How bad is flying economy these days?
Discussion
Actual said:
Or if the person in the next seat to you has a physical disability, old, immobile or fat...
Thats his wife you are talking about........seriously economy can be perfectly Ok. If you are normally flying a bit in business you must have status with a number of programs or lounge access cards. These will make life better on the ground. When I settle in my economy seat I long to have booked into business & wonder why I didn't just pay the extra. By the time I get off & realise I actually feel the same as when I've flown business I wonder why I normally bother spending a whole heap more for business.
Edited by GT03ROB on Tuesday 14th March 04:07
Countdown said:
Different airlines have different seat pitches. I’m quite tall but I find Emirates, Etihad, Qatar ok. I struggle with Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz Air.
Different product really, ones long haul and the others are regional budget carriers.Depends who your fellow travellers are really, we've flown to Oz economy several times but the worst flight ever was probably american interstate where the Mrs had actual Peter Griffin sat next to her; it was one of those where we should have been refunded a % of the seat back, if the airline is going to permit passengers so obese they can't offer a whole seat to other travellers. Worst thing you can hear is "can I have a seat belt extension please". 'merica, f¢k yeh.
Other than that its just a bit less comfier seat, I guess it depends how seriously you take yourself, whether you can cope being in the company of service staff and being catered to as one of such for a bit.
there's a massive difference between airlines and even routes. if you fly often enough then this becomes a factor in your decision when flying for personal / pleasure. i'm in the camp who prefers to use the money at destination, but will try to take a premium/flag carrier over low cost wherever possible.
i'm flying EK to brussels for work tomorrow and its a fairly straight forward process, check in here is a doddle and they usually have a dedicated desk at foreign airports for frequent flyers. i'm very much of the attitude that flying is public transport and dislike airports. minimum exposure is the way to go.
easyjet amsterdam to manchester for a weekend visit to the folks is a different matter. booked it this morning and just doing so with endless 'are you sure you don't want X?' screens was irritating. 200 quid with easy for a 1 hr flight stings a bit but was 350 for klm which isn't 50% nicer. so massive check in scrum, gate in another time zone, free for all boarding, crap seats and cabin announcements every 2 mins until destination, yay.
low cost is fine for very short hops and that's it.
manchester back to dubai will be full of innits at check in but otherwise not so bad.
i'm flying EK to brussels for work tomorrow and its a fairly straight forward process, check in here is a doddle and they usually have a dedicated desk at foreign airports for frequent flyers. i'm very much of the attitude that flying is public transport and dislike airports. minimum exposure is the way to go.
easyjet amsterdam to manchester for a weekend visit to the folks is a different matter. booked it this morning and just doing so with endless 'are you sure you don't want X?' screens was irritating. 200 quid with easy for a 1 hr flight stings a bit but was 350 for klm which isn't 50% nicer. so massive check in scrum, gate in another time zone, free for all boarding, crap seats and cabin announcements every 2 mins until destination, yay.
low cost is fine for very short hops and that's it.
manchester back to dubai will be full of innits at check in but otherwise not so bad.
smifffymoto said:
FFS man,get over yourself and just book it. Millions of us poor plebs manage perfectly well in cattle.
And in business you’ll have to suffer all the other PH directors boring each other to death about “wealth” and watches. Go economy in order to reflect on how lucky you are that you’ve made it in life, and enjoy happy hour at your Seychelles all you can eat buffet. Maybe they’ll have a disco?Just travelled back from Banff CA last week with KLM in Eco extra/+.
A330 so had two sweats to ourselves.
Anyway it’s was one of the worst flights we’d had. Families letting their kids run riot and screaming babies for what felt like 90% of the flight.
No chance of having a kip as it was an overnight flight.
Got off in Amsterdam and as we were at the front of Eco saw the business class folk get off all fresh faced, relaxed and obviously had a decent kip.
So yes if I could afford it I wouldn’t hesitate to fly business class on every flight as economy class is generally a nightmare.
Guess BC is 3k per person and the rest in general?
A330 so had two sweats to ourselves.
Anyway it’s was one of the worst flights we’d had. Families letting their kids run riot and screaming babies for what felt like 90% of the flight.
No chance of having a kip as it was an overnight flight.
Got off in Amsterdam and as we were at the front of Eco saw the business class folk get off all fresh faced, relaxed and obviously had a decent kip.
So yes if I could afford it I wouldn’t hesitate to fly business class on every flight as economy class is generally a nightmare.
Guess BC is 3k per person and the rest in general?
m3jappa said:
I struggle to understand where people get the money from tbh (unless their company is paying for it).
Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
f
k that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc.
