psychokilla

For a while I entertained the notion of award travel in the upper echelons of the aircraft, due to flying crazy miles for my job. I never got there, and I'm back with the hoi-polloi now, but any time I read a TR in first or business, I always think, hmm, I don't think that's for me. Here's my particulars:

1. I would probably be considered quite a picky eater and drinker. I don't drink wine or champagne (in fact I barely touch alcohol). I don't do fish or eggs or fish eggs. I can't do anything dairy like cream, cheese or cream cheese. (I can get by in a restaurant as it's prepared there and then, but asking the crew to remove the mushroom cream sauce from the French style slow cooked chicken confit isn't really an option.)

2. I can sleep anywhere. On a TATL, I get generally 5+ hrs in Economy, a little more in Eco+. I doubt a lie flat seat would get me any more, and anyway, I want to enjoy the soft product for a while (watch a movie, read a book etc)

3. Increase leg room and wider seats. I'm a small person, and Eco+ generally is roomy enough for me.

4. I have no interest in lounges. In the days when they were the best place to get a wired connection to the internet, I could see the advantages, but not now with airport WiFi. I can see the pleasures of a cooked meal and a shower however, so I'm not convinced yet of this one.

5. Since I now travel on my own dime only, I will always pay extra for the Eco+ if I can, so boarding is not an issue really, and there always seems to be plenty of room in the overheads by the time I get on (or maybe I've just been lucky)

6. Check-in - this is probably the only clear advantage I could take advantage of, but only if I have bags to check-in, otherwise, I'm pretty much always checking in online if applicable.

Am I missing any other perk of higher-class air travel, some secret bonus that might push me over the edge?

megalab

The only thing of real value in premium class is the more comfortable seat. If you can spend a quarter of a day or more in economy and not feel beat up then I agree, save your money for better experiences elsewhere. The only other possible value is the higher odds you may make an important new contact, and/or lower odds of being stuck next to an unpleasant person. Anything else can usually be bought a la carte for a lot less then the cost of a premium class fare.

satman40

You will never know till you try,

deniah

i am fidgety and slouchy. i have no patience for queues. and i hate people/crowds/noises.

if its not your problem, why waste the cash.

back then i used to pop sleeping pills and conk out through a long haul upright in Y fine, but even thats not a guarantee anymore

KevinDTW

To me this is key -- and I am envious! I have difficulty sleeping on flights no matter what cabin I'm in and no matter what I do (or don't do) to facilitate sleep. On longer flights I always marvel at those who seem to be able to crash immediately and stay asleep for the duration of the flight. Although the irony is that on the few occasions when I've been able to travel TATL/TPAC in BE, I try not to sleep so I can enjoy the experience as much as possible!

gaobest

How about crowds? I enjoy the structure with just fewer people for the flight. If the e+ seat and leg room are adequately comfortable, then it may just work fine and you can smile at the thought of the amount of miles and money you save when flying.

pinniped

If you're comfortable enough in Y on a TATL, by all means book it and enjoy the fact that you're getting more total trips out of your miles. That's a good position to be in...having the ability to do a long-haul in Y and still be semi-comfortable about it.

On TATL, I can live with either Y or J. Last summer, arranging many peak-date seats to Europe for a big family gathering using Avios, we really had no choice: only viable way there was Aer Lingus coach. Everybody survived. (For what it's worth, Aer Lingus treats non-elites somewhat humanely: it was actually better than flying a big alliance carrier.) If I'm flying solo or just with my wife, I'll sometimes spend the extra miles for J and enjoy the comfortable seats.

On TPAC, I really prefer J. That's a loooooong time in a Y seat.

ft101

I think we have a lot in common from your self description - I can sleep on a washing line, prefer fish and chips to fish eggs, and I'm not oversize.

Despite that, I would be in J or F every time if I had the choice.

abmj-jr

Yes, probably. In your specific case, it is probably better to get more trips for your miles.

psychokilla

Can I ask why you would choose J or F, ft101?

ryanrule

the main reason to take it is the sense of superiority over the poor people. esp if you can get that valet car trip to/from the plane.

Cloudship

J or F means different things to different people, and may not mean anything to you.

For me it is ALL about the seat. Especially seat width, which is why E+ does little for me. Better carry on rules also help. I don't drink much so the free booze isn't worth it, and food is not enough to entice me to spend more. I will note just as an aside, that I find food tastes a lot different to me at altitude than on the ground, so if anything I try more things when flying. But your needs and niceties are different, so in your case why spend that extra cash on the flight and not at the destination?

Which is why I like to see more product differentiation in the market. Fortunately TA flights tend to have a few more choices - premium economy, old style business, new style business, etc. to offer a product for that group of customers. I wish they did that more domestically.

lhrsfo

For me sleep is the big issue Eastbound TATL and work Westbound TATL. E+ allows me to work reasonably well and, more often than not, I'll have an empty seat next to me which is hugely helpful. In those cases, there's really next to no advantage in flying in Business. I always try to upgrade on the Eastbound and, if I don't succeed, I'm usually operating at half capacity for the next few days.

austin_res

On TPAC/TATL flights, I go for business seats on overnight flights and business or premium economy for daytime flights.

My reasons for J:
1) I sleep better in a lie flat (or near lie flat) seat. I can't sleep in economy or even economy plus due to the limited recline.
2) Wider seat. Although I can fit in an economy seat, I have been seated next to people with wide shoulders. It is not fun bumping elbows with my seatmate.
3) I can use the premium check-in and security lines, which are usually shorter.
4) Food is better quality.
5) Usually no lines for the lavatory. I can brush my teeth without holding up a bunch of people.

ROCAT

If the airline gave me the seat for the same price sure I see the value, but for the money I don't see the value in it either. I have flown international Business most recently on JAL which was the result of a computer error in double booking seat in Premium Econ.