Originally Posted by
BThumme
I worked for a very large and prominent tech company (HQ'ed in SJC/SFO), that had a large base of operations out of SIN. Y for all but the senior management. And if that company had that policy, I can't see how any company can afford J travel unless there is a very sweet discount attached. It seems like more and more companies are going away from J for trips of 6 plus hours, so I wonder how much longer these business class prices can sustain. It sure seems like something that I will never get to experience, that's for sure.
I'm flying LAX-SIN-SFO, my cost to upgrade is only $13,165.
I also know lots of people in the tech space (or those who support the tech space, such as accountants/lawyers) who can take PE or Y, but not J. Others I know allow J on the preferred provider, which is in the case of those in SF I know UA, but then they get 40+% off the rack rate, so J is not 8K, its $4500 RT to Asia/Europe.
The bigger reality is that back when these type of rules were created, their were three classes of service, First, "business", and economy. J was a seat that was similar to a domestic F seat. I can't find a picture of the first 1980's United Business product, but here is what Pan Am had in its "clipper" class:
The rack (non-discounted) "business class" prices United is seeking are very high, which is not surprising since what UA is really doing is trying to get 55-60% of that price from corporate acccounts, and they corresponse what what "first class" used to cost. PE at this point is far closer (basically a domestic FC seat with better soft product) to what "business" used to be than is business.