Most you've ever spent on airline tickets

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

I made a promise to myself about 5-6 years ago to never fly economy again. Flying 150K+ miles per year, a lot of it international (mostly for work) has me hooked on the service and definitely the lie flat seats. Yes, we all get there at the same time, but I get on/off the plane first, have expedited security in most international airports, and I can sleep easier in business or first. I did one trip US to UK in economy and that was it for me.

Honestly, I don’t really care what it costs. I estimate it’s between $5K (if I’m lucky, and going US to Europe), to $10K if I’m going to Asia. 2x that if I’m bringing my DW.

 

[Jerry1]

I do not fly much but any time I do, I look at the price difference between coach and first and make my decision. All continental U.S. but so far, I’ve taken first class. Not sure if I could pay the extra for a overseas flight in first class, but I’d certainly consider it. Biggest issue is that usually I fly alone (seeing friends or family) but an overseas trip would certainly include DW - so double. Ouch.

I’ve always wondered if I could get an extra seat in coach (buy three seats together for me and DW) by saying I needed it for health reasons or whatever. However, as crazy as air travel has gotten I doubt they’d let a empty seat happen while they’re paying people to change their plans due to over booking the flight. Still, me and DW are not tall and having the extra room next to us would make coach a lot more tolerable. I’m sure it would be a lot cheaper than first class too.

 

[athena53]

I’ve always wondered if I could get an extra seat in coach (buy three seats together for me and DW) by saying I needed it for health reasons or whatever. However, as crazy as air travel has gotten I doubt they’d let an empty seat happen while they’re paying people to change their plans due to over booking the flight. Still, me and DW are not tall and having the extra room next to us would make coach a lot more tolerable. I’m sure it would be a lot cheaper than first class too.

I'm pretty sure you can. You need to call a human because it can't be done on-line, which is a drawback. No health reasons needed.

 

[Freedom56]

Most airlines have removed their First Class service and just upgraded their business class service. You should shop around for deals. We are leaving in three weeks for a trip to Europe and we paid $2962 each for business class with lie flat seats from LAX to GVA with a stop at YUL on Air Canada. Last November we paid $2832 for the same departure and destination airports but on Air France Business Class. If you book last minute those same seats will cost $5K-$7K. The most we have paid for business class was $4200 each return but that was many years ago. Plan your trips ahead of time and book at least 3-4 months in advance for the best deals. Also check for premium fare deals (first/business class) at this site.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/

 

[skyking1]

coach seats are fine for many people, and *finer* for smaller people. DW and I are not small nor average, and we have wedged ourselves into coach every other time we traveled. I have relaxed on the Hawaii flights before on an aisle seat and been bashed by one of those beverage carts in the shoulder. After that, I learned to sit up straight and rigid. That is a lovely way to spend 6 hours
This is our first foray into any kind of premium seating that was not some sort of free upgrade from back in the day. We never traveled as a part of our work, so we don't rack up miles very quickly.
I am hoping that will change with retirement.

 

[DJRR]

Yeah, my issue is not whether I can afford it (I can), but whether it's a reasonable value for the money. There are many things I could afford—for example, staying in the penthouse suite of some fancy hotel when I travel—that I refrain from purchasing simply because they seem like a waste of money. I have a really hard time justifying the astronomical prices airlines are charging

I hear you. I guess it is cheaper than a NetJets subscription, but the pricing can be crazy. Enough people put a high value on their comfort to make it work.

I think you either put in the work in checking fares/playing the mileage game or bite the bullet. The other option for me is to take a Transatlantic Cruise. For the same money or less you get good food, entertainment, lodging, etc. and a much more humane travel. It just takes a lot longer, and most times you have to fly one way anyhow. I guess like everything else you have to pay: money, time, or physical pain.

 

[skyking1]

Ultimately I bit the bullet so to speak. The decision matrix was mostly about DW taking the time off. Once we were over that hurdle it was " get us the tickets "

 

[marko]

I'm pretty sure you can. You need to call a human because it can't be done on-line, which is a drawback. No health reasons needed.

