After hours queuing, losing your boarding pass, panicking, emptying your carry on bag in front of everyone before finding it in your back pocket, you finally make it to your seat on the plane. You feel a little frazzled but now you can relax and enjoy the flight, right?
Easing yourself into the 18-inch-wide space you’ve been allocated, you give an empathic smile to your neighbour and silently hope they aren’t a ‘talker’. The flight map on your TV screen shows a plane icon over your current location and somewhere, eleven hours away, is where you need to be. Stretching an already fatigued leg across the aisle you begin to wonder how different life would be as a CEO flying up front in the posh seats... so, we had to ask the question, are you better off in business class?
Arguably the most anticipated aspect of air travel (topped only by the thrill of travelling to some far-flung location) is locating your seat on the plane. Despite seats being high on the list of travellers’ concerns, airlines don’t always share the opinion. In a recent TripAdvisor survey, 77% of fliers cited uncomfortable seats and limited legroom among their top five travel peeves. TripAdvisor also reported that 57% of fliers were more likely to pay for a better seat assignment today than they were six years ago.
While some airlines dispute shrinking seat space, (apparently thicker seat cushioning adds to the cosiness of cabins) increasingly travellers are paying for guaranteed comfort on flights. Sometimes a long-haul in economy can feel more like an endurance test than a walk in the park, but is business class an obvious choice for the budget-conscious business traveller?
‘Historically business class was seen more as a status thing than anything else. There really wasn’t a lot of difference between that and economy - apart from that maybe you got better food,’ said George Hobica, airfare expert at AirfareWatchdog.com. What’s more, George is of the opinion that business class doesn’t necessarily mean better sleep (at least before the days and exorbitant expense of flat bed seats). ‘Some people just can’t sleep sitting up, others just can’t sleep on planes; in those cases the extra legroom you get in business class doesn’t make a huge difference to how sharp you are when you reach your destination and have to go to work’.
However consumers have spoken and the growing demand to pay extra for a few more inches of personal space is big business. Comparison website SeatGuru.com even classifies available seats according to G-Factor, or Guru Factor, a three-point scale characterising how comfortable you’ll be on your flight, inviting you to decide whether you can ‘Live with it’ or pay extra in order to ‘Love it’. This system is applied to economy, premium, business and first class flights, allowing the customers to put a price tag on their comfort.
If you’re too polite to extract your neighbour’s stray elbow from your ribs, and if knocking knees with the fold-down tray can’t be endured, there are a few travel hacks you should remember when booking business airfare.
‘It really depends where you look,’ said George. ‘Recently I saw a business fare that was only a couple of hundred dollars more than an economy seat. I’ve also seen instances of a non-refundable business class seat costing less than an economy ticket. If you’re making plans that you have to stick to, non-refundable tickets could be a good option’.
For six years, flight attendant Frankie Mannion worked for Dubai-based Emirates Airline and on the private planes of distinguished Saudi families – but as a passenger, she always flies coach.
‘Personally I don’t think it’s worth the money that some airlines charge,’ she said. ‘When I go on holiday I always wait until the cabin crew have announced that they’re closing the doors for departure. Then I go to the counter and ask if there’s any free space on the plane – often I’ve ended up with two, or maybe even three seats to myself just for asking the question.’
‘Sleeping in economy can be a problem,’ said Frankie, who prefers to stay caffeinated and alert when she flies. ‘I suppose you could try to cosy up to someone and lay your head on their shoulder – that could work!’
‘I used to find people sleeping on the floor – a lot – and also I’ve seen people coming from the toilet with a blanket and a pillow under their arm. One of the strangest things I’ve seen was a woman sleeping with her legs straight up in the air, above the seat in front of her. I have no idea how she did it, but if you find a way of being comfortable that works for you then you’re onto a winner’.
If you’re planning a Bleisure trip to the States anytime soon, we’ve been researching and compiling a business travellers guide that will help you find your bearings in a variety of major cities in the US. Download it below for free. (We also have a European City Guide for Business Travellers on our website if you’re interested.)
