roberino

darthbimmer

I face choices frequently as a consumer where product B fulfills the same function as product A but delivers a more enjoyable experience at a higher price. Flying in business vs. coach is but one of many such cases. Whichever I choose I arrive at the same time at my destination; that's the part about the functionality being the same. The decision, then, is whether the superior comfort and perks of flying premium are worth the price uplift over coach.

A big part of that calculation-- and what makes it different for each person depending on their circumstances-- is how significant the cost difference is to my overall budget. Today it's typically a fair chunk of change for me so I only splurge for business when it's a modest premium over coach. But much as I have graduated from drinking $5 bottles of wine to enjoying to $12 bottles on ordinary weeknights because the price no longer has material impact on my budget, I can foresee that if/when my net worth reaches 2-3x the present level I'll opt for business over coach without sweating the cost difference.

kaffir76

He was a famously frugal man (may he RIP) -

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/e...mpire-he-built

Mr Kamprad was known for being frugal, despite his wealth.He reportedly drove an old Volvo, travelled by economy class and brought a lunch box to work.
In a 1998 book he co-authored about Ikea's history, he described his habit of visiting vegetable street markets right before they closed for the day, hoping to get better prices.
He also shopped for clothes at the local flea markets.
In a 2016 interview with Swedish television channel TV4, he said that it was "in the nature of Smaland to be thrifty".
"If you look at me now, I don't think I'm wearing anything that wasn't bought at a flea market," he said.
His modest house in Switzerland was furnished almost entirely with Ikea items - which he assembled himself.

GUWonder

He was a famous supporter of the far right in Sweden, as he was a member of what was the de facto Swedish Nazi party. He attended the Swedish Nazi meetings even well into 1948. And 1948 was quite some time after the defeat of the Nazis. It just goes to show that someone can be "open" to doing business in the world, have some qualities that may be somewhat appreciated and yet be a person whose moral character and judgments should be questioned (to put it kindly). That he choose to present himself as being cheap to the world isn't really a surprise, as his business was about being in the business of being affordably cheap for those who deem themselves largely self-sufficient in the do-it-yourself world.

Smaland is a historically poor area of Sweden, and that shows as it was the home to a disproportionately large chunk of Swedish emigration to the US in the late 1800s and well into the 1900s. It's still a very cheap area for housing, for example. So when opportunities are far and few between and you can't afford to be anything but cheap, being frugal ends up being a fact of life more than a choice. But for him, it seems to have been a choice -- including with how he tried to minimize his Swedish tax liability exposure.

Flight44

thebakaronis

I have no interest in defending him, but he distanced himself from the nazis very early on in his life and would later even say he was ashamed of that phase of his youth.

omaralt

i have no idea why you respect somebody who can easily afford to travel up front but doesn't? it tells you they are thrifty? and does thrifty = good? i'm not understanding the logic

GUWonder

Giving an airline 7x-10x the money (or more) for a seat that takes up less than 5x-9x the space in economy class is not my idea of a virtue or a vice. It's just not all that good a value overall for many passengers who may even be able to afford it. And for some routes, the differential between economy class and business/first pricing is so extreme even as passengers may end up in pretty much the same kind of seat as the cheapest economy class passengers on the plane. I don't know about you, but I know that the food and drink I get on short-haul business/first class, for example, isn't enough to my liking to always make me want to pay for the cabin upgrade even if the difference in price between the cabins is the cost of a Swiss McDonalds' meal.

wendyg

Zitsky: A friend who was on a flight with Jimmy Carter said that Carter also went around the plane shaking hands with everyone and saying hi. My friend's reading of this was that JC had found over so many years of being famous in public that it was the easiest way to assure himself that the rest of his flight would be uninterrupted. The same may be true for Dr Ruth - I bet she gets people coming up to her all the time asking her stuff.

wg

darthbimmer

I routinely see domestic first/international business priced at 1.5x - 2.5x coach when I book travel. Where and how often are you seeing 7x, 10x, or even higher differentials?

Betterthanyou

You can't take it with you. If you got it, flaunt it.. Life is too short to spend cramped in a tiny seat with the masses just to be modest, signal you are one with the serfs, or worse, to save what amounts to a 0 with several decimal points behind it as a percentage of your total income. I want memories of champaign and caviar in a lie flat, not memories of being crushed by a COS in cattle class. Life is only sweet if you actually take the time to have a taste.

zitsky

Your username seems very appropriate.

FTA

Long flights in economy is literally bad for your health so I can't understand millionaires and billionaires flying it on long flights

zitsky

Are you referring to deep vein thrombosis?

Artpen100

In the case I was thinking of, their kids went to a very well known and rigorous private school. And were not spoiled, though I don't think flying international J would have changed that. But they and their kids probably think that traveling international J means buying a $10,000 ticket. My kids think traveling international J is an award ticket from CC points or buying economy and upgrading with certificates or miles plus copay, and would never consider paying what most airlines charge.