Business or 1st Class Flights?

[turbo89]

We just took AirFrance from LAX via CDG to Budapest Business class, excellent service and food, the LAX lounge is amazing Well worth the expense for those 10 hour+ flights....

Favorite so far has been on Emirates the A380 from JFK to India via Dubai......We are heading to Africa and hoping to be able to take Qatar from LAX to Narobi.....

One of my best friends said, if we don't sit in business class now that we are retired, our kids will be sitting their some day

I have a love-hate relationship with AF and CDG. AF’s transatlantic business class is quite good, but the CDG lounges are always packed. I’ve also had zero luck ever getting AF to ever move my flight without canceling the ticket and rebooking at “todays” price (always ridiculous).

One time I booked AF last minute, flying to ICN via CDG and they only showed a 10hr layover in CDG when booking. After I landed in CDG I found 2 earlier flights, but they would not do a same day change for less than full ticket price (north of $5k)… so I watched the clock tick by and read a book shoulder to shoulder in the lounge, now I avoid AF at all costs unless it’s a direct flight.

 

[leeg]

We flew Qatar Air business class to Vietnam last year - cannot praise Qatar highly enough. Lufthansa? Forget that - flew that bus. class to/from Europe this summer - so disappointing. There really is a huge difference between that various business class products on the various airlines. Lots of good Youtube videos reviewing the various airlines worth watching.

 

[sengsational]

I was on Kayak yesterday and they used to show a seat icon and you could tell if it was lay flat or reclining only. I couldn't find that icon anymore. For me, it's all about being flat. They do give you the flowery words each airline uses to describe a class of service, but ain't nobody got time to translate that with a dozen airlines in the mix!

 

[nwsteve]

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.

Off all the carriers, few can beat the Singapore Air experience. A couple of the middle east carriers are making solid attempts.

 

[anothercog]

Currently in Japan. We flew JAL premium economy from SFO. I’d rate it above domestic first class. Plenty comfortable for an 11 hour flight. Recline was enough to sleep for a few hours which is the best I can do while flying, even in a lay flat.

I’d fly Asian or gulf carriers all day long over domestic carriers. I flew first class on Emirates once and that was over the top. Huge bathrooms with heated floors and a shower. Caviar and Dom Perignon all flight long and total privacy. I actually preferred their business class as it was a bit more social.

 

[imnontrad]

I started booking business class on overnight and long flights (over 6 hours) 2 years ago. It really is nice. But I found it a waste on shorter day flights unless I have a short connection time and want to get off the plane first.
Look at the airline's website. I prefer the ones where you can lie flat, especially if you have your own "capcule" area. I found out Iceland Air does NOT have these - just wider seats, nicer food, etc. Latam (south American flights) has lie flat seats but you will have someone right next to you.

 

[athena53]

I flew Business Class a lot for employers- they paid for it on flights over X hours- I forget, but it was enough that flights from the US to Europe qualified.

I still fly Business Class on long hauls on my own dime. As others have said, lie-flat seats are a must. I was upgraded to First only once between the US and London. They'd over-sold Business and I had mid-tier elite status so I got upgraded. Sightly larger space in the "pod", a nice little cabinet near my feet for small items, more courses to the meals (but you could request abbreviated service if you wanted to sleep). Nice but I wouldn't pay the extra.

 

[bonvoyage]

I was on Kayak yesterday and they used to show a seat icon and you could tell if it was lay flat or reclining only. I couldn't find that icon anymore. For me, it's all about being flat. They do give you the flowery words each airline uses to describe a class of service, but ain't nobody got time to translate that with a dozen airlines in the mix!

Nowadays the best source of this information is the Aerolopa website. You can find information about seat width and pitch as well as whether the seat reclines or is lay flat. Seatguru is defunct - don't waste your time there.
Incidentally, LOPA stands for Location Of Passenger Accommodation. These diagrams are created for safety reasons - mainly for determining the evacuation route for each seat in the aircraft.

 

[bonvoyage]

I flew Business Class a lot for employers- they paid for it on flights over X hours- I forget, but it was enough that flights from the US to Europe qualified.

I still fly Business Class on long hauls on my own dime. As others have said, lie-flat seats are a must. I was upgraded to First only once between the US and London. They'd over-sold Business and I had mid-tier elite status so I got upgraded. Sightly larger space in the "pod", a nice little cabinet near my feet for small items, more courses to the meals (but you could request abbreviated service if you wanted to sleep). Nice but I wouldn't pay the extra.

Often, during the last few weeks of the year, on British Airways trans-Atlantic routes, first class can be significantly cheaper than business class. This weird inversion happens because many companies will pay for business class for their senior employees but not first class

 

[fosterscik]

Nowadays the best source of this information is the Aerolopa website. You can find information about seat width and pitch as well as whether the seat reclines or is lay flat. Seatguru is defunct - don't waste your time there.
Incidentally, LOPA stands for Location Of Passenger Accommodation. These diagrams are created for safety reasons - mainly for determining the evacuation route for each seat in the aircraft.

That looks like an interesting site but it requires you know the plane you'll be seated on. I prefer Find your airline seat map: Explore the seats and amenities
It lets you enter your airline, flight number and date and selects the correct plane. I also like that it clearly lists the pros and cons of each seat (The window seat looks over a wing, lacks a window, armrest tray table, etc.) Very much like the old seat guru, but this site is current. The user reviews are less useful, but I still take a look.

