About flying business class

[KittiKati]

DH has fibromyalgia & MS. It’s extremely difficult for him to sit in a plane seat for any length of time whether short or long haul.

We were talking about holidays and he suggested he flies business class and me and DS fly economy. I said I didn’t feel that this was appropriate and would rather save up the extra money and we all fly business class.

He seemed genuinely put out by this and is acting like I am being unreasonable? Interested in other peoples opinions please

Completely depends on the location. If it’s Spain YABU, yes it’s cool to fly business but it’s probably a waste of money. If your flying to San Fran / Thailand then YANBU as they are long flights and it would be worth upgrading IMO

I’m sorry but that’s not how it works. If he didn’t want the champagne it would stay in the bottle and not be given to someone in another cabin.

Not rtft but what about Premium Economy or Economy Plus? Larger seats with legroom and footrests… like Biz but without the fancy food

Most business class nowadays on a long haul flight is flatbed and premium economy is nothing like it.

Yanbu you may as well all be comfortable. Dangerous precedent to set that he gets the five star treatment and you get the crumbs.

How much is business class? You could ask for a seat at the front of economy so he can stretch his legs - I was once up graded to business class and it was fab. 😁is it the sitting down or the room in the seat that’s the problem for him - how long is the flight? These are all questions to look at - business class ain’t cheap - do you think he is avoiding going away? ie he really doesn’t want to go?
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@Cariadz

Premium economy is the same as business /first class class of yesteryear minus the food.

I actually didn't like modern long haul business class, felt claustrophobic. I book premium economy but got an upgrade once as the plane was switched to a code share partner without premium economy

For me it depends on your finances. Is saving up for you all to go business doable? Although I do think it would be wasted on DC, dependant on age.

I will now only go long haul if I can afford the BC ticket. If you shop around it doesn’t need to cost as much as people think. But then I am only buying for one. I have several health conditions that mean that if I did 8+ hours in economy it would ruin the first week of the holiday for me, just getting over it. I’d then spend the rest of the time dreading the journey home. Holidays are about more than having that extra money to spend. I’d rather spend my holiday pain free with less spending money. BC gives you the room to find a comfortable seated position and room to move around, plus the lie flat bed. The other perks are nice but it’s the seat that I pay for. If you don’t need that then yes it is a waste really.

I think it's fair enough, much more comfortable, easy to sleep and spacious in busines if he's in pain

Respectfully that is rubbish. If you have flown with people with various disabilities, you should know that disabilities are individual and affects everybody in their own way.

it is entirely probably that with those conditions, he is caused too much pain to be sat in an upright seat with a lacking of room. Being able to recline to a fully flat bed can be necessary for some people.

Depends on the length of the flight, the additional cost and your holiday budget. I'd rather save money on my ticket and spend the extra for us all to stay in a better hotel, better restaurants etc.

DH and I have sometimes flown in separate classes because he has been able to get an upgrade - he has asked the flight attendants to pass the champagne back to me which they have done!

Cabin crew here:

(presuming this is long haul)

yes it’s perfectly reasonable for him to fly business class given that he has a medical need for the space and the recline. I don’t think it would be unreasonable for you all to look to travel business or at least premium economy should it be in your budget, but if not, his medical needs must come first.

you will not be permitted to have his champagne or meal though so please don’t expect it or put the crew in a position where they have to say no to you by asking.

that said, given that he will have a fully flat bed, he should be more rested upon landing so could he compromise by driving if you plan on renting a car? Or being responsible for something else like a grocery store run or something whilst you guys rest agreed the flight?

How many people are obsessed with business class? Well, those of us who have not been flying business class for 26 years, thats who. Cattle class is miserable, why shouldnt we dream of being more comfortable?

In your scenario I would not go long haul at all OP

The price difference is massive. I’m not sure how much longer it would take you to save up but would you really rather deny your children a holiday in the meantime just so they don’t have to sit in a different place from daddy on the plane? I’m sure your DH would rather sit in economy than live with debilitating and painful illness.

This is incorrect in OP's case.

If a traveller gets lounge access only due to their business class ticket, no one else gets lounge access.

If you have lounge access due to airline loyalty status (Star Alliance Gold, Etihad Gold, etc.) then you may have complimentary access for companions travelling in other classes on the same flight.

Not necessarily true…

MS and pain doesn’t preclude you from sitting in an exit row- in fact it doesn’t even preclude you from being cabin crew. Whilst you can’t really judge the severity of a person’s condition over the internet, I’d argue he may be perfectly fine to meet the criteria of an exit row, however his conditions could cause him too much pain if he was to sit in an upright seat for too long

YABVU to want to fly your whole family business class if you need to 'save up' to do so. If you were so wealthy it didn't matter I'd tell you to fill your boots. It seems a strange thing to 'save up' for when you could just go on your holiday earlier, or stay for longer, or do more activities instead.

I don't know what you mean by saying it's not 'appropriate'. How is it inappropriate, in your mind?

I'm sure he'd love to be sitting in economy in a body that is free from disease and disability. It's a bit odd going tit for tat on something that he's asked for due to disability.

There is no business class for flights within Europe, so I assume you are looking at long haul. Depending on how long it would take to save up for all three of you to travel bc, I would much rather have a nicer / more holidays than have a hissy fit because my husband NEEDS more space. If short haul, you can always pay for the extra leg room seats.

Yes there is.
with BA it’s called Club Europe

His life is probably pretty shit with those 2 conditions so if something could be done like this to make things easier for him I would agree to it. No point paying for you all.

And it’s the exact same seats as economy, just with a tray table over the middle one and a movable curtain.

I think what that poster is saying, or at least how I read was, is that you don’t the get flatbeds, loads of extra legroom etc on European flights. It’s all economy style seats, but with extra service perks. And that if this is up for discussion then they must be proposing to go long haul because he would be just as squished and uncomfortable in business versus economy if he was flying BA short haul.

Total waste of money for short haul, the difference in seat size is negligible if that’s what it’s for. There is more flexibility, baggage and lounge access in the ticket, but there’s no point only one of you having that really.

It is only worth it for long haul, and surely it’s going to be uncomfortable long haul even with the upgrade.

I would choose a holiday where you can afford to all travel together.