Left to first Class,

While I understand where you come from, and trust me I know how a day of meetings feels like after a bad long flight in Y... you got that right, in my company (and i mean, i am the majority shareholder), you 'd be at the top of the list of the people i would fire. In the current environment, every penny counts. Keep that in mind when you sit your royal arse in J. I couldn t care less about the provision in your contract. You want to fly J, upgrade yourself at the airport. use miles or cash but your miles and/or your cash. Right now, i d rather keep the extra cash for marketing expenses, some research, hell even a bonus for top deliverers in december (that may or may not include you).

There are far worse things in life than spending 8 hours in an aircraft and then get straight to work...why don t you ask the people you deal with in India...or just take a look at the people in the street while in the taxi in BOM.

At some point, you have to put things in perspective.

one last thing, requests to include such provisions in contracts are a no brainer. The contract goes straight to the garbage can along with the HR manager who agreed to hire you.

When times are better, then i am the first one to indulge.