flyinryan

My company only allows coach tickets, even for long-haul travel. After being on FT for so long, reading the forums, and meeting so many other FT'ers, I now know that many companies authorize Business class fares, and not just for executives, either.
I work for a small company, and while I like that I am generally free to make my own travel arrangements and keep my miles and hotel points, I'm still stuck in Y for a trip to Japan or Europe, and it's getting old. I have not yet done any last minute trips, so I usually buy a W/V/S/K fare, something like that.
How can I convince my company to pony up for C? I realize it is a huge leap in cost, but how do so many other companies make this possible? Do your contracts with overseas customers specify that business-class travel will be authorized? I don't think our overseas customers are making me fly Y, because when their people come to the US, they often fly in C. I think this is just a rule here at our small (25 person) company.
I know that some carriers will discount their C fares for a company that they have a contract with, but we only have a few people in my company who travel, so there would not be a lot of volume for an airline here.
Suggest away! I hate longhaul Y! I'm not asking for domestic or int'l F, I just want to be able to cheerfully face a 10 hour trip SFO-NRT without having to try to bum upgrades from Coupon Connection.

suranyi

Join the club. In my company, it's coach only, also, no matter the distance. Except for people in the top levels of management, of whom I'm not one.

I think it might depend on the industry. In software development, which is my industry, travel policies are fairly stingy.

Ed

BearX220

If it's a client-based business it can be extremely difficult to pass business class travel costs back up to the client. Many clients are now scrutinizing and questioning these costs with ferocity, especially when J is 4X or 5X the cost of Economy.

In my network TV news days we always flew J overseas, but it was understood that we'd get off the plane and go straight to work. Two arguments that might work are:

** You'll be more productive on arrival if you fly in business, whereas after ten hours in an Economy seat you'll require a day to recover from back strain and jet lag.

** Business class tickets from consolidators can be much cheaper than those purchased directly from the airline, especially when you're going to Asia; if you agreed to forego the miles (as bucket-shop tix often do not earn them) perhaps you could negotiate a price cap that would allow you to buy and fly in business.

Beyond that, I think the only option in many cases is to upgrade yourself using your own miles -- just as when most of us fly domestically, we are sitting in F because we've strategized our FF activity, not because our client or company paid for it.

flyinryan

That would be my primary arguement, but I know it will be met with raised eyebrows and sarcastic laughter.
Give up the miles! Shhhh...you can get kicked off FT for saying things like that. Wow, as much as I'd love to fly paid C, I would die inside if I had to give up the miles.
Aaargh. I know.

MapleLeaf

I was successful with one company only when I showed them that my C ticket was cheaper than Y, given the route I had to fly, the lack of notice for taking the trip etc. It was always approved.

BenjaminNYC

Z fares.

LH_Fan

Taking the view that (a) I can't make my company pay for C travel BUT (b) my company can't make me travel in Y for flights of more than 6 hours worked well for me in the past. Stalemate - if they wanted me to travel, they would pay for C. I'm serious - choosing to travel in Y because I want to save money is one thing, being forced to travel in Y by my employer is a different matter.

flyinryan

I'd love to. Tough to find them on a transpac ex-SFO. At least, it was on the dates I looked. And the inflexibility of the Z-fare might be a problem if plans/schedules change during my trip.

flyinryan

Amen to that! So, you approached management with this compromise? I want to do something like this, but I must tread carefully. I have known the boss himself to fly to Europe in Y. If Y is good enough for someone who owns their own business and is worth a considerable amount of $$, then he's going to say it's good enough for me.

I guess what I am really asking here is this: If you fly int'l C/J, why does your company allow this perk for you? Is it because the company wants to keep you happy when you travel? An incentive for you to keep a heavy travel schedule? Help me out here.

I think a good compromise (for me) might be the ability to purchase full Y or B fares, even if I'm not buying a last-minute ticket. Costs me fewer miles to upgrade, and even if I'm stuck in Y, I still get the COS EQM/RDM bonus.

glob99

Try for Premium Econ.

flyinryan

I am assuming you mean a true Premium Economy, like SQ on transpacs or VS/BA on transatlantics, and not the 3 extra inches of seat pitch in United 747 E+.

alanw

All of these arguments assume, of course, that your boss is billing the cost of travel straight through to the clients. It's quite possible he's already billing them for business and just pocketing the difference. That's what we do with customers that agree to pay for C travel most of the time.

Otherwise, you need to look at a different alliance. KL flights to Europe are easily available in Z from the US, usually for $2,000 (sometimes less) and the restrictions aren't terribly bad. If not, I is just a bit more and fairly flexible.

BenjaminNYC

For this reason, I like B fares. Cheap upgrade, totally flexible, and a coach ticket.

Leccy

For my company (for who I do 90% transatlantic flying), it is a simple calculation based on the additional cost to my company of being out of the office for an extra day, plus extra expenses, compared to the fare difference between a fairly flexible (usually M) Y fare and a Z fare (almost always available). In most cases the Z fare wins out and so they have made this policy. Bear in mind that for this calculation they thankfully use my client-billable cost rather than my "real" cost!

flyinryan

I think that may be my angle for "Hey, Boss, here's my compromise!"