I stay longer in somewhere nicer AND fly business. The two things are not mutually exclusive. The fact is that people can have money to spare for nicer things. Doesn't make it wrong or hard to understand. My flight costs don't have any bearing on where and how long I travel.Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
f
k that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc. To the OP (who with the 1 post count I'm assuming is winding people up for fun,but just in case I'm wrong )...... Economy to the Seychelles will be cramped but bearable . Longer flights in economy tend to have more seat space, and your travelling companions will not be stag and hen parties,but like minded travellers. Just pray you don't sit near babies and take good ear plugs (noise cancelling headphones don't drown out screaming). Every bugger flies long haul with newborns now.
12 hours ain't too bad in eco. Choose your airline carefully. Eco varies.
I did Bali economy a few years back. Great deal with Secret Escapes. NEver again. Way too far in economy. 1st leg for 10 hours was fine but the second 8 or so hour leg breaks you. We nearly killed each other when we landed, such were the stress levels.
As for short haul economy, it's a necessary evil. You just can't justify spunking £400 flying to Sophia in BC so you have to live with pissed up stags and hens making the trip horrible, almost every time.
m3jappa said:
I struggle to understand where people get the money from tbh (unless their company is paying for it).
Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
fk that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc.
Judicious purchasing. Depending when you buy, depending how you buy, depending your destination, Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
f
k that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc. I have in the past got long haul business for about the price of a night in a good hotel over economy.
An example of how buying the same seat differently can save money: You can buy a flight only from BA at a given price, the price being based on the fare classes they have available on general sale. Buy the same seat on the same website by adding a car or a hotel & it will default to a BA Holidays booking which may give you access to a different set of fare classes. The classes are often cheaper, sometimes thousands. It doesn't work everytime.. But it can work. There are a number of other things you can do to bring premium class prices down, but again don't work everytime. Short haul business can often be not a lot more expensive to economy, though it can be argued the service isn't a lot different either!
Aye, I got a great deal with Finnair by a) booking as far in advance as possible b) having a 5 hour layover in Helsinki (no hardship in their lovely lounge) c) flying at ungodly hours , which I don't care about. BAngkok return ,2 people, £3500 or so.
Had several good value upgreades inc. £275 extra to upgrqde to PE returning from LA. Virgin PE is excellent and not far off other airlines' BC.
Premium is where the value is at the moment for sure. Usuall 2x economy price for 10x better experience, subject to airline ... wHich I can tell you does not include Vietnam Air...
Had several good value upgreades inc. £275 extra to upgrqde to PE returning from LA. Virgin PE is excellent and not far off other airlines' BC.
Premium is where the value is at the moment for sure. Usuall 2x economy price for 10x better experience, subject to airline ... wHich I can tell you does not include Vietnam Air...
m3jappa said:
I struggle to understand where people get the money from tbh (unless their company is paying for it).
Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
fk that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc.
It’s like everything, if you shop smart you can get some good deals. For example Aer Lingus were offering NYC from Manchester in business in early ‘24 for under £1000 last week. That’s still 2-3 times the economy fare but it’s not crazy. Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
f
k that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc. People flying in business on their own dime aren’t having to make that choice, there’s a lot of money out there.
Regarding the OP, it’s clearly a wind up but I wouldn’t fancy it.
Griffith4ever said:
Premium is where the value is at the moment for sure. Usuall 2x economy price for 10x better experience, subject to airline ... wHich I can tell you does not include Vietnam Air...
I've not experienced Virgin, but on BA it's not great value if double the economy price! However.... BA PE is the place to be to play the upgrade game. Its generally the smallest cabin & with busy flights if economy is full, PE carries a good chance of upgrade to business in one of a number of ways.
- Firstly they will start offering good value upgrade prices online from you PE seat to Club (they get revenue for something they are going to have to do for free anyway)
- They will offer a good price for upgrading at the airport (again they get revenue)
- finally you may just get upgraded anyway
stuthe said:
said: I don’t know how rich I’d have to be to think business is worth it, but it’s a lot richer than I am!
I consider it my gladly paying myself £2-3k to sleep in a slightly tight chair for 10 hours and watch films on my iPad.
Economy is fine, if you can get over yourself.
It’ll be fine - go on holiday! (Don’t get last row seats or by toilets and get a window and centre so someone else isn’t interrupting you to get out the window seat)
While I'm not supporting the OPs ridiculous post, at 6' 3" with a 34" inside leg and a post operative bad back, economy is incredibly uncomfortable f to me for anything beyond the usual European length flight.I consider it my gladly paying myself £2-3k to sleep in a slightly tight chair for 10 hours and watch films on my iPad.
Economy is fine, if you can get over yourself.
It’ll be fine - go on holiday! (Don’t get last row seats or by toilets and get a window and centre so someone else isn’t interrupting you to get out the window seat)
Not everyone using business is a powerfully built stair dominator
GT03ROB said:
Griffith4ever said:
Premium is where the value is at the moment for sure. Usuall 2x economy price for 10x better experience, subject to airline ... wHich I can tell you does not include Vietnam Air...
