Business Class - Which Journey?

[pcofmushu]

Would absolutely love to fly Business Class with my partner when we can finally travel to our dream destination. It's looking like 2023 (due to work commitments and other things in the diary).
I'm not sure if the finances will stretch to a return journey in Business Class, so, if you could only fly ONE WAY in BC (outward flight or return flight), which would it be, and why?
It would be a 14 hour flight to Asia.

Tia x

The return....something to look forward to at the end of a holiday ??.

What are the flight times and time differences?

Outbound - start the holiday early, and arrive relaxed rather than frazzled. Especially if it's an
evening departure / overnight flight.

It depends what you prefer. We've gone business class to the states a few times. On the way out during the day I enjoy the food, wine and films. On the way back overnight I enjoy being able to lie down flat and actually sleep.

The return. A night flight to Asia isn’t too bad. You can have enough gin to knock you out and you’re looking forward to arriving. You don’t yet have jet lag.

A flight back to the UK is grim. You’ve nothing to look forward to. I used to get in at about 5am and your body is in another time zone so it’s a hard day.

If there’s an overnight flight do it then so you can sleep on that flat bed.

Also, I don’t know what airline you’re considering but with BA I’ve always found it quite easy to buy discounted upgrades at the airport, it’s a gamble as there has to be space and you can only upgrade one cabin so you’d need to be booked in premium economy to upgrade to business, but can save a lot of money.

As others posters have hinted at it depends to some extent on the timings.

If you are on holiday long enough to end up acclimatized to destination local time and the return flight is a night flight back to the UK with an early AM arrival I’d use the business seat on that sector.

If you do the outbound in business, you might be emailed with a good price to upgrade your return flight at a good deal. That’s only if they have spare seats thought.
Yes for me it sould depend on flight times.

Oh god I so wished I could have flown business on the way back from Boston. I was absolutely shattered but couldn't justify £1000 or whatever it was. Just nearly ended up falling asleep on the drive home instead

Depends on the flight times - specifically the arrival times. E.g. if you take an evening flight out the uk and arrive late afternoon, then you can probably muddle through in economy and just get an early night. Whereas if you take a night flight out on your return, arriving early morning in the uk, then business class would be good for that so that you can sleep and arrive refreshed.

To Asia the outbound, to the US the return as those are the ones you sleep. That way you can sleep and be rested at the other end.

Return for sure if it's a holiday. Outbound if it's a work trip and you need to be fresh upon arrival. Returing from hols is shit so make it as nice as poss. Also you'll forget the shitty flight out in economy once you've arrived at your holiday destination

Asia absolutely the return.

The US absolutely the way out of it is East Coast, way back west coast.

Overnight flight so you can enjoy the sleeping facilities. Singapore or Thai Airlines.

Although the lounge in the operator’s country is normally top notch. Flew with Qatar from Pakistan to UK via Qatar and the lounge was lovely. Qatar airways also have “done when you like” in business instead of set meal times which is a huge plus.

*dine when you like

If it’s a one off splurge then do it on the leg of the journey where you’ll be awake to enjoy it. There’s no point sleeping through the experience.

If its more regular then always on the leg where you need the sleep.

I can see arguments for both but I’d be tempted to choose outbound.

Going out - you’re already feeling happy and excited to be going on holiday. Getting to the airport and using the business class lounge, and then the more comfortable/fun journey out there is like the icing on the cake - you can really enjoy it all as a treat.

Choosing it for the return is more functional/sensible. You’re feeling a bit low that the holiday is over and you’re heading back to reality and work. A glass of champagne is nice, but it doesn’t come with all the excitement of the holiday to come (it’s like a drink on a Sunday night when you’re trying to delay the Monday blues!).

The benefit though is that you might get a reasonable nights sleep (but as this is a one off treat do you really want to sleep through it all?).

I think the return journey is pretty grim whatever you do, so just embrace that. Make the outbound flight feel amazing instead!

@negomi90

To Asia the outbound, to the US the return as those are the ones you sleep. That way you can sleep and be rested at the other end.

I never found it as simple as that TBH..certainly timings (pre-Covid) generally for most airlines serving the Far East out of Europe meant a late departure (on local time) at both ends…so potential for good sleep both ways, especially if ends up acclimatized to local time Far East whilst out there.

As to the point about US flights there are/were an increasing number of US > UK/Europe daytime (and in daylight all the way) eastbound services that don’t really suit those that want to sleep.

Without knowing what possible timings the OP might be looking at/what might be available as the airlines rebuild schedules post Covid it’s hard to provide any advice…

Might not be relevant but a further thought:

If the flights involved are Europe to/from the Far East chances are the eastbound sector (outbound) could be an hour, plus or minus, shorter than the one home due to prevailing winds………

Maybe consider using the comfy cabin/seat for the longer sector?

Return. Got a holiday to recover from the flight (and the excitement of the holiday will spur you on) and you’ll arrive home refreshed and relaxed.

Thanks all for your input! Some very interesting ideas and lots to think about. Tbh, as it is so far ahead, I'm not really sure on flight times. Looking at how flights operate currently, it seems to be an outward flight during daytime hours, and overnight flights to return. Very true that they may offer discounted upgrade for both journies nearer the time once I've booked something!

(I was thinking of flying Qatar Airways, their Q Suites are something else 😍)

Thanks all! X

I was thinking of flying Qatar Airways, their Q Suites are something else 😍

Ahhhhh, well if it’s Qatar Airways to/from Europe to/from somewhere in Asia then as mentioned upthread there’s almost certainly a connection through Doha involved which might complicate the choice even more……..

Anyhow good luck…

If outbound is daytime and overnight is return then to me the overnight is a no-brainer.

@notimagain

I was thinking of flying Qatar Airways, their Q Suites are something else 😍

Ahhhhh, well if it’s Qatar Airways to/from Europe to/from somewhere in Asia then as mentioned upthread there’s almost certainly a connection through Doha involved which might complicate the choice even more……..

Anyhow good luck…

Flying Qatar because of the stop-over at Doha! Absolutely love the airport and the chance to stretch legs mid-journey, so the connection makes no difference for me