Originally Posted by
stimpy
One other point is that with my millions of miles flown, I have of course been through many airline mechanical and weather issues. As a biz or First passenger, and top elite, I am always taken care of before the back of the plane. Many times I arrive at my destination hours or even a day before the Y passengers make it. The best example of this was on a UA LHR-LAX flight. We were stuck at the gate at LHR for about 2 hours when a UA agent came up to each of us in First class and whispered that they had a seat for us on the NZ flight going to LAX. They said that they were whispering because as soon as we got off, they were going to announce to the rest of the plane that the flight was cancelled and they would be re-booked on a flight the next day. I made my meetings on time, the people in the back did not.
Again, from a business perspective, a really good point. There are times when you need to be at your destination at or close to your appointed time, and the airlines are going to work harder to get their high-dollar elite members there than their Y passengers.
From my personal perspective, I definitely consider the length of the flight. Anything under about four hours, I can generally handle in Y although
Stimpy's point about a row made crowded by a large passenger can make me wish I'd moved up front. Anything over four hours and anything on a red eye is a totally different story. A flight from SFO-JFK on AA a little over a year ago sealed the deal for me on this aspect.
Let me suggest one more thing. Your company has a policy already. Saving money by spending less than this policy allows may have good or bad effects, depending on the size of your company and its corporate culture. I think the good effects are obvious and are more likely to be realized the smaller and leaner your company is.
As the company you work for gets bigger, generally, there is a culture of corporate perks expected at each level. And somebody who comes in and is seen to undercut that culture
may be viewed as endangering the perks expected at and above that level. Keep in mind that at some of the bigger companies, the reason that you get to fly in J is that someone a level or two or three above you expects to fly in F and someone a level or two above them expects to have access to a private jet.
As Mel Brooks famously said in Blazing Saddles, "We've gotta protect our phony, baloney jobs, gentlemen." Just substitute in "perks," and I think you'll find that's the attitude at a lot of places.