Business Class or Coach?

[zinger1457]

I'm looking at a Southwest flight (Tucson>Phoenix>Boston) and they show a Business Class ($560 per person). Am I misreading the information?

Rich

I believe it's called Business Select and your not paying for a better seat, just some extra benefits like priority boarding and security line, free drink, maybe a couple other extras.

 

[Rich]

Yup. Looked it up after my last post. It's Business Select. For what you get, not worth it.

Rich

 

[RunningBum]

Thanks to all for all the useful info. I'm picking up lots of stuff on this thread.

Ronstar, I'm looking at a Southwest flight (Tucson>Phoenix>Boston) and they show a Business Class ($560 per person). Am I misreading the information?

Rich

https://www.southwest.com/html/air/products/business-select.html

 

[Ronstar]

Yup. Looked it up after my last post. It's Business Select. For what you get, not worth it.

Rich

Yes - not worth it. All of SWA's seats are the same size. Business select gets you moved up in line, supposedly between A1and A15. I usually get in the A40's by just doing online checkin at exactly 24 hrs before takeoff. If you get in the A's and low B's a husband and wife can still find seats next to each other. Late b's and c's may not be able to sit together. I would never do business select on southwest

 

[kramer]

I have crossed the Pacific Ocean 14 times since I retired in 2007. For me, personally, the cost difference is not even a close call -- I go coach every time without much problem. I do really prefer an aisle seat. I can't really sleep much on a flight anyway.

I am still amazed by the low cost and speed of modern flight transportation.

 

[FIREd]

I can't justify paying for business class with my own money. However, I will pay for "economy plus" on longer flights, when available. For me having the few extra inches of legroom is totally worth it. I flew a transatlantic segment in regular economy class yesterday (no economy plus seats available on that flight) and even my petite wife felt totally boxed in.

 

[mpeirce]

I'm a fan of "economy plus" too, but that's because I'm 6'6". I was literally in pain flying std coach from Atlanta to Johannesburg for about 16 hours. That's one long flight to have your knees smashed into the seat in front of you.

 

[kramer]

When I board an international flight, the first thing I do is take all the magazines and crap out of the magazine holder that is at your knees and put it all up in the luggage bin. That adds about 1.5 extra inches right there.

 

[audreyh1]

When I board an international flight, the first thing I do is take all the magazines and crap out of the magazine holder that is at your knees and put it all up in the luggage bin. That adds about 1.5 extra inches right there.

Great tip!

 

[Danmar]

I'm a fan of "economy plus" too, but that's because I'm 6'6". I was literally in pain flying std coach from Atlanta to Johannesburg for about 16 hours. That's one long flight to have your knees smashed into the seat in front of you.

Sounds awful. been there done that.I went economy to Australia once even though my employer would have paid for first class since my wife and daughter were coming with me. Would never do that again.

 

[jerome len]

If you can afford it, do it!

Some folks drive Cadillac Escalades which isn't that different from a Chevy Tahoe.....and the Escalade costs at least 20k more. So if you've worked hard, have the bucks you should spend the few hundred extra if you enjoy it.

I fly coach when I have my family with me and we fill all three coach seats. If there are less than three of us I like 1st class. I seem to get the person with the flu or a cold sitting next to me......don't need that. If you don't have the extra bucks and I didn't most of my life, coach isn't that bad. Now......if I have another good year in the market I might even buy that new 2015 Escalade!

 

[ShortInSeattle]

I just got back from a quick trip back east, and took the $200 upgrade for first class on the eastbound leg only.

I had a wider seat and more leg room. I could cross my legs comfortably. I was seated quickly, got off the plane quickly, and received about $6 worth of "free" snacks. The stewardess actually checked on me to see if I needed anything midflight instead of scurrying by. What luxury.

The way back I was in coach and it was perfectly fine. Next time I'll keep the $200.

If I were a large person I'd probably spring for it though. The seats were significantly wider with lots of elbow room.

 

[marko]

The nice thing about First/Business is that you get to sit next to some very interesting people.

I've logged over 4 million miles, all in First/Bus...long hauls. Sat with movie/rock/sports stars, personalities etc. (no, I never bugged them or asked for autographs!)

I wonder once they allow cell phone use if coach or 1st will be more tolerable!

 

[Tom52]

I fly economy plus on international flights for the extra leg room. Anything in continental US is only a few hours so I can put up with monkey class seats. Business or first class isn't worth it if it is coming out of my pocket.

 

[friar1610]

A friend gave me a free upgrade that was about to expire next week. I used it to fly back from Australia in first class with the flat-bed seats. Very nice, but I would not pay for it. I don't think anybody in my section paid for those seats themselves.

On the way to Australia, I had 4 seats to myself in way back. I must say it was not as comfortable going as it was coming back, but I was able to stretch out and sleep.

I've flown enough to get free upgrades occasionally. I would not pay for business class and neither will my employer and neither should you unless you have medical reasons.

One of the things on the "bucket list" for my wife and me is a trip to Australia and New Zealand (possibly with stops in the Philippines [where I was stationed in the Navy 45+ years ago] and Vietnam. But what keeps us from doing it is the thought of the trans-Pacific flight. The fares to go that far are really high anyway and if you upgrade to business or first class it gets to be a really big number. My wife has never flown across the Pacific although I have several times. All of them were in economy type accommodations (although long enough ago that there might have been a little more leg room.) But those flights were not pleasant and the thought of doing it again at my advanced age is a bit disconcerting.

