Long flights life hacks

[surprising]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to the Philippines. Flight from SFO -> MNL was 15 hours. The return flight was 12. It was pretty brutal in economy. 'Premium' economy didn't look much better. Business class looked pretty nice with lay flat seating, but was 4x the cost of economy (around $6K). I don't think I could ever justify paying $6K/seat. Are there any tips to find better prices for business class? I heard you can bid for empty business class seats but they were fully booked on both flights. Is there a trick to get exit row? We booked the flights several months ago and all the exit rows were taken (but most of economy was empty).

 

[Chuckanut]

Is that 6K one way or round trip?

How about a one or two day stop over at some midpoint, perhaps a tropical island in the Pacific?

 

[latexman]

Is that 6K one way or round trip?

How about a one or two day stop over at some midpoint, perhaps a tropical island in the Pacific?

When we lived in Singapore (1993-1995), we’d stop in Hawaii for a week to break up one of the flights for our “home leave” back to NC.

 

[surprising]

Is that 6K one way or round trip?

Round trip

How about a one or two day stop over at some midpoint, perhaps a tropical island in the Pacific?

Great idea

 

[RetiredHappy]

I just flew Polaris (Business class on United Airlines) roundtrip to Singapore and it wasn't as brutal because of the lie flat seats. The full price seats were $8,500 and I managed to book with cash and miles, basically redeeming 250K United points to bring the price down to $6K. I accumulate Marriott Bonvoy points and convert several hundred thousands points to United points when I need to book flights. I also stayed at St Regis in Singapore for a week and used Bonvoy points for the stay, $0 out of pocket.

 

[Aerides]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to the Philippines. Flight from SFO -> MNL was 15 hours. The return flight was 12. It was pretty brutal in economy. 'Premium' economy didn't look much better. Business class looked pretty nice with lay flat seating, but was 4x the cost of economy (around $6K). I don't think I could ever justify paying $6K/seat. Are there any tips to find better prices for business class? I heard you can bid for empty business class seats but they were fully booked on both flights. Is there a trick to get exit row? We booked the flights several months ago and all the exit rows were taken (but most of economy was empty).

To get an exit row, typically you need at least the "main plus" type of booking. Regular economy is not going to offer you that seat. Even aisle/window seats closer to the front of the plane are going to have some upcharge.

Main plus - and all airlines call it something different - might also include bulkhead seats, an extra checked bag, and less/no penalties for some changes. Usually about 25% upcharge from economy.

But yeah, buying the cheapest ticket is never going to be a luxury flight. For legs like yours, I think 4x the price is worth it. For simple x-atlantic hops not so much, but even then, eh...

 

[timbervest]

About 10 years ago I flew LAX to Venice (through Amsterdam) on KLM and I was able to book the exit row in Economy which literally had no seat in front of it and was facing the jump seat so I was able to stretch out my 6'6" frame quite comfortably. Don't remember what type of plane it was but I do remember the leg room and the service (food, drink, attentiveness, etc.) was excellent. Cannot recomment KLM highly enough.

 

[Souschef]

When we flew from LAX to Sydney, we took Air Tahiti Nui and stopped over in Tahiti both ways. We had a 10 hour layover going, so stayed at a hotel near the airport. We slept showered, and got on the second leg refreshed.
Since there were only 4 gates at the airport, we showed up an hour before departure, arriving the same time as the flight crew.

 

[Sojourner]

Is that 6K one way or round trip?

Round trip

Personally—for me in my stage of life—I think paying for the lay-flat pod seats on long overseas flights is one of the best "long flight hacks". I can only speak for the Delta One variety, but those pods make flying actually enjoyable for me. Instead of dreading the long, grueling flight back home as the end of the trip approaches, I find myself looking forward to the VIP treatment I'll be getting onboard the plane. Yeah, I know it's expensive, but it's not like I'm doing it 10 times a year (or even five!). I can afford it, and the premium pricing just gets included in our yearly travel budget. It's a bona fide BTD luxury that I've come to fully embrace.

Another long flight hack I recently discovered is good, high-quality sound canceling headphones. I can personally recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4 model. I use them all the time in airports, buses, trains, and on planes... anywhere I need to drown out the teeming masses.

 

[athena53]

Personally—for me in my stage of life—I think paying for the lay-flat pod seats on long overseas flights is one of the best "long flight hacks". I can only speak for the Delta One variety, but those pods make flying actually enjoyable for me. Instead of dreading the long, grueling flight back home as the end of the trip approaches, I find myself looking forward to the VIP treatment I'll be getting onboard the plane.