 

[bonvoyage]

That looks like an interesting site but it requires you know the plane you'll be seated on. I prefer Find your airline seat map: Explore the seats and amenities
It lets you enter your airline, flight number and date and selects the correct plane. I also like that it clearly lists the pros and cons of each seat (The window seat looks over a wing, lacks a window, armrest tray table, etc.) Very much like the old seat guru, but this site is current. The user reviews are less useful, but I still take a look.

Indeed, that's probably more convenient for most travelers. I have subscriptions to Flighty, FlightRadar24, FlightAware and ExpertFlyer so I'm a somewhat atypical traveler

 

[sengsational]

Seatguru is defunct - don't waste your time there.

Yes, some entity is monetizing, but I consider it another once useful site, now encrapified ( to use the incorrect but less offensive term).

Someone should write a plug-in for Kayak to translate the flowery words to reclining/lay flat.

 

[ABQ2015]

I also want to know if the Business Class seat is a "suite" or "pod." After just a few international flights, I have become very picky and want complete privacy.

 

[braumeister]

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.

I got to experience that once in the nose of a Pan Am 747 between Rio and Miami. Unbelievable.
"How would you like your steak, sir?"
"Medium rare? Of course!"
Everything was done perfectly back then, but those days are long, long gone.

 

[Onda]

I’m curious how much a couple that spends $5–7k on plane tickets usually spends on accommodations, because I never fly for that kind of money.

 

[OddGuy]

I go business for international, first class for domestic. The only concession is from the East Coast to Europe, I'll do business for the outbound, overnight flight, and settle for Premium Economy on the way back, as it's comparable to domestic first class, and there is no night of sleep to contend with.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I’m curious how much a couple that spends $5–7k on plane tickets usually spends on accommodations, because I never fly for that kind of money.

I like nice stuff but also like value. My last trip was in March to Singapore and spent $8.5K on business class tickets for one person (I was travelling solo). I stayed at the St Regis for a full week. It was essentially free as I had used 2 hotel night certificates and Bonvoy points to pay for the hotel stay. We travel for about 3 months every year in the US, always in a large 2BR 2BA villas (Westin and Marriott) timeshare. My maintenance fees is about $13K a year, which averages to $1K per week. You cannot beat that.

We are going to spend $32K on a 11 night golf cruise in Europe (owner's suite, their largest cabin), and add another $10k to $12k in business class seats in 2027.

 

[fosterscik]

I go business for international, first class for domestic. The only concession is from the East Coast to Europe, I'll do business for the outbound, overnight flight, and settle for Premium Economy on the way back, as it's comparable to domestic first class, and there is no night of sleep to contend with.

I've tried to do that but whenever I look, two 1-way tickets (1 premium; 1 business) are always more than a return business class ticket. I keep hoping. Maybe one day.
I also often find it cheaper to fly return to a European city and take short intraeurope flights rather than make a multicity trip (e.g. US - London - Rome - US) partly because you can only book a single class of ticket when going multicity).

 

[audreyh1]

When we do open jaw trips to Europe we routinely fly into one city and return from another. But for any intraeurope flights we use European airlines one way flights.

 

[bonvoyage]

I’m curious how much a couple that spends $5–7k on plane tickets usually spends on accommodations, because I never fly for that kind of money.

We spent about $12k for airfares for our trip to Thailand and about $3k for hotels. Hotels would have cost less except that we were attending a destination wedding that was held in a high end resort. Rest of the time, we stayed in hotels that were luxurious but more modestly priced.

 

[athena53]

I’m curious how much a couple that spends $5–7k on plane tickets usually spends on accommodations, because I never fly for that kind of money.

I spend pretty modestly on hotels. In the US I'm happy with Hampton Inn type places; in Europe I look for something similar but preferably a European chain or privately-owned property. Clean, quiet, near the action or public transportation, nice to have breakfast included and a fridge in the room.

 

[Jheroine]

Wow, thanks everybody for all the great suggestions and sharing your experiences! This is very helpful for all my future international travels. I'm in my mid-50s so hoping to have at least 20 to 50 big trips in the future.

I flew Singapore Air earlier this year and unfortunately, I was not impressed with the service or food (in economyof course, haha). It also didn't help they lost my luggage and couldn't find it for 3 days.

Regarding why I would want to go to Vietnam, Thailand or other less developed countries, I mainly travel for the food (not street food due to safety concerns), and beautiful scenery and cultural appreciation as secondary priorities..

I had a cousin that lived in Hong Kong and he would take local flights from HK to all the other Asian countries so I just need to select a good international flight to get to one of the Asian countries first. Thanks to all the great suggestions, I have a lot of options.

 

[Diogenes]

For all of you folks recommending lie-flat seats... how do you fit? I mean width, not length. Can you lie down on your back, akin to a corpse in a coffin, and fit your shoulders without hunching them or straining, within the confines of the seat?

 

[RetiredHappy]

For all of you folks recommending lie-flat seats... how do you fit? I mean width, not length. Can you lie down on your back, akin to a corpse in a coffin, and fit your shoulders without hunching them or straining, within the confines of the seat?

No problem for me. But I am also not 300 lbs. I am considered tall for a woman, and well built.

 

[Chuckanut]

My lady friend likes to book our hotel rooms. She claims that otherwise she will end up with Motel 6 stamped on her forehead.

Ridiculous! If I did the bookings, it's more likely to be Quality Inn on her forehead.

Seriously, if I had to choose, I would spend the extra money a better room. As I age I find a nice room really helps me to recover for a few hours more fun later in the day and a nicer day tomorrow.

Jetlag? I will fly in a day earlier and spend the extra day getting my body clock adjusted by hanging out in a café with a glass of wine and a pastry.