Maybe I should just go back in the Navy and get assigned to a ship that will have a port visit in Australia?

 

[Meadbh]

One of the things on the "bucket list" for my wife and me is a trip to Australia and New Zealand (possibly with stops in the Philippines [where I was stationed in the Navy 45+ years ago] and Vietnam. But what keeps us from doing it is the thought of the trans-Pacific flight. The fares to go that far are really high anyway and if you upgrade to business or first class it gets to be a really big number. My wife has never flown across the Pacific although I have several times. All of them were in economy type accommodations (although long enough ago that there might have been a little more leg room.) But those flights were not pleasant and the thought of doing it again at my advanced age is a bit disconcerting.

Maybe I should just go back in the Navy and get assigned to a ship that will have a port visit in Australia?

I am also hesitating about a visit to Oz and Enzed for the same reason. One thing I am thinking of is stopping in Hawaii and possibly finding a cruise from there to Sydney. It won't happen in 2014 though!

 

[Alan]

We are going to Oz and NZ this year and will hopefully go Business Class between LAX and Sydney. Fiji Airlines has Business Class tickets for under $5k return with a 4hr layover in Fiji (just checked and $4.6k for the dates we want).

Anyone flown with them before?

 

[MasterBlaster]

For business class tickets (or first class) look for consolidators. They can get those fairs for around half of retail.

It's still one long damn flight anyway you go.

 

[bizlady]

For business class tickets (or first class) look for consolidators. They can get those fairs for around half of retail.



It's still one long damn flight anyway you go.

What is a consolidator?

 

[woodguy00]

One of the things on the "bucket list" for my wife and me is a trip to Australia and New Zealand (possibly with stops in the Philippines [where I was stationed in the Navy 45+ years ago] and Vietnam. But what keeps us from doing it is the thought of the trans-Pacific flight. The fares to go that far are really high anyway and if you upgrade to business or first class it gets to be a really big number. My wife has never flown across the Pacific although I have several times. All of them were in economy type accommodations (although long enough ago that there might have been a little more leg room.) But those flights were not pleasant and the thought of doing it again at my advanced age is a bit disconcerting.

Maybe I should just go back in the Navy and get assigned to a ship that will have a port visit in Australia?

Take a good look at Premium Economy on Qantas. My wife and I used it last year on the leg from L.A. to Sydney and back. Very comparable to domestic first class but not nearly as nice as business class. For comparison business class was $11,000 each (we had multiple legs NZ and AU) while economy was $2000, Premium economy was about $3000.
I could justify the econ premium but just couldn't pull the trigger on business class. I'd definitely to econ premium again.

 

[MasterBlaster]

What is a consolidator?

This should get you started...

Airline Consolidators | IndependentTraveler.com

 

[Rambler]

We are heading to HK for a week to visit DD. Economy tickets were $1400, business was $5xxx. I can think of a lot of other things to do with that extra $8k for the two of us in exchange for sitting in a tiny seat for 14hrs each way. We've been retired for a year, and have a pretty good sized travel budget, but until we finish some other projects that need to be done, we'll travel cheaply. Our last flight was in April last year for DD's university graduation in Hawaii. That was economy, and was not a problem, as it was a day flight, and 5 or 6 hours. We've traveled by business for years on the company's expense, and believe me, when you have to get off of a 14 hour plane ride and go to a big, important meeting, it makes a huge difference to be able to get some sleep. But for some touristy things in a place we've been many times, I think we can handle economy.

R

 

[marko]

One of the reasons my old company made business mandatory on any flight over 4 hours was this:
A 50 year old co-worker once 'tried to save the company money' and flew coach from NY to Japan. The seats were small/uncomfortable and he ended up with some horrible back issue (slipped disk?) that he tried to get fixed in Japan...ended up semi paralyzed and had to RE (not by choice).

A month later, another guy got some leg embolism from a cramped seat and almost had a heart attack. After that, the CEO (yeah, those mean CEOs) said "we fly business or we don't go"

 

[rescueme]

We are heading to HK for a week to visit DD.

If you're flying United, look into Economy Plus. For an extra fee, you can get extra legroom. It's not a lot, but it's certainly better than the standard coach seat.

We used it this past Sept/Oct while flying to Beijing and returning from HK (via Japan).

We've already booked our flights to/from Germany for an October river cruise. We're using United going over, so we've already booked Economy Plus. It's an open-jaw (two separate airports - to/from) and we're coming back on Swiss. I don't know if Swiss has the economy extra (travel agent is looking into it) but if it is, we'll upgrade; it's early enough.

When we flew to/from Oz a few years ago, we booked Quantas and got seats in the back of their 747 (they also fly the Airbus A380 double deck). With the 747, we had two across seating with extra open space against the window since the cabin curves in that area and there is no space to put a third seat. It was just open floor space where we could put our extra "junk".

 

[TallTim]

+1 on UA Econ Plus for trans-Pacific service.

We have also had very good luck with Air New Zealand premium economy. Find a plane that has been outfitted with the new Spaceseat -- IIRC it's on 777-300 planes. Have flown them LAX to NZ and LAX to UK and they are good seats. More than coach, but about 50% of business class.

Failing that ANZ also has a premium economy couch option that is comfortable for the long leg.