Who ‘should’ travel in Premium Cabins?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    SwissExPat
    Participant

    Hello all

    I have a question which I have often asked myself which I hope you can provide an opinion/view on.

    I have often wondered, given the often extreme price difference between Y and J/F cabins as to what should govern the decision as to who is afforded the J/F ticket as opposed to Y, where this is decided by a third party paying for the ticket.

    I limit this to consideration to Long haul (say 5+ hours flight duration).

    It seems that many major Company’s [and I have been subject to these] have a policy on this and employees of a certain grade recieve this ‘as of right’. Occasionally, during periods of an ‘economy drive’ a complete ban is imposed etc.

    Is there a stage in one’s Career where it becomes ‘unacceptable’ to long haul in Y when on a busines trip?

    Welcome your views.

    Rgds P


    Binman62
    Participant

    It should be entirely a matter for those paying the fare.

    What needs to be remembered however is that premium fares are hugely discounted for major corporate clients who often in reality pay little more very often than a discounted y to fly J or even F.


    Bruce98
    Participant

    “Is there a stage in one’s Career where it becomes ‘unacceptable’ to long haul in Y when on a busines trip? “

    Yes, but whether people can do anything about it is another matter.

    I’m lucky to get premium long haul (business over 5 hours, first over 10 hours) and realise how fortunate I am.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    “Binman62 – 17/09/2012 20:58 GMT

    What needs to be remembered however is that premium fares are hugely discounted for major corporate clients who often in reality pay little more very often than a discounted y to fly J or even F.”

    This is untrue.


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    If an employee is expected to work straight away upon arrival, I think business class is required for the sake of efficiency. First is a perk is my view. In practice though company are often extending the threshold: it was quite common to have business beyond 4 hours. Now it is often 6 or 7 hours… when it is not replaced by premium economy.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    I guess it depends on whose paying and what the traveller is prepared to accept. If a company has an all Y policy then it’s hard to get an exception, and would only cause resentment. A friend of mine works for a large company in Switzerland, and they are expected to fly to Africa, China etc in Y and start work same day or next day if they arrive in the evening. What makes this ridiculous is full Y is often more expensive than C but the system will not allow the C booking.

    A dentist friend of mine in Knysna was given a weeks training in Germany for the use of a new type of implant. He’s 6’6″ and Y was very cramped for him, but the German company explained everyone flew Y in the company, even directors so he put up and shut up.

    I don’t think there can be any hard and fast rule and while we would all love to sit up front at the employers / clients expense I guess the only way to guarantee it is to pay your own fare or upgrade with your own miles.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    VK

    What needs to be remembered however is that premium fares are hugely discounted for major corporate clients who often in reality pay little more very often than a discounted y to fly J or even F.”
    This is untrue.

    No, VK, it is correct and you are wrong, at least in respect of J class. Some published discounted J class fares are lower than the full unrestricted M/Y fares, and when you look at negotiated and corporate fares the gap widens further.


    first_class_please
    Participant

    Capetonianm – Binman said corporates pay very little more than DISCOUNTED Y.

    I work for a major company and can assure you the deals we have which are very good, J class is considerably more than a discounted Y.

    When it comes to full unrestricted Y class then yes, most discounted and restricted J is a lot more comparable.

    Note though, that generally the very lowest discounted fares, I.e I class on BA, do not offer the same discount levels corporates get for C and J class. Generally the higher the starting fare the higher the discount.

    F fares are very small discount levels, based on the amount of seats in the cabin, most airlines don’t choose to offer big discounts on these.

    Our company policy is J for all flights until you become a Manager then it’s F. Regardless of flight length / destination.

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