the extra legroom. I actually think our hotels will be fully covered by points, so we would just be left with incidentals. It's a cheaper trip than I normally budget for, so I could see paying for some kind of upgrade.

Xstatic3333 · October 2015

I don't think I'll ever do it unless I'm really flush with cash. I'd rather spend that money at the priciest restaurant wherever I'm going :-) If I survived economy to Sydney, I can do anything! I think often times you get a much nicer seat and situation by flying non-US airlines. My economy seat on Air New Zealand included plenty of legroom, a personal tv, and free wine and beer.

hoffse · October 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

I don't think I'll ever do it unless I'm really flush with cash. I'd rather spend that money at the priciest restaurant wherever I'm going :-) If I survived economy to Sydney, I can do anything! I think often times you get a much nicer seat and situation by flying non-US airlines. My economy seat on Air New Zealand included plenty of legroom, a personal tv, and free wine and beer.

I've heard this as well. If we do economy to China it will almost certainly be with Korean Air because they have the best availability/times from Atlanta. It's slightly more than flying a US carrier, but only marginally so and then we aren't flying in the middle of the night. My BFF flies them to Seoul all the time, and she says it's a MUCH nicer experience than United or Delta.

Ultimately this is what we'll probably do. I'm trying to convince myself that it will be a civilized experience....

csuave · October 2015

I flew 1st, business and Premium Economy (on BA) back in the day for my job. Business and 1st were really similar. Premium economy was nicer than coach but cheaper than business. It was pretty nice, section in front of coach, bigger seats, more room and not a huge price jump. I would possibly pay for this class of service on a longer trip.

At this point in my life I wouldn't pay for business or 1st, it is just SO much more $. I watch a lot of movies and that isn't too different between the classes since coach has the better entertainment systems now. And I'm not going to get significantly better sleep on a flat airplane bed/seat than I will in coach since it is still sleeping on a plane. If I had points up the wazoo, I would probably do it for apac travel. H would think it is worth it but H is kind of huge and not as MM as I am.

fwiw, I am 5'10" and have taken some very long flights in coach (like 18 hours I think). They weren't great no worse than being in a car for that amount of time---actually maybe better since you can actually stand up/walk on a plane.

simplyelise · October 2015

When I went to Tanzania in 2009, I got there in 3 flights: 2.5 hours to DFW, 10 hours to Amsterdam, then 12 hours to Kilimanjaro airport. All on economy and by myself when I'd only flown once before. If I can do that, I can do any flight. BUT, when we're flush with cash and old with even worse back pain, I can see springing for it.

@brij2006, totally see your husband's point. That is a whole lot of legs to fold up in tiny plane seats. In your situation I could totally see the splurge making financial and comfort sense.

short+sassy · October 2015

I've never flown 1st class or business, but I keep trying! My H has done it a bunch of times, back when he used to travel more regularly. However, he has never bought a ticket that way. He just asks at the gate or when he checks in at the airport. If they have a 1st class and/or business seat still available, they will bump you up into it for a fairly nominal fee. He said he has only ever paid $25-$50 for the bump up, those were all domestic flights.

With that said, I've only heard of this tactic working in his stories. Every time we have gone to the airport together, they've never had those seats available .

In the way distant past, I would try get the emergency exit seats because those have more room. But I've noticed over the last few years, even THOSE seats go for a higher price than the typical coach seats.

For me, I just can't see spending the extra money, because it is usually so much more. But, then again, I'm a short person and don't have the leg room issues that other people do.

lbonga1 · October 2015

I've been upgraded to 1st class once on a domestic flight, and to me it wasn't anything really special. Just some cushier seats with a little extra room. I've also flown in economy from NY to Germany, sitting next to a very hefty man, and it didn't ruin my trip or anything. Clearly the flying part of the trip isn't a big issue for me either way.

Are you able to reserve your seats? I've found that the seats in the very front and the emergency rows have extra legroom, especially on international flights.

csuave · October 2015

I should give H more credit. He experienced his first long flight (9 hours in coach) earlier this year and he said it wasn't that bad. 1. He was just excited to be on the trip and 2. He loved the in-seat entertainment.

hoffse · October 2015

My H's last long-haul was 9.5 hours. His in-flight movie screen was broken. He had researched it and saw that they would have entertainment, so he didn't bring anything else to do. He did have a little notebook with him, so he just wrote a travel journal to kill the time.

csuave · October 2015

I want to try Virgin someday. I hear it is impressive even in coach.

brij2006 · October 2015

csuave said:

I want to try Virgin someday. I hear it is impressive even in coach.

Yes it is. That's what I flew too and from London. Amazing!

We're flying Alaska Air to Hawaii, so I'm hoping it's just as good or at least half as good.

hoffse · October 2015

We were offered a paid upgrade right before our flight to France. If we hadn't just finished remodeling the kitchen a week earlier, we probably would have taken it. Total price would have been less than we paid to fly to London in economy.

AprilZ81 · October 2015

I did it once with points, but only one way. I was flying to San Juan and on the first leg it actually used less points to fly in first class than economy. I've also been upgraded due to status a few times awhile back when I was traveling a lot for business.

I did business class using gift cards (earned by using a business Amex) for our honeymoon to Punta Cana.

I love flying business (who wouldn't?) but normally I don't think it is worth the cash/points outlay. I would rather use the points for two round trip tickets versus one business class ticket, but if you can get a deal then I would totally do it.

The perks of business (especially on longer flights) are worth it.

MommyLiberty5013 · October 2015

Yes........

For free....on stand-by...on many occasions. As a perk of DH's commercial pilot job, we can get into First or Business Class if there are no upgrades of paying passengers.

If I had to pay for it, I wouldn't.

First class is nice for the meal (I think). Business class is just awesome. You can wake up from an international flight having actually slept in a fully reclined position!!!

JoanE2012 · October 2015

I've never flown business or first class. My DH has for work. He jokingly (??) says he won't let me do it because once I do, I'll never want to fly economy again.

That said, we really enjoy economy plus. We will splurge on that for some of our longer flights. It cost us about $100 per person each way for our Hawaii trip. My DH is just over 6 feet and has decent room. I'm just over 5 feet and I can cross my legs with plenty of room to spare. I love it.

jtmh2012 · October 2015

hoffse said:

H is bringing it up for Asia because we're looking at minimum 14 hours in an airplane. I know a lot of people do it in economy, but not going to lie I'm intimidated. H isn't super tall, but he's over 6 foot. I think that's why he is so into it.

I'm 6'4" and have done a 24 hour flight from Virginia to Thailand and back. Honestly, while doable, it sucks. My knees were jammed into the seat in front of me. Tickets were already $1400pp which meant $2800 for the both of us. I had looked into upgrading, but business was $7000pp and 1st was $12000pp. Unless you have a company paying that or you're fabulously wealthy, I don't see how people can pay those prices. Even upgrading to Economy Plus adds significant expense to the tickets.

We had signed up for frequent flier points, but with the airlines redoing all their programs, it's just not worth it. It's not that we're cheap , but even with good salaries, we just can't afford it. Especially since we have family in Thailand, so for us it isn't a once in a lifetime trip. It's an annual or every other year trip.

Somewhat MM-related: Has anybody flown business class?

Re: Somewhat MM-related: Has anybody flown business class?

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