Business or 1st Class Flights?

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Jheroine

Dryer sheet aficionado
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Hi Folks,

I've been retired now for the past 11 months and have always wanted to fly business or first class on a long international flight. I've always flown economy plus or economy but that isn't as comfortable when flying long distances (my back and butt get sore). I'm looking to travel to Asia or SE Asia some time in 2026 or 2027 (China, Japan, S Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, etc).

What Airlines or destinations do you recommend and is business class adequate or 1st class? I know there's a big price discrepancy between the two. Cost isn'tan issue as long as it's not too ridiculous. I'm mainly looking for lie flat seating. No need for extra leg room since I'm short.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
 
It varies by airlines. Airlines like United (Polaris) and Delta (Delta One) only have business class for international flights and are all lie flat. Some international airlines like Singapore Airlines have first class and business class. Business class is still lie flat but with with some of the first class get your own room and are extremely expensive (yes, ridiculously expensive). In the US, domestic flights are have front (larger seats) that are called first class, so don't be confused.
 
Going east to SE Asia I really like the Qatar and Turkish business class. Qatar is fabulous but often a little pricier. Turkish is great if you want a free mini vacation in Istanbul (they offer 2 free nights per person in the city - so 4 in Istanbul if you want that).
 
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If you’re flying to Asia, fly one of the big Asian carriers, rather than the big domestic guys. They still street business / first class as a luxury event.

I’ve been lucky enough to fly business and upgraded to first on Asia legs a few times. I didn’t notice much of a difference between 1st and business, and as others mention their isn’t a different for some airlines.

In my recent travels I’ve been pretty impressed with the JAL experience, so I would personally splurge on them if I were looking for the experience and headed to Asia.
 
My experience is limited to 2 trips to Europe in business class on American Airlines/British Airways. I like the business class suites that look like small cubicles with doors for lie flat sleeping, being able to elevate my legs, and overall privacy. Note sure how comfortable these are for the back and rear end. Neither of these airlines are known for comfortable seating or exceptional service but I prefer BA although it means an extra stop and layover at Heathrow. The flight attendants are nicer and I love the British accents.

Delta One has a better reputation but is usually more expensive. I just booked Delta One suites for a trip to Italy next spring. Was able to save about $2K by tracking the flight I wanted on Google Flights.
 
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If you’re considering Taiwan as a destination, I would recommend Eva Air. My wife is Taiwanese and this has been her choice for years. We flew there earlier this year in business class and it was awesome. I’m 6’3” and could lay down flat to sleep. The service is great and the food and wine was the best I’ve ever had on an airplane. I think they only fly to Taiwan from the USA, but once there they fly to other Asian destinations. Business class turns a miserable experience into a much nicer one.
 
Our daughter and her family live in South Korea, so we visit often. We’re in the DFW area, so AA is the dominant airline and because of my business travel, I have lifetime status, so that’s who we most often fly. Gotta have the lay flat seats. AA calls it Business Class, Korean Air calls it something else - Prestige Class? Regardless, just find whatever class has the lay flat seats. They’re pricey, but it’s a BTD thing for us. We tried Premium Economy, but that didn’t cut it. 14 hours is too long. I don’t care about any of the other amenities. Sure, a decent meal is nice, but nothing any airline serves is worth the several thousand dollar premium. It’s all about the seats.
 
We flew "Delta One" to/from Japan a year or so ago. IIRC it was several $K more. We judged it to not be a good value. The "lie flat" idea was kind of a joke; a sort of tube that encased the lower half of our bodies and which was tight enough that we could hardly turn over. The controls buttons were carefully arranged so that they could not be used when "lying flat." Food was unremarkable. Basically this service is designed for corporate flyers who don't care about the cost because the company pays the bill.

YMMV of course, and I encourage you to try this level of service to see what you think. But it is not the luxurious and carefree deal that the advertisements would have you believe. Even though we have the money I don't think we'll BTD to do it again. It was just a poor value.
 
Since we retired, we have only flown business class for overseas trips. In my opinion it is a much better experience while flying, and we get to use the premium lounges at the airport, which also improves the travel experience. We generally fly on United and its Star Alliance partners (All Nippon Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, among others).
 
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OldShooter said:
We flew "Delta One" to/from Japan a year or so ago. IIRC it was several $K more. We judged it to not be a good value. The "lie flat" idea was kind of a joke; a sort of tube that encased the lower half of our bodies and which was tight enough that we could hardly turn over. The controls buttons were carefully arranged so that they could not be used when "lying flat." Food was unremarkable. Basically this service is designed for corporate flyers who don't care about the cost because the company pays the bill.

YMMV of course, and I encourage you to try this level of service to see what you think. But it is not the luxurious and carefree deal that the advertisements would have you believe. Even though we have the money I don't think we'll BTD to do it again. It was just a poor value.
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Delta One and United Polaris have slowly gotten better. Spaces have gotten a little wider and beddings softer. We only fly business class for the past 30 years. We won't have it any other way. We will rather not fly if we cannot afford it.
 
This won't be helpful, but I recommend going where somebody else will pay for it. My company sent me overseas >100 times in business class. Gets fun when Delta meets you at plane with a Porsche to take you to the next gate.

