rack him

Over time I have tried to cost justify upgraded class of service plane tickets, but for me the economics never work out and I always opt for paying fewer miles (or cash) when I ticket rather than taking the upgraded ticket.

I get that the amenities of upgraded class of service are nice (e.g., better food, a seat that turns into a flat bed, earlier boarding, higher ratio of flight attendants to passengers, etc.), but generally speaking, the value of an upgraded seat relative to a basic seat that gets me from Point A to Point B has always led me to the conclusion that spending less is the "better" deal, whether short haul or long haul flight.

So, just curious if anyone feels that the economics of paying for upgrades works out from a financial perspective, or if the choice of paying more for upgraded class of service is simply based on personal preference. If the former, what is your "formula" for choosing one class over another?

Cymro

For me, it's mainly about jet lag - I can't justify the cost on the comfort aspect of the flight alone.

Although I'm only 6'1" I have a 34" inside leg, which makes sleeping (rather than napping) in regular economy difficult for me.

I'd pay next to nothing for short haul business over economy - you get an extra seat and hopefully you don't have to sit next to the colossal C4H4AsH (Google it) I sat next to on my last short haul.

For long haul, I can sleep well if I am in a flat business seat and pretty well in premium economy, meaning that I can hit the ground running, be online and generally not annoy my colleagues and customers. Of course I could take more annual leave to achieve the same result but the cost of an at-airport upgrade from IAH-LHR ($300 OW privately) and the cost of business rather than economy from KUL-LHR via Qatar Airways ($1,500 rtn for work) meant that I was back online and performing effectively the day I landed.

rack him

Thanks for the feedback Cymro, good insight on a different perspective.

nux

Typically business is twice the miles required for economy. I would value 1x business flight over 2x economy flights long haul.

Better hard product, soft product, service, priority checkin, security, lounge, etc. But each situation and airline is different, and personal preference.

SFO777

Hard to make a blanket assessment. Length of a flight, airline, type of plane and income/resources are all considerations. Personally, I'd rather fly F than Y on any length flight.

There are many ways to fly F without paying for F. Frequent flyers with elite status can pay cheap coach fares and get upgraded. Many credit cards offer signup/first spend/category than can add hundreds of thousands, even millions of miles to your account in pretty short order. Once you have that kind of "mileage cash", it's easier to spend more miles for a more comfortable ride.

Check out my trip reports below to see why most FFers prefer F and will spend more miles to do so.

rafi2k6

For me anything more than 3.5 hours and I'll most likely purchase a business class ticket, the extra seat pitch / width do make a difference. As well as knowing that I'll be fed on the plane allows me to do some last minute work at the gate without worrying about my gut.

For example, I've just paid $1644 for a BOS-YYZ-YVR-YYZ-YUL on AC. The cheapest economy class ticket was pricing at $700.

flyertalker5468966

Personally it would make more sense for an upgrade to business from economy class for long haul flights only. The additional comfort from a lie flat bed in my opinion is worth it as it helps me with jetlag. Domestic (within the us) flights arnt really worth it for me.

rafi2k6

They're not worth it for anyone

mileshound

It comes down to a few things for me. First, how many miles do I have and what are the in economics terms, the opportunity costs (i.e. what are you going to do with the other miles). I am mileage rich now. So the difference between 60,000 miles or 100,000 or 125,000 miles to Europe is not a factor. I have enough miles where I am not sacrificing another trip. So for me it is not this 1 trip in a premium cabin or another 2 trips in coach. Also, my redemptions are all discretionary trips. I want to take them but I do not have to take them.

The second reason is my own ego. The airlines have spoiled me over the years in terms of upgrades and award redemptions. I know what it is like in the premium cabin more than I know what coach is like. Therefore, it now really irks me that someone is in a higher class of service than me and is getting something I can not get. Is it ego, being spoiled or just a game to see how many times I can be in FC, especially on a 3 class plane, I do not know but it has become important to me. A few years ago I was paying for trip for me and a friend using miles and we would have had a great time in business. However, when FC was available I physically could not click on the business redemption. I also know he would probably never be in international FC again so that factored into it.

So it is a combination of being miles rich, not sacrificing other trips, being spoiled, ego and pure comfort that I choose the highest class available.

irfan23

One other consideration for meer is how long I'm going for. Eg., next month I'm going to Bombay for a shade over 72 hours, the majority of which will be spent in meetings. I have done this trip before and can tell you that being up-front makes the trip marginally less hellish and infinitely more productive.

philemer

Since this about paid tickets I'll move it to TB.

Flubber2012

While those who don't pay for their own travel have some decisions to make, I think the OP should have limited responses to those why actually pay money from their own accounts to travel.

I have earned (butt in seat) or paid for all of the miles in my ff accounts. I think I value them differently than a road warrior that is suckling the corporate travel account.

SFO777

You are both seriously misguided and/or don't fly much and/or don't fly the right airlines. Furthermore, as for being worth it, what is worthless to some, is not worthless to others. Not everyone has to worry about cost.

chiefkays

To each his own. My travel is all leisure travel out of my own pocket, and I only have silver staus with DL. But once I realized how much calmer and more comfortable I was up front, I personally couldn't go back to coach. I almost always travel alone, and I'm not crazy about close physical proximity with strangers, so the extra few inches even in domestic first class can be worth it to me.

That being said, I do try to get the best value for my money. For instance, I usually travel on VX or DL. VX has one of the best domestic first class products and my usual LAX<->ORD trips aren't too expensive. Plus, VX now allows first class to use the LAX Loft for free. If I'm on DL, I always try to get on the internationally configured 777 or 767 from LAX<->ATL and then one of my favorite narrow body aircraft for the connection to wherever I'm going.

SMFlagg

I can't make a blanket statement, and it really is about how far I am going and what I'm doing upon arrival. As a tall man (6'4"), if I am required to do anything of substance upon arrival after a long flight, then the economic value of business is justified. If I am going for a leisurely beach vacation and half to cross 12 time zones, to me the economics don't work out as I can get over my jet lag with a frozen drink under and umbrella.

I also take value overall into effect. On a recent trip DFW–MEL, my company paid over $13,000 for a RT UA C-fare. Regardless of what I was doing on the other end, I would never lay out that kind of cash for any fare for any trip. Just too much for me to get from A to B. To me that is poor value, but the company and the client needed me in Melbourne (known 4 weeks beforehand) and decided to purchase the ticket a week prior to the flight.

Lastly, I'll mention that I would make an exception for a once-in-a-lifetime trip (or nearly once). My wife has never flown longer than about 4 hours, once internationally, and has one domestic first flight to her credit. I will make an exception to the value quotient if it means she can experience her first premium cabin experience (or what will be her very rare premium cabin experiences - we just don't have the financial resources where premium cabins would become commonplace).