JetBlue has a little box that you can tick to buy an extra seat for yourself. Not sure about other airlines. I never fly coach but noticed it when buying a ticket for my niece.

 

[marko]

Yeah, my issue is not whether I can afford it (I can), but whether it's a reasonable value for the money. There are many things I could afford—for example, staying in the penthouse suite of some fancy hotel when I travel—that I refrain from purchasing simply because they seem like a waste of money. I have a really hard time justifying the astronomical prices airlines are charging these days for comfortable seating on long, overseas flights. Paying $1,500 to sit in an almost inhumanely cramped seat in the main cabin for hours upon hours is already somewhat of a poor value, IMHO, but paying $7,000 to sit in a (much?) better seat with better food and drinks strikes me as nearly comically overpriced. It does appear to be the going rate, however, and since I feel like I'd probably be miserable in coach for that long, I'm willing to consider it.

I may or may not have said it first on this forum, but speaking from personal experience, "if you don't spend it, your heirs will " (thanks gramps)

 

[audreyh1]

We’ve flown business class to and from Europe a few times (pre-Covid), and I’m pretty sure not paid over $2600 roundtrip each. This was usually a $1000 to $1500 premium over economy. Booking around 2 months in advance we were able to find these deals. The lie flat seats make a huge difference in getting some sleep and actually being able to enjoy that first day in Europe.

One flight in 2019 we had to change last minute, unfortunately due to dire family illness, the only replacement option was $7K each, so we took a credit and put up with premium economy instead.

I don’t blink an eye at domestic first class anymore. Used it this past March after not flying since 2019, and then when paying found that my credits had been extended, nice!

We’re not flying for a while now, road tripping instead. Between restrictions lifted and flying being a mess, it’s very unappealing right now. Plus we have a new car to enjoy.

I may or may not have said it first on this forum, but speaking from personal experience, "if you don't spend it, your heirs will " (thanks gramps)

Yep!

 

[Magus]

I always travel first class on long hauls. In addition to MUCH bigger, more comfortable seats and better food, you get priority check-in lines, sometimes priority immigration lines (a lifesaver at Heathrow) and no checked bag fees. You may also get lounge access on international flights although AA can get stingy- apparently flights between the US and Mexico are not international enough ).

This year I spent about 5% of my total annual spend (so that's withdrawals from investments supplemented by SS and a couple of small pensions) on my flight to Munich in May. Most of my other expenses are pretty modest so I don't agonize over it. I might if I were buying for two and it was 10%!

I fly enough to get good status on Oneworld, plus have a credit card with Priority Pass, so I get most of those things without paying for first class. To me the two main things depend on the length of the flight as well as the delta in cost between economy -> premium economy -> Business -> first class

Flight - CLT to LHR in Premium economy is OK with me or economy up front seats (which I can get with my status for free). Going to Asia though I'd want business class. Central Europe I'd want Prem or Business.

I'm generally willing to pay about $1500-$2000 more for biz class than prem economy for personal r/t, or about $2500-$3k if on work's dime. Above that, for two people, we have other things we'd rather spend the $4k on.

You can also pay for upgrades with mix of miles/cash as well - American Airlines for example you can upgrade one way from discount economy to business class for 25k miles and I believe $350, which is about $700 combined value, or $1,400 r/t. So if the price quoted online is like $5-8k higher for biz class, going this route is quite helpful to save money. Can just call AA and ask if can get confirmed when you book over phone.

Having various buckets of options (miles, mile upgrades, cash) plus flexibility on timing (which most retirees should have for long haul generally) should allow you get get pretty good deals on flights in general.

 

[Magus]

Most airlines have removed their First Class service and just upgraded their business class service. You should shop around for deals. We are leaving in three weeks for a trip to Europe and we paid $2962 each for business class with lie flat seats from LAX to GVA with a stop at YUL on Air Canada. Last November we paid $2832 for the same departure and destination airports but on Air France Business Class. If you book last minute those same seats will cost $5K-$7K. The most we have paid for business class was $4200 each return but that was many years ago. Plan your trips ahead of time and book at least 3-4 months in advance for the best deals. Also check for premium fare deals (first/business class) at this site.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/

Yup good advice

 

[jollystomper]

Before retiring, my jobs with Megacorp required frequent travel so I almost never had to pay for a ticket (I would often piggyback vacations requiring flights with business trips). The most Megacorp paid for my ticket was close to $20K, from the U.S. East coast to Western Australia, business or first class on all legs.

