I just returned from an upgraded trip to London with the family. It was a pleasure to be well rested on the flight. We were so well rested and relaxed that we didn't get jetlag after our return (we had a little going there). We haven't traveled in Y on a 4 hour or longer flight since 2008 through the benefit of miles and upgrades, so this has become the norm for us in some ways.

Now just looking at fares in September, on the 77W, DFW-LHR in Y is $1190. J is $3790, or about 3.2 times the price of Y. From a space perspective, my rule of thumb is that the new J seats take up about 3.5 Y seats. The appeal of selling J for airlines has been that they could charge 4 or 5 times a Y seat. But I'm wondering if not becoming "cheap", then at least J is starting to offer value.

I mentioned this to my wife who is a real money conscious person (I'm generally so as well). But even she thought that the pricing while not "cheap", was becoming "reasonable" to the point where 1% families would perhaps opt to travel with a bit more comfort. If you're going to be spending $12K on a trip to Europe, maybe spending $20K isn't that much of a stretch for the well heeled. If you have $3m in the bank, does it really matter if you have $3.3m at the end of the year or $3.292m? Or are those folks now traveling private?

I'm thinking a sweet spot, for us as a family of 4, would be to buy 2 J seats, and 2 Y, then hopefully bank on using SWUs as EXP, having seen first hand how difficult it is to get 4 pax upgraded. I wonder if there are any thoughts from fellow forum members around J travel and pricing these days.