And don't forget the lounge access! It's an easier decision, I think, when you're single, which I am. I do two long-hauls (usually transatlantic) per year and if I were married with the same resources might cut it down to one.

The tactic of overnighting is a good one. When I was in a job that involved flying to India the department head said that if we were willing to fly Coach they'd pay for overnights in the stopover city of our choice. I chose London and it did make a difference. Since I always worry about making mission-critical connections it took that worry away, too.

 

[Souschef]

I agree with Athena about lounge access. We fly out of LAX on BA, and they have a great lounge. It is so nice to get out of the hubbub of the terminal

 

[Momcpa]

Flew United from San Fran to Manilla last summer. We bit the bullet and flew Polaris/first class. It was worth it. Lots of money, but not like it's something we are doing every year. As it was, DH broke his arm a few days before flying, so we were really happy to have splurged a few months earlier when we booked the flight.

 

[marko]

Sorry, outside of using points to pay for a portion of the ticket ("dollars +points"), I'm not aware of an easy, guaranteed way. One can always hope for an upgrade but I'm not one for hoping when it comes to airlines.

But we have a simple policy: If there's no first/business class available, we aren't going. Period. Sometimes reluctantly, but we'll pay whether it's a 2 hour or 16 hour flight. Just the cost of life and one of our BTDs. Especially of late when it comes to flying, the money seems to be money well spent.

Flew 4 million miles in first and only once in economy. Never again.

[Edit] If you don't fly first class, your heirs will.

 

[athena53]

Flew 4 million miles in first and only once in economy. Never again.

[Edit] If you don't fly first class, your heirs will.

Nah, my son and DIL are too cheap. And even I don't fly Business on the short hops. I don't live near a hub airport so frequently the aircraft in and out of my home airport are regional jest. Not worth the cost for a little extra space on a 1-2 hour flight, IMO.

 

[mystang52]

Flying out of Newark or JFK, we go business class to Europe. "First class" type seats, only 2 across. As much as we want to go back to Hawaii, the 11 or so hour flight time is a turn-off for us. If we do go, we'll likely stop in Vegas for a day or 2. We're not gamblers but we'd find other forms of relaxing entertainment. Several years back we stopped flying Economy - time for BTD!

 

[Koolau]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to the Philippines. Flight from SFO -> MNL was 15 hours. The return flight was 12. It was pretty brutal in economy. 'Premium' economy didn't look much better. Business class looked pretty nice with lay flat seating, but was 4x the cost of economy (around $6K). I don't think I could ever justify paying $6K/seat. Are there any tips to find better prices for business class? I heard you can bid for empty business class seats but they were fully booked on both flights. Is there a trick to get exit row? We booked the flights several months ago and all the exit rows were taken (but most of economy was empty).

I don't know what they were charging for Premium Economy, but we have found it to be the "sweet spot" of value for the price when traveling mainland to and from Hawaii. The extra room doesn't sound like much, but when you experience it, the difference is very noticeable. No, you won't be lying down and your meal is still pretty pathetic. But, at 5' 10" I find it much more bearable for a 9 or 10 hour flight.

Mentioned before, we could afford to fly first class, but we still seem to need to justify the up-charge in terms of value for the money.

Some have mentioned a lay-over. If you're talking about a simple 2 to 4 hour layover in HNL to change planes, that's probably a good idea. But adding a "stop" (for a day or two) is likely to add almost as much or more cost to your trip as the upgrade to lie-down seats. Plus that's another day or two out of your vacation/life to save a bit of money.

We have adopted an attitude now, when we fly, that one day of our lives is going to be miserable in order to get where we want to get for a reasonable price. Maybe we'll change our minds some day and spring for the 4X ticket.

 

[audreyh1]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to the Philippines. Flight from SFO -> MNL was 15 hours. The return flight was 12. It was pretty brutal in economy. 'Premium' economy didn't look much better. Business class looked pretty nice with lay flat seating, but was 4x the cost of economy (around $6K). I don't think I could ever justify paying $6K/seat. Are there any tips to find better prices for business class? I heard you can bid for empty business class seats but they were fully booked on both flights. Is there a trick to get exit row? We booked the flights several months ago and all the exit rows were taken (but most of economy was empty).

Justifying the cost of business class….. Well at some point as you get older you just won’t fly otherwise, certainly not long-haul.

