Business class travel - is it actually worth it?

[redutnrip]

I’m always amazed when travelling at the number of people who seem to afford to fly business for leisure. DH and I earn well but even paying for premium economy seems like a stretch.

We recently went to Joburg for a safari and direct biz flights were £3,500+ and yet the cabin was chokka?

Not sure when other people are flying but we've never found T5 BA lounge too busy. It's been clean and relatively comfortable. Better than some others we've been in! Been in Concord lounge but didn't feel first was worth the cost.

No, you can get points from credit cards, which is what we do. We put all of our spending on our Virgin card (pay it off each month) and we use the points for Virgin Upper Class flights - it usually costs around the same in cash as economy, plus the points. We prefer Virgin UC to BA biz class - lounges and staff always seem much better to us. The downside of Virgin is there are fewer destinations to choose from… think you can use towards partner airlines but it always seems more complicated.
We use ours to travel regularly to friends in different parts of the USA (although will have to look at other destinations as not keen on visiting USA right now!)

Most of my points come from my credit card, some from Sainsbury's and maybe 25-30% from actually flying.

There are different lounges. I went to the one you access through the T5 First Class Wing Wednesday morning and we struggled to find a seat. It felt really busy. There were 6 people in front of me when I queued for the toilet with,maybe, only 5 cubicles available as two were being cleaned.
It all felt clean yesterday though.

At t5 usually the lounge at the b gates is the quietest one.

There's only one BA business lounge and the first class Concord lounge that we've ever used at T5. Nowhere near B gates. Go through security and turn right. Go all the way to the end of the building. I've never queued for a loo. Nor coffee, drinks or food or a chair! The Business lounge has loads of loos. Concord is first class so one would expect far fewer people and loos in it.

One thing we've noticed over the years though is the increased number of business seats in aircraft. The business market seems to be growing so maybe the lounges need to expand?

Agreed! It’s one of the quieter ones at T5.

The really awful one is the one that’s left as you come through security, where there is just the one lounge. Tend to be quieter at the other end of the terminal in my view.

concord room is generally very quiet but I prefer self service, I don’t like having to order absolutely everything.

It is really down to what you value most and your tolerance towards things that you may experience in one class but not the other i.e. space, service, airport experience etc. Of course, affordability comes into it as it does with most things - some people would rather fly for cheaper and spend more elsewhere to match their scale of importance, and that's perfectly ok.

IMO I do not enjoy the stress of the airport check-in, waiting to board in an open and busy space and the thought of being seated in a smaller space for a long-haul flight. I therefore try my best to book seats to avoid these experiences and will pay extra to do so. I travel often long-haul +11hours (not for business) alone with my young child and for them to have more space onboard to play with their toys and lay-down flat makes the trip less painful for us both. The separate airport check-in/ security and lounge access also helps to relax and prepare before the flight (think meals, naps for my child and a quieter space for them to play/ be entertained). With that being said, it is a personal choice and there will be others (adults and children) where this won't be as needed or important.

We have started to book business class if the price is right and if we are crossing multiple time zones (I probably wouldn't do it to South Africa).

The issue is not so much "So many £ for a nice-ish meal and few hours good sleep". It's more that the combination of the right amount of sleep and the right flight timings can mean the difference between being on pretty much normal form from the day after you arrive, versus having trouble getting up for the activities that you have planned for the first 4 or 5 days of your holiday, especially if you are going eastwards. And ditto when you come back.

We came back from Japan on Qatar Airways business class (which is gorgeous) about 18 months ago. On the leg from Tokyo to Doha we both slept 7 hours solid. We got home at about 4pm, made ourselves stay up until 8, went to bed, and the next day we were right as rain, despite 9 hours of time difference. (Strangely, we also find that dealing with jet lag gets easier with age, although whether that's something physiological or just experience and better planning, I don't know.)

My decided he won’t fly economy any more after a particularly awful flight from Cape Town in premium economy last year. I’m not complaining. We are currently in business class on a Qatar Airways flight. It makes BA business class look a bit basic. We are comfortably off but not rich. Having no kids helps.

My DH, that should have been.

It’s not good value but we use for anything over 6/7 hours and especially overnight. Arrive after sleeping and it basically an extra days holiday.

@redutnrip

Same here, I'd rather take two holiday!

am happy enough to do 8 hours in economy on a day flight, but anything longer or if it’s a night flight then business. I can usually get a decent amount of sleep. When children were younger we often had to wake dd up before we landed so no grouchy kids was also a bonus.

We collect Avios points and are doing our first business class flight next month, I'm worried it's going to ruin flying forever 😬

Having done it for work trips to the US for the last 10+ years, I got very used to it - for me it's the ability to stretch out and have your own personal space on daytime flights, and thr ability to lie down/sleep on the overnight returns.

The lounges, meals and freebies don't do much for me.

Now the mortgage is paid off and thr kids have left home, DH and I have started to go BC for long haul holidays too. Means you get the holiday off to a really good start.

Flying business on Qatar to New Zealand later this year. It’s nearly 30 hours. It’s not just the flight itself, it’s the anticipation and the aftermath! It’s 10k return for both of us. A lot of money but worth it to us.

10 years ago when money was tighter, we would have gritted our teeth and flown economy.

Although we could afford business, I don’t think it’s worth it (If I was very wealthy I would definitely fly first! It’s another level up). I would rather save the money for a nicer hotel at the destination - although I can totally understand why people do take it especially the older people like my parents as they can stretch out (they only fly BC nowadays). The lounges are mediocre (especially the BA ones!!) also unless you are in the first lounge. Within Europe business class is totally not worth it

@redutnrip , ‘worth’ is subjective. When my husband and I were young we traveled economy with our boys as they got older and we got a bit more comfortable we traveled premium economy and business.
The ‘worth’ is directly related to one’s ability to afford a luxury.
My husband and I are retired now and we travel economy on short haul although we could easily afford to travel business but it does seem an extravagance. On long haul however we travel business without exception now. We collect AVIOS and have done well accessing reward flights but if that didn’t work we’d pay in a heartbeat. If I couldn’t afford it I’d prioritise my holiday but I can and so my comfortable flight is an extension to my holiday that I appreciate and look forward to. I enjoy all aspects of it but especially a good nights sleep on a night flight.

We flew business out to Mexico City last week as DH could offset the economy ticket he'd been given by work, we've done that a few times transatlantic, I've bid to upgrade transatlantic a few times too.

We paid to go business to Japan.

I like the skipping the lines, I'm a dvt risk (not overweight), I like lying down.

We are flying back in the day premium economy as the business just seemed a bit much for a day flight. I think we'll regret it!

My last two business class flights...a toddler sat with mum next to me. 1st one cried for about 4 hours of the 13 hr flight.

I know some very rich people, more than one couple, with millions in the bank, who would never fly anything other than economy. My dh says that's why they have millions. But I don't get it, why they'd spend 14 hours in an economy class seat.

I have a query about points etc. (I have never flown anything but economy). I am planning a mid-life gap year - split up with partner, downsizing, and employer does a sabbatical benefit. I was going to get a Round the World ticket with one of the code share groups, and a colleague said that if I got a business class RTW ticket I’d have enough points to sort out future holidays for the next few years, and I’d obviously be saving on hotel nights if I did night flights. Would this be correct do you think?

Business for work, economy for personal travel - will prioritise direct flights now over indirect that I used to but direct business still feels too much if I am travelling with the DC

I pay for premium economy routinely if there isn’t more than £125 in it. I also choose business class in the sale, booked a return trip last week, economy was £83 one way, business £121, so I chose business class. Shorthaul, weekend away with DC.