Ray51

Some maintain that , of lately , biz-class on most semi-decent airlines is always full , whereas there's often many seats left unoccupied in the Economy ;
- what with the seating on most Biz-class also getting forever more squashed and less comfy ,
- and the "sleepers" not being that great either :
is it worth the difference of 2.000 squids and often more , for a few "free" snax and drinks in the Biz lounge , or should one bite the bullet and pray that Economy will be less than choc-o-block , on such long flights ???
Grateful for any comments !

Max&Ozzy

Personnally, if it's your own money I don't think it's worth it. We'll both get there at the same time, both still get jet lag for days afterwards but i'll be nearly Aus $5k better off. That could be the luxuary car sorted which will be enjoyed for much longer.

graham

Ray51

Thanx!
Still , it would be nice to know if it is true , that often Economy has seats empty & available , to stretch out for 40 winks...
Anyone's recent experiences on this ?

Wendy

We flew out on the 7th July, there was a few empty seats towards the back of the plane both to singapore and then on to Adelaide. I didn't see them in time though

I didn't sleep at all on the planes, but the OH did. My lack of sleep was mainly due to the kids than lack of comfort though. OH took two bottles of coke (with bacardi in) which helped him sleep. I nearly gave some to the kids, but he'd drunk it all

rugbymad

Hi
We flew Jal in April,heathrow to Brisbane via Osaka and Tokyo on the return.
Flew economy with no problems really aprart from the food!! (fussy kids)
There were spaces about on all legs of the flight and to be honest it was ok.watch a film have a kip,read a bit have a kip,eat kip land job done.I work 12 hour shifts and can seem to cope with the boredom etc,i think as long as you can switch off and get up and have a stretch now and again it's worth saving your money.

rugbymad

Hi Wendy,
good to see your safe and well,are you loving it??

Wendy

Yep, totally loving it. I feel like I belong here already.

Hows things going for you?

rugbymad

waiting for request for meds /xrays etc,didnt frontload just thought we'd ride it out,give us some time etc.So glad your happy out there,do you still have my email addy,be easier to chat if you like,promise not to pick your brains no more!

Wendy

I have still got it, but I've just looked at my e-mail and I have 800 messages to get through before I get to yours

PM me it and I'll chat to you next time we're both on. I'm off to bed now cos it's 11:10 and we have to be up at 7am to get kids sorted for school.

I don't mind if you want to pick my brains

ClareBear

Hiya
We flew in April (Malaysian) and there were empty seats - if you want to try and get them best to sit in the last few rows at the back, in the middle section! They always fill planes up from the front, and this advice has served us well on various long-haul routes.
Clare

Swerv-o

I don't think so. I flew here with United via San Francisco last week, and it was perfectly comfortable in economy. Particularly on the LHR to SFO leg, as they use a smaller plane (777 I think), which psyhcologically(sp?) removes that feeling of being rammed in to the rafters. If a plane had them.

One thing that did shock me was being asked to pay for alcohol on the flight! Apparently all carriers do now - When did that happen?

S

Wendy

We didn't pay for anything on the flight here with Singapore Airlines

Amazulu

No they don't. It's onl yon US carriers. Asian, Aussie & European airlines do not charge for alcohol.

I personally don't think it's worth paying for BC (Ok if someone else is paying). I got upgraded on a BA flight to South Africa a few years ago. The seat folded down flat into a bed. I still couldn't sleep. The next morning I felt the same (knackered) as if I had flown in economy.

Not worth it if it's your money IMO.

Swerv-o

That's a fair point. I had an upgrade on JAL a couple of years back, and it was exactly the same story. Couldn't sleep properly, the lay back seat/bed thing isn't really that comfortable, so arrived feeling like poo again. I say just endure it for 12 hours. What's 12 hours? You could spend that long in a jam on the M25!

It's just like first class on the train - Same train, same leaves on the line, same wrong type of snow equals same delays...

S

telelynx

Australia - Singapore often has empty seats, Singapore - LHR tends to be busier, I've travelled to and from Oz 20 odd times in the last 15 years. The flight is boring wherever you sit. I think if you're organised and relaxed you would only notice the difference in cost - if you fly regularly - stick with one airline, I use Singapore, they're always good and helpful - every 5th flight gets an upgrade on points