Economy or Business?

[JGH]

Planning a first trip with my wife … help me weigh economy vs business classes.

I’d lean toward the latter, but I’d want to know how people weigh the costs.

 

[Red Leg]

If you can afford it, there is no comparison in the quality of the flight experience - particularly on a long haul to Africa or Asia. My spouse and I typically travel to Europe once a year, and in our early seventies, she will not travel any other way. That said, unless there is a ticket counter upgrade deal (which their often is), I am flying "comfort" to Buenos Aires in March. It is the time zones that I find a killer, and to be able to sleep flat makes a huge difference when changing several of them. That is not much of a factor heading south to Argentina.

 

[JGH]

How would you describe the difference?

I live in a place that only gets small planes, so there’s no value for getting upgrades here, and I haven’t got experience to compare the two.

 

[dchamp]

Business, if you can swing it you won’t regret it. First trip was United, LAX to Frankfort then Air Namibia to Windhoek, very good trip. Second trip was Swiss Air all the way. The best I have ever taken.

 

[Red Leg]

Food, drinks, sleep, room, and service. Flying international business is part of the enjoyment of a travel vacation experience. Flying international tourist is part of the uncomfortable grind getting to and from that experience. I should add, you will have access to the business class lounges at the airports where you may have a layover. That alone can make a huge difference in a long flight.

 

[RLD]

The amount of leg room is far better, and usually they have "pods" where you can completely lie down which makes sleeping much easier. I also find the food and service far better in business.

Depending on your size for long haul I would recommend at least economy plus.

 

[Firebird]

It’s a long flight-if you can afford to upgrade your seating you should! I can’t afford business but I at Minimum do comfort plus and get a bulkhead seat for extra legroom. Especially important if you have some extra size or extra years-
You also off board ahead of the masses and if you hurry can clear customs on entry before the line forms

 

[JimP]

When I first joined this forum most of the members were saying to fly economy and then spend the money you saved on a few more animals.

However over the years it has now changed to most saying to fly business, but still sped the extra money on animals.

I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs and fly economy, besides not being able to sleep on a plane and being in the can like sardines it really isn't too bad as long as you are flying direct out of Atlanta to Joberg. My last trip was from Dallas to Doha to Joberg and that extra 8 hours in the air was a killer. If I go back it will still be in economy but the flight will be direct.

 

[JGH]

I do like the justification of: it’s part of the enjoyment of the trip.

 

[Scott CWO]

When fying to Africa, Asia, Alaska and Europe, we want to sleep so it’s Business because of the lay-flat seats and better food. The price is ridiculous but we like to come in fresh.

For domestic Lower-48 flights, we are United Gold or Platinum rated so we get the free upgrade to “comfort” and usually book early enough to get the second row of exit row seats that recline and offer extra legroom. The first exit row does NOT recline. If we have extra points to burn, we sometimes go Business but not usually. A few years ago we got the United credit cards and put all our bills, utilities, etc… on auto pay so we get lots of points and write a lot less checks. This allows us to fly domestically for “free.”

 

[Rare Breed]

Planning a first trip with my wife … help me weigh economy vs business classes.

I’d lean toward the latter, but I’d want to know how people weigh the costs.

To me I have budgets in mind. If I can get a business class flight for under $5,000 I will take it Otherwise I find I can easily fly picking the “right seat” in Economy for $2500 or less with all connections in this number with the exception of an additional charter flight if needed

 

[Red Leg]

When I first joined this forum most of the members were saying to fly economy and then spend the money you saved on a few more animals.

However over the years it has now changed to most saying to fly business, but still sped the extra money on animals.

I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs and fly economy, besides not being able to sleep on a plane and being in the can like sardines it really isn't too bad as long as you are flying direct out of Atlanta to Joberg. My last trip was from Dallas to Doha to Joberg and that extra 8 hours in the air was a killer. If I go back it will still be in economy but the flight will be direct.

This is a good example. On my last two trips over, I chose to fly business on Qatar rather than overnight at city lodge before flying on to my final destinations in Zambia and Mozambique. Both legs were overnight with excellent food, superb wine, and an adequate night's sleep. I also had a rather long layover in Doha with plenty of time for a hot shower and excellent lunch in the best lounge on the planet. Doing the same route tourist would have been brutal.

 

[Alistair]

My general rule is that any flight over about 4 hours, business is worth it. Any shorter, it probably isn't.

Business offers better leg room, more space, more comfortable seating, better sleeping arrangements. I can expect to sleep fairly well in a business class seat. I cannot say the same in economy. The food is not totally awful in the way that economy is.

It also offers lounges, which whilst usually irrelevant, are nice if you have extended lay overs. A hot shower goes a long way in making life comfortable.

I won't claim that business class makes travel fun, it's still an irritating experience, but it makes it a lot less miserable, which is worth it for extended trips.

Note that the 'benefits' or business class on smaller planes or shorter flights are pretty marginal, so if you have a shorter leg or an in-country connection at any point, those would be the areas to economize on.

 

[Javaman]

Business without hesitation. Flights can be had with miles. Debbie Gracy at Gracy Travel can find the best fares if paying cash for any class of travel.

 

[Quest#1]

If you can justify business do it!!
I wouldn’t go any other way.
Qatar and Emirates have trade offs but equal i think
I would also take advantage of the airport lounge’s.

 

[Odinsraven]

I am so economical - Poverty class with extra legroom is about my limit - if the emergency exit seats are already taken - The way I see it I can have another week culling for the price difference !
A couple of nights in a SA hotel sorts out the horror of travel !

 

[WAB]

Business is a game changer. At 65 I am simply not interested in flying overseas in cattle express anymore. I recently returned from Togo. I had great food, a hot shower and good meal in Paris going and returning. My time on the ground was five days so it was a fast turnaround. I’m simply not doing that in economy.

We flew Turkish business class going to Romania in September. The long haul had a dedicated chef on board. The short flights between Istanbul and Cluj served a three course meal on China. They made Delta business look pretty bad by comparison. A Turkish business class seat is roughly the cost of a Delta premium select seat.

 

[farmer_john]

How would you describe the difference?

I live in a place that only gets small planes, so there’s no value for getting upgrades here, and I haven’t got experience to compare the two.

More space. Seats that recline fully into a bed ect. Upgrading is not worth it on sub 4 hr flight in my opinion. On any long international flight 4+ hrs its totally worth it

 

[375Fox]

I won’t fly business class. I’ll put my money towards more hunting. I cannot sleep when a plane is in air, so being rested on arrival doesn’t apply to me. I get an economy aisle seat so I can get up and move every hour or so. I won’t pay for an upgraded seat but I will plan my route around a hotel or sleep lounge. If I fly through Johannesburg I’ll stay at Africa Sky before flying out next day. If I fly Qatar I’ll take the long route to have an extended layover to justify getting the in terminal hotel or reserve a sleep pod for shorter layovers. I can rationalize paying a few hundred to get a room while traveling but I can’t rationalize paying a few thousand for an upgraded seat. However, if someone has the money and is going on a hunt to match I could understand, but if someone is trying to cut hunt costs to stay in budget, but insists on business class I won’t understand.

 

[BRICKBURN]

How would you describe the difference?