I used to have good luck with with paying for upgrades to business class. Often times the upgrade price was a good deal like barely 2X - I’d check occasionally to see what they were offering. These days there seems to be more competition for seats - the airlines are really keeping the planes full. They fly smaller planes during the shoulder seasons.

I’ve been initially booking first class international for a few years now. Even several months ahead half or more of the seats are reserved. We’re somehow still managing to get under $4K each for open jaw Europe round trip from a small non-hub airport which is already more expensive, plus minimal plane changes. We’re not yet paying 4x, maybe 2.5x to 3x the economy price for the same flights. But we also insist on longer layovers and non-stop Houston to Europe outbound flights.

The older I get the less I care as this hasn’t been breaking our “budget”.

 

[brett]

Our snowbird trips to SE Asia come with long flights. If we are going to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur it usually involves 3 flights. One short, two long each 8-11 hours depending on where we change. Longest was 17.5 hours SFO to Singapore....business class for that one.

When we include Australia with our SE Asia snowbird trips it is typically a 10 hour flight from SE Asia to Gold Coast, Oz. Coming home we typically pick up a 10 hour or so Jetstar flight from Sydney to Hawaii. Spend two nights in Honolulu, then another 10 hours or so to get home.

When we go to Europe it is usually 7-9 hours depend on departure and arrival cities.

One benefit...just came back from Zihuatanejo, Mexico yesterday. 5.5 hour flight. It seemed like a doddle!

Next winter will probably be our last to SE Asia/Australia. After that we will revert back to Mexico or Central America. Shorter, often direct, flights.

 

[Texas Proud]

IMO the problem is that what you think you will get might not be what you wanted...

We recently flew to South America on United... bid on business and got them... but they were some of the most uncomfortable seats I have sat in on a plane... then the entertainment system did not work... a horrible waste of money.. it was a single aisle plane..

On the return flight we were on a dual aisle... we paid to upgrade to a level above premium economy... still had economy in its name... BUT, they were what I expected on my business class seats... nice and wide, two seats next to each other with each having plenty of arm room... reclined correctly etc... they did have the lay down seats but I think they were either business or first... I will always go for this if it is offered!!!

 

[Winemaker]

Currently, It's $1242 round trip to fly Philadelphia to Boston in August, coach. What gives? I paid that much to fly first class from PIT to SEA two years ago.

 

[OldConch]

Currently, It's $1242 round trip to fly Philadelphia to Boston in August, coach. What gives? I paid that much to fly first class from PIT to SEA two years ago.

Google flights and flexible dates. I'm seeing $229 r/t on Delta main cabin.

OP, points and miles are getting us home from KUL for about $200 cash in business class with a 5 hour stopover in Taipei and a night in a hotel at LAX.

 

[HarveyS]

Currently, It's $1242 round trip to fly Philadelphia to Boston in August, coach. What gives? I paid that much to fly first class from PIT to SEA two years ago.

Take the train. More comfortable and about the same travel time.

 

[Koolau]

Take the train. More comfortable and about the same travel time.

And the security is a bit less rigorous and time consuming. I'd even be tempted to drive, though I don't know about parking there.

 

[Aerides]

Currently, It's $1242 round trip to fly Philadelphia to Boston in August, coach. What gives? I paid that much to fly first class from PIT to SEA two years ago.

Probably just a fluke for that one airline and date/week, etc. Have you tried looking on google flights to see all the choices?

 

[marko]

And the security is a bit less rigorous and time consuming. I'd even be tempted to drive, though I don't know about parking there.

Please don't! Driving in Boston is an acquired talent, not suitable for those from other states.

You must be prepared to run red lights, dodge bicyclists who cut in front of you, pedestrians who cross without looking, go the wrong way up one way streets, have on-coming traffic in a one-way, tolerate idiots who won't turn right on red ( do not beep at them, you might get shot at), aggressively stare down other even more aggressive drivers, others switching from the left lane to turn right, be able to drive with your middle finger constantly raised-- both at the same time, preferably--and, if necessary, to the point of gunpoint, defend your parking space.

Also be ready to hear (heyah) swear words lobbed at you that you haven't heard in decades and be constantly aware (awayah) of a road rage incident you caused simply by following the rules of the road. An out of state plate spells "prey" to these people!

As a seasoned Boston driver, I used to drive down the streets of downtown Paris and Rome and found it relaxing by comparison.

Remember: yellow light means speed up. Red means proceed with caution. Seriously.