Business class flights
Discussion
Are business class flights worth it, and at what point in your life could you start to afford (or justify) the cost?
For me, I can tolerate premium economy on the short end of long haul (e.g. Manchester to NY), but once you start getting over eight hours, I start to struggle. My excuse is I'm tall at 6'3, and I can't sleep sitting upright, no matter how sleep-deprived I am.
If I’m going somewhere further afield, if I can’t get a reasonably priced ticket (say less than £3k) or a reward seat, I just won’t go.
On the contrary, I have friends who could afford to go business class but wouldn’t dream of buying anything other than the economy, but then they can sleep the moment the plane takes off.
I'm curious to hear the opinions of PH
For me, I can tolerate premium economy on the short end of long haul (e.g. Manchester to NY), but once you start getting over eight hours, I start to struggle. My excuse is I'm tall at 6'3, and I can't sleep sitting upright, no matter how sleep-deprived I am.
If I’m going somewhere further afield, if I can’t get a reasonably priced ticket (say less than £3k) or a reward seat, I just won’t go.
On the contrary, I have friends who could afford to go business class but wouldn’t dream of buying anything other than the economy, but then they can sleep the moment the plane takes off.
I'm curious to hear the opinions of PH
not had this one for a few weeks……ParkerG said:
Are business class flights worth it, and at what point in your life could you start to afford (or justify) the cost?
For me, I can tolerate premium economy on the short end of long haul (e.g. Manchester to NY), but once you start getting over eight hours, I start to struggle. My excuse is I'm tall at 6'3, and I can't sleep sitting upright, no matter how sleep-deprived I am.
If I’m going somewhere further afield, if I can’t get a reasonably priced ticket (say less than £3k) or a reward seat, I just won’t go.
On the contrary, I have friends who could afford to go business class but wouldn’t dream of buying anything other than the economy, but then they can sleep the moment the plane takes off.
I'm curious to hear the opinions of PH
Very personal question and entirely is down to the cost/ benefit for you. For me, I can tolerate premium economy on the short end of long haul (e.g. Manchester to NY), but once you start getting over eight hours, I start to struggle. My excuse is I'm tall at 6'3, and I can't sleep sitting upright, no matter how sleep-deprived I am.
If I’m going somewhere further afield, if I can’t get a reasonably priced ticket (say less than £3k) or a reward seat, I just won’t go.
On the contrary, I have friends who could afford to go business class but wouldn’t dream of buying anything other than the economy, but then they can sleep the moment the plane takes off.
I'm curious to hear the opinions of PH
I won't fly over 4 hours unless in business, but I have access to a lot of air miles so rarely pay full whack for flights. If we had to pay full price we probably wouldn't go long distance as often.
I really love it, and find it makes a normally quite stressful experience rather enjoyable and gets your holiday off to a great start.
85Carrera said:
Personally, I think the biggest rip off is premium economy. Don’t see the point of it.
The cost of your space/area per £ is higher than business in some cases but its much nicer to be in the 2 seats on the left or right side of the aisle if travelling with your partner than in a 3 in economy with a stranger. Smaller cabin too. I wouldn't do it overnight though.Also worth mentioning for those time rich but cash poor (or sensible) look at departing from an EU city eg Dublin and taking a low cost carrier to there from UK. You avoid the UK Air passenger duty this way. You need to factor in staying in a hotel overnight the night before in your EU departure city or if same day allow plenty of time for delays as your on separate bookings so don't want to miss your main flight.
Puzzles said:
yes it was but i'm finding the cost post covid is much much higher so it's tipped for me
Its often more expensive than Business these days - most people looking to purchase PE are looking at it as an upgrade from Economy (obviously as thats exactly what its intended to be) and probably don't even check BC fares as assume its beyond their budget!85Carrera said:
Personally, I think the biggest rip off is premium economy. Don’t see the point of it.
I agree its probably the poorest value for money overall (unless you can sniff out a real bargain). I usually only fly BC or EC and rarely even consider PE, although when I have checked its often more than BC.Edited by Mark V GTD on Tuesday 16th May 10:21
If I could afford it for anything over 4-5 hours I would, however that isn't an option.
I have flown BC several times on long haul flights, Australia, Mauritius are ones that I can recall.
I'm 6ft tall, cannot sleep on planes, so the option to fully recline and be more comfortable over a longer distance where I might grab a few hours light sleep does make sense to me. But it isn't something I book every time, more often than not I may get an email offering an upgrade if the seats are available and that's when I might opt for it.
I have flown BC several times on long haul flights, Australia, Mauritius are ones that I can recall.
I'm 6ft tall, cannot sleep on planes, so the option to fully recline and be more comfortable over a longer distance where I might grab a few hours light sleep does make sense to me. But it isn't something I book every time, more often than not I may get an email offering an upgrade if the seats are available and that's when I might opt for it.
There you go: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Conclusion is:
Mid to long haul: If you can afford it and not worry about the price, go for it. It is nice, sometimes very nice.
Short haul, European trips; not really much benefit but the premium is less so can add a little glitter to your journey if you fancy it.
If the money's a stretch, don't sweat it. Hunker down in the back; you'll still get to where you're going.
An observation I'd suggest is that most (though not all) of those that consider business class to be a waste of money have themselves never flown business class.
Conclusion is:
Mid to long haul: If you can afford it and not worry about the price, go for it. It is nice, sometimes very nice.
Short haul, European trips; not really much benefit but the premium is less so can add a little glitter to your journey if you fancy it.
If the money's a stretch, don't sweat it. Hunker down in the back; you'll still get to where you're going.
An observation I'd suggest is that most (though not all) of those that consider business class to be a waste of money have themselves never flown business class.
surveyor said:
I would rather spend the money on the holiday than make something quite tedious marginally less tedious...
Agree with thatI don't understand why you'd spend say £2000 on a flight ticket rather than say £500 or something, when you're sat in the same space for 8-10 hours and going to the same place. Even if you sleep you're just paying a ton more money to have a sleep. I'm usually too excited to sleep anyway, and really enjoy watching the movies, eating the food, getting served drinks etc
We're flying to NY later this year. I booked (BA) PE on the way out, because - at least according to their website - there's a fair bit more legroom which I wanted on an ~8 hour flight. And the g/f's kids are both tall, so they'll appreciate it too.
On the way back, I booked business because it's an overnight flight and I want to be able to sleep.
For 4 people I didn't think it was too unreasonable - 4 x PE out, 4 x business back total ~£6k. I think economy for the same flights was about £1,500 from memory.
On the way back, I booked business because it's an overnight flight and I want to be able to sleep.
For 4 people I didn't think it was too unreasonable - 4 x PE out, 4 x business back total ~£6k. I think economy for the same flights was about £1,500 from memory.
Do you think you could sleep in a business class lay flat bed though? if you can then yeah it is worth it. For me i struggle to sleep in a different environment with different noises and things going on around me so I see little added value to move up from premium economy. i am 6ft and never felt tight for space in premium economy.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff