Originally Posted by
BigMoneyGrip
I would call 17 hours each way in coach unduly suffering. Does the company purchase "Y" fares so the employees with status at least have a chance at an upgrade? Or is the policy to purchase the cheapest economy fare possible?
"Chance at an upgrade" and which coach fares qualify for it, depend greatly on the airline(s)/alliance involved, and in some cases on the routes involved. In some cases a full-fare, unrestricted Y can be as pricy as a most-restricted business class (or domestic first or business).
My employer back in the very beginning of the 2000s would fly everyone full-Y unless you intentionally booked something cheaper; in those (limited) cases where there was a discount/restricted domestic first rate which was cheaper, it was allowed (at least for those of us who had relatively predictable travel schedules; I'd imagine there might have been some annoyance if someone had taken a restricted ticket, had to change schedules, and run up a big fare change plus change fee -- I assume avoiding that was the justification for flying everyone unrestricted in the first place.) I never flew international for them to see if the same would apply where discount J was cheaper than full Y.