Worth upgrade to Business 'special' ?
 

Hi,

Have a flight LHR - DXB return in economy, £690. Upgrade to full business for the outbound is £1.8k which I am not interested in. For the return its possible to upgrade to Business 'special' for £577. Seems its just a normal seat in business, without all the added extras such as lounge access etc.

Is this upgrade worth it, bearing in mind I have never flown long haul in business, due to cost, but have always wanted to. Fortunately I am now in a position where an extra £600 is not really an issue, but is it worth doubling the ticket price? I've never seen a business seat so cheap and I've flown all around the world, so maybe I should take this opportunity for the experience?

Thanks.

There may be many opinions on ‘what is it worth’, but to me this is a no brainer. Go for it! You get no chauffeur drive, no lounge access and no seat selection, but once on board there is no difference whatsoever with the most expensive business class seat. Currently LHR is served by 1 77W and 2 A380’s daily, if you have the 380 you even get the on board lounge (although that is currently ‘take away only, I believe). There is also a difference in seats between the two aircraft types.
But either way, the big risk is that you’ll be ‘sold’ on flying J in future. Go for it!

Agreed, the biggest risk is you enjoy it too much! I had a dream (nightmare?) recently, I was on an A380, and I was downstairs...

Hope you all are doing well, hope that we can do a "do" at the champagne bar in mid-2021 when we're all vaccinated.

Go for it. Especially if it's on the A380.

I wouldn’t pay it for the 777 unless it is a very quiet flight in J. You could end up stuck in the middle seat.

Isn't that where the baggage goes? :confused:

By the way, I am planning to be at the champagne bar on 28/12 very early. :)

I’d probably go for it.... but, you’ve already paid £690 for ticket so assuming the return flight was around £300 (less APD leaving from DXB) you’re adding another £600 to that making it around £900 in total.

by my reckoning, and bearing in mind the increase in business class APD from LHR, had you purchased the “special” business price as a return it could have been over £2000 which isn’t particularly cheap.

having said all that, if you’ve got £600 to spend, the experience will obviously be far superior.

:(
Am envious.
Doubt I will be seeing the interior of an EK J or F flight anytime soon due to CoVid.
Would definitely splurge if it is an A380. Everyone needs to be having champagne on an international flight at least once!

Personally, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But it really comes down to how you value the £577.

For me the lounge/priority check in/security is an important aspect of the trip as is often the Chauffeur

I agree worth trying inA380 but not on the 777 which I try and avoid with Emirates

If it's the new 777 then J is not too bad as long as you avoid the middle seat.

Given that flights to the UK seem to be running pretty full right now, in my mind it's a worthwhile upgrade.

I have not as far as know been on the new 777 but if it is 2-3--2 then I am sorry but I will need serious convincing after all where ever you sit you will either have to climb over or be climbed over. At the minimum I would expect seating on the windows to be similar to Oman on their 787 that offer access to the aisle from the window seats

They're all still 2-3-2.

Apart from the ones that are 2-2-2 :)

*I know these are not new... but there are a few 2-2-2 layouts on the B777LR.

Right, I forget about the LRs because there's so few of them.