First Class or Business Class Air Tickets

[bdsouza]

I agree.
I know some years ago, when travelling regularly between US and Europe I was told that, as an individual, if you have a certain number of flights that you could make with one airline, for example, they would negotiate with you on a discounted pricing structure for your tickets.
The problem with the airlines is that they price fares according to the market in which they are selling (and the number of competitors on that route), and some country destinations subsidise others. A great scheme might be something like the one we took advantage of some years ago through AMex Platinum that offered partner travel on a business/first class ticket for just the cost of the taxes - we travelled to singapore in First Class on Air Malaysia (wonderful!!) for $5000, plus $300 (partner), and the 'cost' of the annual card fee $400. I am sure it would be possible to do something with the airlines or one of the 'preferred' card companies.
BDS

[Jaynemary]

We would definitly be interested in business and first class tickets. Hope they come up for auction soon

[omegaet]

We think Luxury Link would be the natural launching place for new routes for long-hall carriers, introducing new destinations (i.e. LAX-Beijing, LAX-Sydney), or new aircraft (i.e. AirBus380). Probably just the idea of selling deeply discounted First or Business Class would not appear to most long-haul carriers....most of them have enough difficulties meeting the demand of full fare business travelers and/or loyalty program participants. However, when launching new service or a new aircraft, most airlines allocate large advertising budgetsfor publicity. Luxury Link isthe naturalmechanism to assist in this type of program and give Community Members an opportunity to enjoy a savings!_

[jashermd]

Hello,

When I travel I often find that only about half of the seats up front are full, so I'd think that the airlines would rather sell those seats at a discount than have them go empty. I rather like the fact that the cabin is often half-empty, but I could tolerate a few more people in First/Business if it meant being able to fly for less. Of course, this depends on the routes you fly and when you fly, so the discounted flights would probably be for mid-week departures on new or less popular routes.

Speaking of new routes -- how about that Virgin London-Mauritius non-stop which is debuting in November 2007?

I have to admit that the idea of flying on the A380 makes me shudder...imagine the scrum at immigration and baggage claim when one of those monsters lands. On the other hand, if Virgin actually do put in the gym, shower, and spa mentioned in one of their press releases I could reconsider. One of the things that bothers me most about long-haul flights is the forced inactivity.

Cheers,
Julian

[Mountie]

jashermd, I am one of those unfortunates that never get to sit in the front of the plane. The thought of being cramped in a tourist class seat for ten to twelve hours or more on a longinternational flight does nothing to improve my attitude about my holiday when I finally arrive. I would love to see the opportunity to bid on first class or business class tickets. If I were the winning bidder, I would happily change my holiday destination to accommodate the tickets.

[jashermd]

Hi D,

I spend about half my time in the back (ironically, I rarely fly in Business Class when I'm on business) so I completely sympathise. The entertainment systems on Virgin and some of the other more consumer-friendly carriers help pass the time, but in the end nothing can take away the fact that you're stuck in a space which is roughly the dimensions of an old-fashioned telephone booth for hours on end. Fortunately I'm one of those people who can sleep on planes, so I normally fly at night if I can -- IMO the best way to travel in coach is unconscious!

Of the airlines I've flown, Virgin on the London-US routes has the nicest coach cabin, whereas United on any domestic route in the US is the worst. I'm not that tall, and even I felt a distinct lack of legroom on my United flight from Boston to San Francisco. In general cabins on international routes are nicer, though I've noticed that the airlines tend to use their older planes for African routes for some reason.

Cheers,
Julian

[claassenam]

Have you ever come across a site that rates various airline economy cabins much like your comparison here, jasher or others? That would be helpful - so far I've only found www.seatguru.com, which compares seats but not airlines, and of course the general ratings in CN Traveler and Travel and Leisure.

Jasher, I would agree in general that US economy cabins are horrendous - definitely worse than European carriers. The only tighter carrier I've been on in terms of seat size/distance in front would be China Air. That said, United's Economy Plus cabin arrangement is excellent compared to the other US airlines - and I believe they are the only one to offer extra legroom in economy (to Premier fliers and I believe others can fly in those seats for an extra fee.) It's only about 6 extra inches but it makes a big difference in terms of comfort.

[kboojd]

claassenam wrote:
Have you ever come across a site that rates various airline economy cabins much like your comparison here, jasher or others? That would be helpful - so far I've only found www.seatguru.com, which compares seats but not airlines, and of course the general ratings in CN Traveler and Travel and Leisure.

Jasher, I would agree in general that US economy cabins are horrendous - definitely worse than European carriers. The only tighter carrier I've been on in terms of seat size/distance in front would be China Air. That said, United's Economy Plus cabin arrangement is excellent compared to the other US airlines - and I believe they are the only one to offer extra legroom in economy (to Premier fliers and I believe others can fly in those seats for an extra fee.) It's only about 6 extra inches but it makes a big difference in terms of comfort.

AA used to offer "more room throughout coach" on all ofits planes. Although they no longer make that claim about all their planes, I have found that for the most part their standard (non-exit row) coach seats compare favorably to other US economy cabins as far as leg room is concerned. Even a few inches makes a difference!

[jashermd]

Hi Claas,

Here's another airline comparison site which may be helpful: http://www.airlinequality.com

It has seat comparisons as well as reviews of different airlines.

I've also found a site which tells you more than you ever wanted to know about airline meals: http://www.airlinemeals.net It's a good way of deciding whether you should order that special meal or not (always a conundrum for me).

American's not bad, but my personal favourite among US domestic carriers is Continental. They seem to have particularly spacious planes and are very generous with their overheard storage space.

Cheers,
Julian
Message Edited by jashermd on 02-06-200702:56 PM

[lippincottfarm]

I would be interested in bidding on first or business class tickets. I am one of those persons who considers the the travel time and comfort involved when I plan vacations. We fly out of Pittsburgh, so I don't want to travel to Florida via Chicago or to go to Maine via Atlanta. Until last year, one of the reasons why we never went to Portland, Oregon was because it took twelve hours or so to get there. Of course that has changed with the merger of US Air and American West. We are fortunate enough to generally fly business class to go to Europe, and the one time I flew to Vietnam, I used my miles to upgrade to first class on Asiana. Oh my goodness, they should send every flight attendant to the same training school as the attendants on Asiana. The level of service was so amazing that I still talk about it. Not one of the attendants sat down to watch the movie (meanwhile they are not available to take care of passengers needs) during the flight. I have seen this happen on US Air's flights. After each passenger used the bathroom, they checked to make sure it was clean by wiping off the sink or straightening up. There were only two attendants for first class; same as in the good old USA. To get this level of service, one certainly is willing to pay considerably more money. I remember one US Air Flight where one of the passengers in first class missed the toilet (yep - I swear to God); another passenger asked one of the female attendants if someone could clean it up and was told no. Either step around it or go use the coach class bathroom. After an hour or so, one of the male attendants from coach got a towel and cleaned it up because it stunk so bad that everyone was commenting about the stink. If I remember correctly, this was a direct flight from Pittsburgh to either San Fran of LAX. I agree that the level of service on US flights, in general, is better in first class or business class than it is in coach, but not by much. What one really wants is the leg room and seat comfort. Also, if you are not a frequent flier silver, gold or platinum, the first class ticket gets you preferred check-in which is worth its weight in gold at alot of airports. It can save you from standing in line for two hours or more at both check-ins.