Ever flown business class? Is it worth it?

I flew BC (solo) in the past when it was the equivalent of premium economy seat but bc food. (Pre lie flat beds).

And later once with lie flat bed but my seat had a number of breakages (including no screen!) while I had aisle seat and “had care of DC” so only allowed OJ before takeoff while DH and DC (then 8) got the windows and DH was happily chugging his second bubbles before we took off!

have also done a number of overnight flights with DD in economy, including 6hr to Abu Dhabi and 6 more hours to Homg Kong, and the same from Beijing on return. (DD was 13 then, but ASD/ADHD).

We’ve also done a good few overnights in economy with DD over the years.

Honestly, the reason I’d upgrade is the lounge in the layover. As 6 hours is a good while, especially coming to evening when you need them to eat and start winding down for sleep. But if it’s an airport you know you will find foods they will eat, and check if there are kids areas or quiet areas to spend some time…weigh up is it worth it to you.

And for 6 hours, is it somewhere you can leave the airport for 2-3 hours (I’d be back with more than 2 hours “spare”, for safety) and do something to keep them interested, find some food they’ll enjoy but also get them fresh air and exercise to be ready to sleep? If it’s the same country as you started, that should work? Don’t think about massive sightseeing trips necessarily, but decent local area with a playground and food court. But leave enough time for whatever lines (security, border checks etc) and the general average of those so that you are not rushing. But in a big airport - there might be a train between terminals you can ride or similar.

Yes and yes

I agree. I haven’t flown anything other than business class since 2010. The thought of a long haul flight without it being in a flat bed pod makes me want to cry.

I'm surprised you don't think long haul business class is worth it then. Under 6 hours and especially euro business isn't but if you do that amount of flying anyway then you'd have status for lounge access

I'd never consider the trip from NZ in economy. I'd be a wreck.

Im not sure how long your flight is that your looking to fly bus class on? We fly exclusively business on long haul with our toddler and i wouldnt fly economy - but i value the actual seat on the plane more than lounge access. Sure, the lounges are great in that you can have as much food, drink etc in one place as you want and there is often a kids area, sometimes an Xbox or PlayStation for older kids, shower etc but personally, I could make do with being just in the regular airport. For long flights, i really value the lie down seats. We fly BA and the layout is a big problem. Im always put in the middle seat with my child beside me but because of the divider, when child needs me, its a nightmare. A dropped teddy etc and I would need to walk down the entire cabin and back up the other side, so dh will take any seat on the same side as child. Ideally across the walkway or the seat infront. For shorthaul we fly economy and although dh has dragonpass through his work for lounge access, we never use it so im definitely not a business class snob. I guess for £1200 id just consider how much of a dent it will put in your holiday. It's sounds like you can make it work, so if it includes the lounge which is important to you then go for it. If not, look into just booking one of the lounges you can pay to get into. You can do this directly for some or others you can access via subscriptions eg dragon pass. Here are the options im being shown for JFK

twice a month?

1 hour between flights is not enough

Haven’t read the thread but you should check what lounges are at that terminal and whether there are some you can pay to get in or a credit card you have gives you right to access. The fee per person is around $30 (maybe a little bit less or more, depending). I was going to tell you to go for it until I read you’re a broke lone parent.
another thing w Virgin is that if there are seats available, you can pay at check in desk for an upgrade, usually quite cheap vs what would have cost if you booked from the get go.

You can book a lounge separately . Just look up airport and lounge access.
Priority pass is annual fee and then chesper lounge fees.

Do you fly it often?

Do it OP ☺️I had a five hour layover in jfk with dd and not enough funds to upgrade, all the lounges were full so we were confined to crappy waiting areas and a horrible McDonald’s 😅
have a wonderful birthday!

Yeah Qatar is definitely worth the money

My ex and I went to the US (we had already been split several years) and he booked separately as he flew in from the middle east, but was flying home with us. We had upgraded to premium economy and were excited as we were sitting upstairs on the plane.

At check in they said his seat had been changed and he was ready to argue when they said he had been upgraded. He said he couldn’t take it as was travelling with family, and I said just take it, and I went on to board. He then came up and handed me the ticket and said it’s now your seat!

I absolutely loved it! Would I pay thousands for it? Nope!! But enjoy if you do.

Should be at 10 and 8. Hardly toddlers

I think you’d struggle in BC with 2 young kids with additional needs on your own. The seats are so far apart. You’ll either have to put the 2 kids next to each other or 1 kid on their own. I can’t see how it would easily work. I think it would be more stressful than premium economy.

I’d go for premium economy and hope and pray for space in the lounge. I’m sure there will be space in other lounges if the Virgin one is full though. I’ve never had a problem getting into a lounge.

Also, you were never going to make that 1 hour change so it’s good your flight has moved.

I think it will ruin every future flight for your kids and £1200 will go a lot further as spending money on your holiday.

I would research more the lounge options in your jfk terminal. Not sure leaving and checking into a hotel will be that feasible since security lines at JFK can be horrible. (something to do with federal employees not being paid)

Is it virgin upper class? If so £400 per seat is worth it! It’s a comfortable set up and the lounge is very pleasant.

I had the worst flight of my life (turbulence, vomiting) in virgin’s upper class. I was so glad to have my own space!

I should add that while I very much appreciated business class, my daughter would probably have been happier in economy as she couldn’t cuddle up to us and I’m pretty sure the kids meals were the same. she managed though. Seatbelt wasn’t that much of an issue, she could do the lap bit herself once shown ( which is enough for turbulence), and I nipped forward and sorted her shoulder bit ( not sure if all airlines have this) before doing mine for takeoff and landing. We were with BA with the new layout, other airlines have different layouts.
Another big plus for us is they can give you a meal from a lower cabin, but not a higher one, so managed to feed my son who’s allergic to egg a full meal for everything apart from breakfast on the way back ( before any asks the only egg free option we could pre order was a vegan meal which I knew he wouldn’t eat).

I've tried these bids on I think 4 flights now - only successful once (the most recent bid was at the max allowable amount, said we were 'highly likely' to get the upgrade & still got rejected!). So def worth a try but don't rely on it for your planning, and you usually only find out if successful shortly before check in opens

For long haul on a good airline it is. Lay flat beds, proper sleep, personal space. Yes pls.

Bit different if you have kids to look after though.

business class is overrated. at least today. there are so many classes available today, it is hard to track

I upgraded for £350 on a 14 hour flight to Saigon with Air France and it absolutely was worth it - the lounge at CDG alone was fabulous. Go for it!