Going into retirement, travel was planned to be about 20% of our spending budget, with airfare likely to the highest component. The pandemic plus one of our children moving back to the U.S. has reduced that. So far the most we have had to pay was $2,500 per ticket for a family round trip visit to Taiwan that included either first class or premium economy on all legs. Even the total was well within our "extravagant" retirement spending plans.

I would be fine with paying $5K-6K a ticket for first/business class for a long flight to somewhere I desired to visit. On our Asia/Middle East trips the international flights have never been that crowded to make economy or premium economy a problem. But maybe having flown so much for Megacorp, and being just slightly above average height (5' 10"), I am used to flying in various levels of comfort.

 

[jkern]

Most airlines have removed their First Class service and just upgraded their business class service. You should shop around for deals. We are leaving in three weeks for a trip to Europe and we paid $2962 each for business class with lie flat seats from LAX to GVA with a stop at YUL on Air Canada. Last November we paid $2832 for the same departure and destination airports but on Air France Business Class. If you book last minute those same seats will cost $5K-$7K. The most we have paid for business class was $4200 each return but that was many years ago. Plan your trips ahead of time and book at least 3-4 months in advance for the best deals. Also check for premium fare deals (first/business class) at this site.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/

The under $3K prices is the price point that it starts to look attractive. Did you get those prices direct from the airlines or through a third party?

 

[athena53]

You can also pay for upgrades with mix of miles/cash as well - American Airlines for example you can upgrade one way from discount economy to business class for 25k miles and I believe $350, which is about $700 combined value, or $1,400 r/t. So if the price quoted online is like $5-8k higher for biz class, going this route is quite helpful to save money. Can just call AA and ask if can get confirmed when you book over phone.

Do they actually confirm it? The one time we were able to upgrade with miles (this is ancient history), you paid the fee when you made your request but you didn't know till you got your boarding pass if you got upgraded. The fee was refunded if you didn't.

 

[audreyh1]

Do they actually confirm it? The one time we were able to upgrade with miles (this is ancient history), you paid the fee when you made your request but you didn't know till you got your boarding pass if you got upgraded. The fee was refunded if you didn't.

Yes, we gave up on requesting miles to upgrade to international business long ago because you still had to pay $500 each in addition to lots of miles, and you were then on a waiting list with lots of higher status folks ahead of you, so it seemed that the chances of getting a seat were slim. No first-come first-serve either, higher status folks always get priority so move ahead in line up to the last minute.

Instead a couple of times we paid the upgrade fees outright then had our choice of seats right away. Those two times they offered a good deal from our existing ticket - the upgrade price was maybe $1100 to $1300 for a sure thing instead of a maybe.

After that we started buying business international to Europe up front as we were able to find tickets well under $3000.

 

[pacergal]

Pre covid, we did fly trips 1-2 times a year, and had changed to First Class.
What a difference it made for us--DH back did not hurt, my knee did not hurt, we arrived rested and ready to go.

When we start flying again, we will continue. It is expensive, but worth it to us.

We are beginning to plan a family vacation with kids and grands in two years. They will all be with us in the front of the plane . If we plan and budget it, I don't worry about the cost. If we couldn't afford it, we wouldn't do it.

 

[corn18]

We spent $7k each for lie flat business class to Africa in 2019. I was making $750k / year at the time so no big deal. No way we make that trip in cattle class. We would be dead.

DW is heading to South Korea in Oct to visit DD and we spent $7k for that first class ticket as well. Again, if she had to fly cattle class, she would need a wheelchair. We didn't retire until we had enough money for first class seats for international flights.

 

[stepford]

I guess DW and I are cattle. Don't think we'll ever be able to afford oligarch-class up front. Moo!