It's one of those areas where only the guy holding the wallet can decide if there is value there. Is 10x the cost worth it for 12-24 hours of differential comfort? Do you really need to be upfront, when 5-10x as many people will get to the same place at the same time as you sitting in the back?

Not all decisions are logical. I am getting better at illogical spend with my own money.
 
WhenIsItTime said:
This won't be helpful, but I recommend going where somebody else will pay for it. My company sent me overseas >100 times in business class. Gets fun when Delta meets you at plane with a Porsche to take you to the next gate.

It's one of those areas where only the guy holding the wallet can decide if there is value there. Is 10x the cost worth it for 12-24 hours of differential comfort? Do you really need to be upfront, when 5-10x as many people will get to the same place at the same time as you sitting in the back?

Not all decisions are logical. I am getting better at illogical spend with my own money.
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OP is retired, so that's not happening. *but yes when I had that happen it was very nice.
 
Call me a convert and I'm youngish and shortish. I just like the option of more space. At this point I know it's spoiling the kids but I don't want to wait anymore.

Any Asian airlines I've found better than domestic ones. I liked Singapore airlines. I also liked jal but less than ana.
 
It's hard to argue that it's a good value. Business class is $5,000 or so and economy is $1,000 for the same flight. (Rough numbers to make a point). But we figure we have maybe ten international flights left in this lifetime and we can afford it. The alternative is having to squeeze into an uncomfortable seat for a long flight, potentially with a seatmate that takes half your seat room due to their size. Happened once to my DW and it was miserable.

We have only flown business a few times, in my experience, you need to be sure to look at the plane and the seating before booking to be sure you are getting a real, lie flat seat, not just a larger seat or a "reclining" seat, if you're on a long international flight.
 
^^ in my experience, you need to be sure to look at the plane and the seating before booking to be sure you are getting a real, lie flat seat, not just a larger seat or a "reclining" seat, if you're on a long international flight.

Yup.
 
Original Wally said:
^^ in my experience, you need to be sure to look at the plane and the seating before booking to be sure you are getting a real, lie flat seat, not just a larger seat or a "reclining" seat, if you're on a long international flight.

Yup.
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agreed. but the issue is that if you want a non stop then it become problematic
 
marko said:
Nothing quite like first "in the nose" of a 747 with Singapore Air.

Dom Perignon pre-flight, a wine list in a leather bound book (just the wine lables), bathroom double in size.
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One of our most memorable long-haul trips was on Air France booked through Delta from LAX to Warsaw through CDG for $2k round trip in business class in 2023.

Air France LAX CDG was very comfortable and the food was great. I'd certainly fly them again and especially at that price. Window seat across from me was occupied by a large black standard poodle with a pearl collar (necklace).

Return flight from Warsaw was cancelled last minute but AF rebooked us on Lufthansa via Frankfurt with virtually no delay. I did a double-take when I saw that we were in 83A and 83B. Turns out we were upstairs in a 747 cabin with only about 20 seats total. DW and I had 4 windows to ourselves, tons of storage, and the cabin crew practically spoiled us. Seats were 2 by 2 and not the newest but it was a daytime westbound flight so NBD.

Only other 747 experience was way WAY in the back returning home from service in Berlin in the 80's. Never dreamed that I'd experience the upstairs one day.

We budgeted for 1 international trip in economy per year when we retired in 2016. Discovered points/miles in 2018 and we've been taking 4 to 6 overseas trips, in the front of the plane, every year since.
 
When I was working for megacorp, I was flying business class up the stairs on Singapore Airlines in a 747 regularly. One time I was the only one on the entire level and the captain chatted with me the whole time. It was a trans Pacific flight. Those were the days before true lie flat. Fun times. Singapore Airlines also used to give you a gift on every business class flight and I still have a bunch of beautiful photo frames, key chains, business card holders and leather wallets.
 
OldConch said:
One of our most memorable long-haul trips was on Air France booked through Delta from LAX to Warsaw through CDG for $2k round trip in business class in 2023.

Air France LAX CDG was very comfortable and the food was great. I'd certainly fly them again and especially at that price. Window seat across from me was occupied by a large black standard poodle with a pearl collar (necklace).

Return flight from Warsaw was cancelled last minute but AF rebooked us on Lufthansa via Frankfurt with virtually no delay. I did a double-take when I saw that we were in 83A and 83B. Turns out we were upstairs in a 747 cabin with only about 20 seats total. DW and I had 4 windows to ourselves, tons of storage, and the cabin crew practically spoiled us. Seats were 2 by 2 and not the newest but it was a daytime westbound flight so NBD.

Only other 747 experience was way WAY in the back returning home from service in Berlin in the 80's. Never dreamed that I'd experience the upstairs one day.

We budgeted for 1 international trip in economy per year when we retired in 2016. Discovered points/miles in 2018 and we've been taking 4 to 6 overseas trips, in the front of the plane, every year since.
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Yeah. On many flights to Japan, back in the day, the 747 only had 8 seats upstairs. Two rows, two seats with an aisle. One flight I was the only one up there. (Before lay flat) the flight attendant put blankets in the aisle for me and I slept the whole way.
 
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