Business Class Flights to Europe

Dreamer Kevin

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
What do you think about the value of business class from the East Coast U.S. to Europe? Man it triples the price but the comfort and amenities are tempting. If anyone has experience with this I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether or not the price was worth it to you. Thanks!
 
We did business class from PHL to Germany, with a continuing flight to Barcelona. Wow. I remember getting off the plane once after a coach flight going to London, and we were the walking dead. While I was not completely refreshed like sleeping in my own bed, the transition to Europe time was fairly easy, after being in business class sleeper pods! We got off the plane functioning, and able to tour once we landed in Barcelona. We got another day out of our trip, which would have been missed if we went coach.

We flew in a airbus 330, US air at the time. We had lay flat beds, noise canceling earphones, and it was like we were in little pods. I sleep on my side and it was a little tight in certain spots to get comfy, and I am short, but move around a lot in my sleep. I woke up twice I think, trying to get comfortable. I an 5'1". My hubby is nearly 6foot, and does not move as much. He sleeps straight out and said his feet felt cramped. The service was fantastic. My hubby travels for business and used all his points for the upgrade.

It was worth it.
 
I've done business class flying TO Europe, and I've done coach flying back FROM Europe to the States.

IMHO, it is worth it to pay extra for business class for the overnight leg of the flight from the States to Europe. I might not sleep as soundly as I do in my own bed, but I am far more comfortable in a seat that folds flat and constant food/drinks/etc. than when I've done coach class over the same distance. What the poster said above about being able to tackle your arrival in a better state of rest than if you'd flown coach is also something I find to be true.
 
International business or first class is totally worth it if it is within your budget. This is coming from a person who is 5 feet tall and can sleep with no problems in coach, even on an international flight. Been there, done that. It isn't an expense we want to add to our vacation budget so we began travel hacking after deciding to do our first ABD in order to fly up front. By collecting credit card sign up bonuses, points and miles we have been able to successfully fly in first class so far on all 5 of our ABD trips. Arriving in comfort and being able to use the lounge on layovers is absolutely worth the time and effort it took to get started learning how to travel hack. If that is something that you think you might be interested in trying, I would suggest reading the beginner sections on some of the following blogs: The Points Guy, Million Mile Secrets, Frequent Miler, One Mile at a Time, Mommy Points.
 


Have you thought about Premium Economy. We did that last year from Boston to London and it was great, a bit more leg room, smaller cabin, bit extra amenities. It was only a bit more than coach. We are doing that on our trip this year when we do the Prague/Austria trip. It's a nice compromise if business is a bit out of your budget.
 
I'm just shy of 6' tall and couldn't fly coach to Europe or almost anywhere over 2 hours. It's just too cramped for my long legs. When I was younger, maybe I could squish in, but now I put priority on my comfort. I still find it somewhat difficult to get comfortable in the pods (configuring myself in a long 'S' shape is not an easy task with your seatbelt on), but it is *so* much better than economy. My dh travels internationally every week for business and he accumulates a lot of miles, so most times I am able to book our flights on points.
 
I'm probably in the minority here, but we haven't seen much value in first/business class versus coach (or some economy plus/premium economy) for flights to Europe. Our DS can sleep anywhere and we usually just get some light sleep whether it is coach or first class. So, we would rather spend the money on upgrading the vacation wherever we can. Given that east coast flights generally land in the morning, we always stay up and treat arrival day as a normal day (check-in and clean up, sightseeing, dinner, etc.). Go to bed at a normal time and we seem to be back on a regular schedule. We have found that our son actually seems less affected by the travel and time differences (he has gone to Europe for the past 6 years--starting at age 7). Anyways, if there is one piece of advice I would give, if you arrive in the morning, see if you can get an early check in. This allows you to get into your room, chill out a bit, shower, change clothes and start the day (or if you want grab a quick nap--but not too long!).
 


Have you thought about Premium Economy. We did that last year from Boston to London and it was great, a bit more leg room, smaller cabin, bit extra amenities. It was only a bit more than coach. We are doing that on our trip this year when we do the Prague/Austria trip. It's a nice compromise if business is a bit out of your budget.
I totally agree with this. Just the extra legroom can make a HUGE difference!! I always try to get Premium Economy if I can.

Sayhello
 
If first class seats are not sold out by 24-hr checkin, some airline offer 1st. class at a discount. I was able to upgrade on United to Europe for only $600 at 24hr checkin. Just 2-days prior to the flight, the upgrade would have been around $2000-$3000. I would not pay the regular price, but the discount was definitely worth it.

Be aware that when laying flat on a plane, you will experience movement differently than when seated. The experience reminded me of sleeping on a cruise ship. If you are prone to air- or seasickness, you may want to remain seated.


-Paul
 
If you start looking at flights early on, you can get some good deals. We flew from San Diego to London in business class for $2000 pp. it was only $300 more than coach. I booked as soon as the dates were available to book. Well worth the extra $300. Not sure it would be worth $4K or more.
 
