[icenspice]

I recently read a review of a luxury hotel in Tokyo in the BT print edition, and it got me thinking.

I have done more than a few of these trips…to Brazil, the US, the Far East, South Africa, Ethiopia. More often than not flying in economy and staying in comfortable mid-range hotels for no more than 3 nights, not including overnight flights.

My question is: given the choice, would you rather fly business and stay in a cheaper hotel for the weekend or fly economy and stay in an executive suite?

Of course, there are many variables…destination, time of year, average hotel rates and airline fares etc.

(BTW, which is correct: long haul, longhaul or long-haul? ?)

[EU_Flyer]

It depends on the length of the flight. Up to 5 hours I can fly economy and not feel shattered at the other end, although this depends on whether I get an extra legroom seat / empty seat next to me which can even increase endurance to 7 hours. In that case, I’d fly economy and splurge with the hotel.

If it’s more than 5-7 hours, I’d fly Business and stay in a decent 3/4 star rather than super luxury.

How I start and finish the trip often influences how much I enjoy it. So no point staying in luxury if I spend the trip dreading the flight home, I guess.

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MrMichael

[FaroFlyer]

I would hyphenate

[Window-seat]

I’m with Alex F, If you are doing Tokyo from Europe I’d go business for sure. The Jet lag is messy!

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[MrMichael]

Interesting question Icenspice, a dilemma I often have too. I am with Alex-f on this one, shorter flight and I will go with Economy and either spurge on a better hotel or treat myself while there to something indulgent. For longer flights I now use Ex-Europe fares that while taking longer and still more than double the price of economy mean I do not dread the whole trip. In the past I have done Oz in economy and found I spend the last few days of my trip dreading the flight home thus ruining the last few days of the trip. For some on here the default is business/first. However different budgets dictate what we can and cannot afford on a non essential, so for the likes of you and I we have to consider carefully the fares we can and cannot justify and how we spend our hard earned cash. There is no right or wrong answer, only what you yourself can justify to yourself and partner and that you do not later regret.

Happy travels.

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[PeterCoultas]

It is the new version of POSH as far as I’m concerned. Unless someone else pays it will always be overnight long-haul flight in business and day flight in economy….unfortunately this type of mix and match is one the airlines don’t seem to do well and sadly on leisure trips it is often difficult to find a decent day flight even when travelling east to west.

[cwoodward]

Over the past couple of years Mrs W and I have trod something of a middle path for holiday trips ex Hong Kong. Short haul up to 4 hours = Economy almost always on OW where we have good status and a 70% chance up grade to PE on flights around Asia but always a luxury hotel (rather than super luxury). Long haul up to 10 hours its PE (with good potential for upgrade) Above 10 hours its Business class and again a luxury hotel Shangri-la, Hyatt etc.or super luxury if we can find a deal.

[MartynSinclair]

Shorthaul economy (unless avios and row 1 is available, which 90% of the time it is)

Longhaul – business

This applies to weekends away or business trips..

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[HongKongLady]

I love short breaks, long haul ones especially, but would struggle with looking forward to a holiday if it meant enduring an economy flight of longer than a couple of hours. I always choose a good or above hotel, always check the amenities and reviews however those often need to be taken with a pinch of salt ! I consider the flight as part of the whole experience so business or more is best. Recently I added up how much I have spent on flights or some would say wasted, mmmmmm let’s say it wasn’t an easy number. But hey I have had some good times and long may they continue.

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[EU_Flyer]

HongKongLady – “I consider the flight as part of the whole experience so business or more is best”.

Totally agree! Flying in premium classes makes flying fun for me. Flat bed, big seat. Nice food and wine plus movies/TV and music on demand. What’s not to love!

There is also the space issue. On a recent 9 hour economy sector I had a bulkhead seat so plenty of legroom but the guy next to me was very large. I’m also a big built so it was a recipe for disaster. I’d been looking forward to relaxing on the flight. Instead I could barely move and ended up counting the minutes to landing. At 9 hours – that was a lot of minutes! I arrived feeling tired and drained.

So if you can afford it, flying at least Premium Economy means that you’ll enjoy the experience and arrive feeling great[ish]!

[icenspice]

Thanks everyone for your replies. The general consensus appears to be fly business.

I have a bad habit of booking flights and hotels separately. Maybe I should start looking for ‘package’ deals combining business flights and luxury hotels.

Most people think I am mad when I say I am going to Manila for 3 nights, for example. But this type of trip suits me down to the ground. Clears the cobwebs etc. !!

[Author]

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