 

[RunningBum]

Yeah, my issue is not whether I can afford it (I can), but whether it's a reasonable value for the money. ...Paying $1,500 to sit in an almost inhumanely cramped seat in the main cabin for hours upon hours is already somewhat of a poor value, IMHO, but paying $7,000 to sit in a (much?) better seat with better food and drinks strikes me as nearly comically overpriced.

Maybe don't compare $1500 to $7000. If sitting in coach is going to make you dread the trip, just evaluate the $7000. Forget the non-acceptable option. Are you willing to pay $7000 to do this trip? Yes? Ok, book it.

 

[MRG]

DW sheepishly admitted the $3800 was to two, not apiece....

 

[OldConch]

Most airlines have removed their First Class service and just upgraded their business class service. You should shop around for deals. We are leaving in three weeks for a trip to Europe and we paid $2962 each for business class with lie flat seats from LAX to GVA with a stop at YUL on Air Canada. Last November we paid $2832 for the same departure and destination airports but on Air France Business Class. If you book last minute those same seats will cost $5K-$7K. The most we have paid for business class was $4200 each return but that was many years ago. Plan your trips ahead of time and book at least 3-4 months in advance for the best deals. Also check for premium fare deals (first/business class) at this site.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/

OP, 2% +/- is our comfort zone.

We pay for a couple of services that email/text us when airfare deals pop up. One is for cash tickets and we've booked LAX IST DBV r/t in business for $2000 each and SFO LIS MUC r/t in business with a stopover in Lisbon included for free for $1750 each. The other sends alerts for award flights and we've booked ORD MAD r/t in business for 68k avios and SEA DOH JNB r/t in QSuites for 150k Chase ultimate rewards transferred to BA with a 30% bonus + about $500 in surcharges.

I used to be an impulse buyer when it comes to travel and we always traveled economy. Now I plan up to a year in advance, pounce on deals when they're available and we frequently travel in the front of the plane. It pays to shop around.

 

[Magus]

Do they actually confirm it? The one time we were able to upgrade with miles (this is ancient history), you paid the fee when you made your request but you didn't know till you got your boarding pass if you got upgraded. The fee was refunded if you didn't.

I’ve only done it that way a couple times and it’s been 5 years - I can’t remember to be honest. I think it depends on how many are left. I know system wide upgrades can be confirmed immediately since I did that last year.

 

[cyber888]

Do you mind sharing what service ? Thanks.

OP, 2% +/- is our comfort zone.

We pay for a couple of services that email/text us when airfare deals pop up. One is for cash tickets and we've booked LAX IST DBV r/t in business for $2000 each and SFO LIS MUC r/t in business with a stopover in Lisbon included for free for $1750 each. The other sends alerts for award flights and we've booked ORD MAD r/t in business for 68k avios and SEA DOH JNB r/t in QSuites for 150k Chase ultimate rewards transferred to BA with a 30% bonus + about $500 in surcharges.

I used to be an impulse buyer when it comes to travel and we always traveled economy. Now I plan up to a year in advance, pounce on deals when they're available and we frequently travel in the front of the plane. It pays to shop around.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Yeah, my issue is not whether I can afford it (I can), but whether it's a reasonable value for the money. There are many things I could afford—for example, staying in the penthouse suite of some fancy hotel when I travel—that I refrain from purchasing simply because they seem like a waste of money. I have a really hard time justifying the astronomical prices airlines are charging these days for comfortable seating on long, overseas flights. Paying $1,500 to sit in an almost inhumanely cramped seat in the main cabin for hours upon hours is already somewhat of a poor value, IMHO, but paying $7,000 to sit in a (much?) better seat with better food and drinks strikes me as nearly comically overpriced. It does appear to be the going rate, however, and since I feel like I'd probably be miserable in coach for that long, I'm willing to consider it.

While I completely agree with you, being retired should give you a lot more flexibility to choose dates when prices are lower. Only you can decide if it is a reasonable value for the money. I almost always pay for premium economy seating because, while I am not as big and tall as many here say they are, it's worth it to pay ~15% more for more legroom on a flight over about 3 hours.

Things are messed up right now and airlines can charge top dollar. But when and if demand drops because of recession or because people get their pent up travel bug out of their system, things might get better.