Have you thought about Premium Economy. We did that last year from Boston to London and it was great, a bit more leg room, smaller cabin, bit extra amenities. It was only a bit more than coach. We are doing that on our trip this year when we do the Prague/Austria trip. It's a nice compromise if business is a bit out of your budget.
You know, I did think about this and will likely fly premium economy at some point. I went ahead and booked the biz class for our ABD to Italia, #YOLO you know, but the in-between fare probably makes more sense next time we're lucky enough to hop the pond.
 
When I read the computer screen I almost fell out of my chair. I could not check in fast enough. The big problem now is once you get a taste of business class it is hard to shuffle to the rear of the plane every time.....envy is one of the seven deadly sins I heard someplace.
Totally! I can see where you get spoiled by it all. My problem is watching videos about how great business and first class are, so I just hafta jump.
 
I've never had one of these great early booking deals. I've never had a last minute upgrade available to me. For those people who snag these deals, count yourself very fortunate.

I have domestic premium economy. I couldn't really say much in favor of it, save for the fact the seats are slightly better. If I had to worry about long legs (and I don't at 5'3") I'd go with that first row whenever possible as it always seems to offer way more leg space.

I have yet to go overseas on a flight with Premium Economy, but I have two flights to Europe this year. Maybe I'll be able to see what that looks like on at least one of them. And FYI - if you book early and flight changes occur, Delta at least keeps you in the class for which you originally paid. AA has now downgraded me twice with no refunds and no explanations.
 
We have done premium economy too.

I have been to Europe/UK 3 times, and it was once on coach (brrraaaaiiins....I am the living dead walking...got to hotel and collapsed. This was back in 1996 on British airways, I was in my teens and could not do anything that first day. My whole family was exhausted. No one slept. We had 3 screaming babies the whole trip, and one couple was arguing because their baby was crying...) we all fell asleep in the room and barely made it for dinner. First day totally wasted. Second day, I was still a bit out of it, but got better as the day went on.

Second on British airways premium economy, which is a separate section...first class seats, coach service. No lay flat seats, just roomier. (Little less walking dead, we did a hop on hop off bus tour and napped and loafed on the first day.) I had a hard first day, but better then coach. I think there was a baby crying in coach, but we were in a separate cabin so the sound was muffled.

Last trip, business class. I slept soundedly, woke up a bit, but got back to sleep. We got noise cancelling headphones from the strewardess, and even if my hubby was snoring, I heard nothing....I wore them to sleep! I was wide awake when we touched down in Barcelona. I tired easily though...but we did a walking tour that night and toured the afternoon. I slept soundly that first night and woke the next day for the start of our cruise in fine shape.
 
I have domestic premium economy. I couldn't really say much in favor of it, save for the fact the seats are slightly better. If I had to worry about long legs (and I don't at 5'3") I'd go with that first row whenever possible as it always seems to offer way more leg space.

I avoid first row seats on domestic business class flights because they have a wall in front of the seat meaning I can't stretch out my legs (at least on Air Canada). When I'm in the second row I can put them under the seat in front of me. Dh always seats me in row 1 out of habit and I keep reminding him not to! On international flights with pods it doesn't matter which row I'm in as there is plenty of legroom. However I avoid the first few rows due to the noise from the flight attendants preparing meals and their banter between one another. I avoid the last row or two or anything in close proximity to the restrooms for obvious reasons.

Dh refuses to fly economy anymore and with the amount he travels he deserves to be comfortable. He has finally come to realize that my legs just won't fit in economy class without a lot of discomfort which would be unbearable for an overseas flight. I usually get up and stretch and walk around at least every few hours when traveling long distances to keep blood flowing to my extremities. My dad had issues with blood clots and my brother has had them in his legs as well.
 
My sister has lived in Europe for the past 12 years so as you can imagine I have had alot of international flights under my belt. After I got married 7 years ago my husband has started to go with me. He travels to Europe and Asia fairly frequently for work. We went to see my sister over Easter and he wanted to go business class since that is what he is used to and wanted to treat me. So, we were able to book worth miles, but still spent nearly $2000 by the time we paid all the fees and taxes. I was slightly apprehensive that I would be spoiled. Well, it was a great experience but not one worth thousands of dollars more. I am pregnant so it was nice not to feel so cramped but I am only five one so I can typically tolerate smaller spaces then my husband who is a foot taller. The couple next to us got on, had a drink, and passed out 20 minutes into the flight. That is the best way to do it but I wanted to savor the whole experience. In the future we won't be traveling business class with the addition to the family but if I ever do come across a deal like others have reported I wouldn't think twice about the upgrade.
 
We fly to Europe regularly and usually try to get premium economy, but I'll be flying to Scotland next week in business class on British Air for the first time and can't wait. I was able to snag a cheap fare about 6 months ago when they had that awesome 24 hour fare deal. I paid $2000, which is only a couple hundred more than coach would have been. Score! But the family will be in steerage (i.e. coach) in June for ABD Greece and NOT looking forward to it. Used miles on United so didn't have much choice--didn't have enough for four in 1st and doubtful would have been able to find that many anyway. My hubby is 6'5 so he's going to have a grand time :)
 

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