I've not experienced Virgin, but on BA it's not great value if double the economy price! However.... BA PE is the place to be to play the upgrade game. Its generally the smallest cabin & with busy flights if economy is full, PE carries a good chance of upgrade to business in one of a number of ways.
- Firstly they will start offering good value upgrade prices online from you PE seat to Club (they get revenue for something they are going to have to do for free anyway)
- They will offer a good price for upgrading at the airport (again they get revenue)
- finally you may just get upgraded anyway
Spot on about upgrade chances. BA premium always seems to be packed.
A real PH Powerfully Built Director type would be in the top tier of an airline loyalty program with enough points to book business class flights to wherever he wanted to go.
Having said that the kind of people that fly to the Seychelles are probably a cut above your typical Benidorm all inclusive crowd that are keen to "get on it" as soon as they step onto the Megabus to the airport. More honeymoon than bucks show. Honeymnooners might be less irritating to sit next to than Dave and his mates that are fully lit.
Having said that the kind of people that fly to the Seychelles are probably a cut above your typical Benidorm all inclusive crowd that are keen to "get on it" as soon as they step onto the Megabus to the airport. More honeymoon than bucks show. Honeymnooners might be less irritating to sit next to than Dave and his mates that are fully lit.
At the moment I am flying all different classes for business regularly - what class depends on the time of travel, how far, what I'm planning on doing on the flight and what I am planning on doing when getting there - and of course the cost (I wrote the policy so only myself to blame!). Flights are generally to Singapore (13 hours direct or a variety with connections) or North Carolina (sometimes direct, sometimes via JFK)
Obviously business is nicer - but sometimes I might be planning on working most of the flight or landing and going straight into work (particularly on return to the UK as most of the flights land early morning) - and if doing so will generally fly business.
Equally I am flying to the US this weekend, via JFK - it's a daytime flight and I will simply have a 'long Sunday' with the time differences. I am going PE on this as when we booked PE wasn't much more than economy. There's no need for me to go business. On the way back I am in business and will go straight to work (pretty much).
The point being - when it gets expensive I've flown economy to Singapore direct so 13 hours and I am still here to tell the tale - you might not like it as much but it's hardly going to kill you (as a shorty I do feel sorry for taller folks though, particularly the chap above with a back problem) - just get chatting to your neighbour, I've had some great conversations with random people (and some random conversations with random people it must be said...)
Obviously business is nicer - but sometimes I might be planning on working most of the flight or landing and going straight into work (particularly on return to the UK as most of the flights land early morning) - and if doing so will generally fly business.
Equally I am flying to the US this weekend, via JFK - it's a daytime flight and I will simply have a 'long Sunday' with the time differences. I am going PE on this as when we booked PE wasn't much more than economy. There's no need for me to go business. On the way back I am in business and will go straight to work (pretty much).
The point being - when it gets expensive I've flown economy to Singapore direct so 13 hours and I am still here to tell the tale - you might not like it as much but it's hardly going to kill you (as a shorty I do feel sorry for taller folks though, particularly the chap above with a back problem) - just get chatting to your neighbour, I've had some great conversations with random people (and some random conversations with random people it must be said...)
m3jappa said:
I struggle to understand where people get the money from tbh (unless their company is paying for it).
Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
fk that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc.
The clue's in the name. It's primarily a service for business travellers. The space and comfort allows you to work while you travel or work better, sooner once you arrive. This can have profound and measurable economic benefit to those business people, their clients and/or their company so the price they pay is less of a 'cost' and more of an 'investment'.Every time i have looked it is thousands extra. Even premium economy can be quite a chunk more.
f
k that. I would rather stay somewhere nicer or stay longer etc. For non-business travellers, it really comes down to a mix of affordability and perception of value which of course differs in us all regardless of income. My former business partner is a very high nett worth individual and capable of flying First Class if he so chose but refuses pay any premium and books the cheapest seats going..... and then spends a month moaning about the poor quality of the flight!
One day, with a bit of hard work and a dose of good luck you may well find yourself in Business Class and when you do, you'll go.... 'ahh, now I get it!'
12 months ago I flew to London - Doha - Sydney on Qatar in economy for my fathers funeral. Due to the short notice all I could get was economy but travel restrictions at the time meant the aircraft was only about half full so I had empty seats both sides of me which was a blessing.
I started with half a Xanax and a glass of red wine.
Moral of the story. You can't beat good old fashioned Benzo's to get you through an economy flight. I might not have been able to operate the emergency escape doors if required but that has to be weighed up against arriving at your destination in ignorant bliss.
I started with half a Xanax and a glass of red wine.
Moral of the story. You can't beat good old fashioned Benzo's to get you through an economy flight. I might not have been able to operate the emergency escape doors if required but that has to be weighed up against arriving at your destination in ignorant bliss.
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