I'm 6ft 3in, 250lbs and have back problems. The small amount of difference, between cattle and Elite, in legroom, seat width, and guaranteed armrest makes a world of difference to me.

I won't even consider cattle class for long hauls. I'm not wealthy but the $300-500 difference(RT) is, to me, well worth it to avoid the torture of being cramped in an Economy seat for 16+ hours at a time. That would be even more physically, and mentally, exhausting than 16 hours in Elite.

The food? The amenities? I'm not sure what the difference is between Elite and Economy and, frankly, I couldn't care less about them. The slippers? Walmart has the same ones for $1. The food? I've never heard anyone rave about the food on ANY airline, in ANY class. It's a non-issue for me.

For a few hundred extra? Try it. You can always fly economy next time. You won't want to but you can. And, of course, when you do, you'll be thinking about how nice it would be for that extra couple/few inches when you first sit down in cattle class and look forward to the next 16 hours.