Long Haul Flights - Different classes of cabin

Oh and PE also have double the baggage allowance which is absolutley essential for a trip to the States with my missus :p

amen to that ;) had forgotten about that all so important perk. Great for buying bargain suitcases in wallmart to bring back loads of goodies
:D

A lot of people do it for the perceived prestige. I can spot them a mile off. They strut through the lounges and around the business cabin trying to catch everyone's attention. Saying "Look at me" without opening their mouths. They're usually the ones who pollute the lounge with their ridiculously loud and unnecessary mobile phone calls.
"Hi it's me. I'm in the BUSINESS LOUNGE. Yeah we're really being pampered here." and then the conversation will tail off onto something about a flash car or house, something that they don't have but like to make everyone else think they have.

I had a different experience. But then i was going to orlando so the flight was full of holidaying families. Not a laptop, mobile or cheap suit in sight.
 
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I'm not sure I'd fly anything other than economy class unless:

a) I was made of money
b) Someone else was paying

I find the flight goes pretty quickly (though I've not flown more than about 10 hours). I'll usually sleep and/or read a book while listening to my iPod. I've sometimes fallen asleep before we've taken off!
 
IIRC Virgin's "Upper Class" = Business on BA. BA's First Class is above anything Virgin offer.

If I was paying out of my own cash I would always chose BA Premium-Economy :), as Business and First are out of my range :'(

Fortunately however dad's got a gabizzillion BA air-miles, so I've now become rather used to flying BA First Class :cool:....
 
I've sometimes fallen asleep before we've taken off!

^win.

This is why I don't pay for special seats, I'm asleep within 10minutes much to the dismay of my mrs.

However, if/when I ever get the chance to be in upper class I don't think i'll be doing much sleeping.
 
I never sleep on flights so on a 10hr return overnight flight in very cramped conditions is not a nice experience
 
amen to that ;) had forgotten about that all so important perk. Great for buying bargain suitcases in wallmart to bring back loads of goodies
:D



I had a different experience. But then i was going to orlando so the flight was full of holidaying families. Not a laptop, mobile or cheap suit in sight.

Sounds even worse, like a longer version of a flight to Benidorm!
 
[TW]Fox;17023367 said:
Just think, had you flown Economy instead (I've paid £900 for two economy tickets to LA with Virgin)

What website was that with by the way ?

LA appears to be cheaper than Orlando to fly, probably to due to it being such a british tourist magnet.

I can alomst match your £900 to LAX searching the usual websites , but for Orlando the best I can do is about £600 each - which is £1,680 for all 3 of us (inc. 1 child)

[TW]Fox;17024304 said:
Sounds even worse, like a longer version of a flight to Benidorm!

and thats what makes PE worth the extra £700 or so


I would imagine a Florida flight to be absolute hell

It usually is downstairs in economy :D But upstairs was lovely and quiet.
 
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Might do a fly drive instead next year. Fly somewhere cheaper and rent a car and drive to disney instead of flying direct to orlando, as its £600 to Orlando with Virgin on economy.
 
disney at LA is crap though, has half the stuff that FL. does. Theres so much stuff we didnt get to do last time. Little 'un wants to go to Harry Potter world at Universal Studios, i want to go on the Rock N Rollercoaster at univeral that was broke while we where last time, we want to go on the Space Mountain ride that was closed for refurbishment while we were there last. We also didnt really get time to do the Florida Keyes etc..

Still so much to do different 2nd time round.
 
I've flown business class to and from Japan on JAL a couple of times.

For me it was worth the extra money for reduction of hassle at check-in and security (10mins from arriving at Heathrow we were through and in the lounge), the larger more adjustable seats which made it possible to actually get some sleep (JAL business class has extremely adjustable seats which almost go completely flat), the extra leg room (I could not even touch the seat in front stretching my leg out as much as possible ... the person in the non-aisle seat could get past without the aisle person moving) and the improvement in onboard catering.

Also depends on whether you see the flight as part of the holiday or if it's just your transportation to the holiday.

Edit: Not that I had that much problem flying Virgin Economy to the US, but that was 8 years ago ....
 
[TW]Fox;17023367 said:
I amazed you thought £2,300 for 3 tickets to the East Coast of America was good value. You must have money to burn if you considered it was worth the expense for what isn't a particularly long flight (It's what, 9 hours?).

Just think, had you flown Economy instead (I've paid £900 for two economy tickets to LA with Virgin) you wouldnt have had to sell your Vectra because it needed a clutch :p

I just dont think the extra classes of travel are worth it until you are wealth enough for the extra to be a non-issue. I'd just keep wondering how I'd rather have spent the extra whilst on the trip, not getting to the trip. Or in your case spent the cash on other stuff!
OMG I actually agree with Fox for about the first time ever.

Esp. on the bit about wondering what else you could have spent the cash on.

£2,300 is a LOT for 3x tickets to the East coast! My wife and I are flying to Brazil during Carnival next year for £900 for BOTH of us... so that's about half per- person of what you paid for a considerably longer flight.
 
£2,300 is a LOT for 3x tickets to the East coast! My wife and I are flying to Brazil during Carnival next year for £900 for BOTH of us... so that's about half per- person of what you paid for a considerably longer flight.


is it ? ;)

This is Orlando remember.

Its actually about £200 cheaper (each!) to fly all the way to LAX for petes sake. Just because of how popular disney is with british holidaymakers.
 
Whether it's expensive depends entirely on the time of year you're going.

Certain airports, to certain other airports at certain times of year can be very cheap.

If you need to go at a specific time of year, from a specific place, to a specific place the cost creeps up.
 
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