Readers sent two excellent suggestions as a consequence of the business class affair:
1. It would be nice if more airlines had an inexpensive class between coach and business that made it easier to sleep. In fact, British Airways does: Economy Plus. I’ve flown it before, and it’s quite pleasant. This seems like a reasonable compromise.
2. While I don’t feel strongly about coach, I would love to access the business class lounges. When you’re flying 29 hours, a shower in between (not to mention a vodka tonic) helps a lot. Well, now I can. For a couple hundred bucks a year, Priority Pass gives you access to 600 lounges worldwide. I bought mine yesterday. The free newspapers and food means it practically pays for itself…
5 Responses
At 6’3″ (189cm), and most of it legs, I hear you on the lounges and the legroom. Trying to sleep, or do much of anything in coach, including typing on a laptop, is a procrustean experience.
Reflecting on the original debate, perhaps development agencies could fix the currently flawed incentive system, which rewards staff for flying business class with frequent flier miles. Follow basic economic and behavioral principles.
Either make coach (or the coach+sleeping option Chris seems to like) standard and oblige staff to pay for their own upgrade, or provide staff with a concrete motivation to be altruistic.
Current policies allow a voluntary downgrade to coach. If staff had to specifically request business, they’d be less comfortable about it.
Then, make it policy to donate an amount equivalent to the price difference to a specific development programme if they agree to forgo the upgrade. Obviously money saved on travel is in principle available for programming, but this is a vague link in most people’s minds. Concretize it: “would you like an upgrade to business, or would you prefer to put the money toward X number of bednets or vaccinations?” It would be interesting to chart the impact on ticket choices.
I think these points are generally correct, but keep in mind that for some people who are differently sized (either broader or taller), cramming ones self into a coach sized seat can be uncomfortable to painful. For example, because I have longer legs than most, I fill the extra space in “Economy Plus” which means 18 hours in regular coach are 18 hours of compression. I’d hate to arrive in a new country and try to be functional immediately after that.
I would suggest that if one requires a business class seat to sleep in order to preform their work effectively they should 1. Pay for it themselves 2. Look for a new, less taxing, line of work.
I fly 300K plus per year. While I enjoy an upgrade to first or business I don’t find it a deal breaker and would never pay for it myself. An old company that I worked for would pay 50% of the cost difference to anyone that would take an economy seat over the business class seat they were “entitled” to. Business class flying stopped and there was not a noticeable change in productivity.
United also has Economy Plus which goes a long way. (And if you fly on them often as I do, they seem to automatically upgrade you even if you buy a restricted economy ticket.)
I love those lounges. I’m always tagging along with my business class friends.