Coach Business or First Class

[Semperfi1972]

I am 100% positive this has been asked in the past. I however can not find it.

Flying to WDW from anywhere, what is your preferred seat and why. Coach, Business, or First Class.

I am contemplating First Class Non-stop to start our Magic early. The flights are 4.5 hours this way vs 7+.

Before you ask... money is always an issue lol

 

[mom2rtk]

We're all gonna choose first class.

Cuz we're not paying.

 

[Pooh2]

We go in-between with the Delta more-comfort seat or Jet Blue More Legroom. It is usually an extra $50 per person each way. Hard to swallow when purchasing the tickets but always glad when we get to board early for over-head bin space and of course a few more inches for our legs.
Price out the First Class, sometimes the upcharge is not bad but more often it is ridiculous.
I would rather go More Legroom and spend that money in the parks on fun meals.

 

[supersnoop]

How does the class of service change the duration of the flight?

Are you deciding between non-stop, direct, and connecting flights?

 

[Semperfi1972]

How does the class of service change the duration of the flight?

Are you deciding between non-stop, direct, and connecting flights?

Yes the difference between non stop and direct and multiple stops.

 

[Branflakes]

We are less than a 90 minute flight, so we fly southwest coach. But if we fly 4 or more hours we fly delta and upgrade to at least business. For Stateside flights.
Internationally, business class. First if we have miles for the upgrade.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

If it the flight is a direct flight of four hours or less, I would go with coach. If the flight is longer OR if it requires multiple stops (vs a direct flight), I'd pay extra and fly first class domestically. If the flight is longer than four hours then I would upgrade to first class/business (depends on your originating airport, but our domestic long haul flights are usually in first class), and if I'm flying internationally I will upgrade to business class.

For me it's a combination of how long is the flight AND how many stops we have to make. My other half has sensitive ears and can't handle multiple take offs/landings too well for that reason. So we do pay extra if possible to have fewer connections.

If you are looking for comfort, fewer connections means less hassle and less of a chance for your luggage to be misplaced. (That's still not a guarantee, but your odds are better!) And if you can afford it, first class or business is always more comfortable with more space while you're in the air.

 

[atkinstogram]

Flying less than say, 4 or 6 hours, I don't give a monkeys where I sit. I can fill that amount of time with film and naps and booze easily enough that it doesn't really make a difference to me.

Long haul, I would prefer to fly business/first. On somebody else's dime I'm always going to pick that. On my dime, it's a different story!

I've been very lucky in life in that I've had friends who fly for Virgin and BA and would book themselves onto my flight and upgrade me, plus I've accumulated enough miles as a result to be able to get a couple of freebie flights (which came in VERY handy when I flew LHR-LAX and back). As a gentleman of 6'5" I appreciated the extra legroom..

What sets Upper/First apart for me though is the stuff on the ground. The first time Virgin sent a car for me, checked me in on the way, dropped me off at a private wing, and walked me through a private security channel on my way to the Clubhouse (ten minutes after pulling up at the kerb we were sipping cocktails), I vowed that I'd fly that way whenever I could..

But apparently there's a limit to what I'm actually prepared to pay for that.. *looks forlornly at next Wednesday's economy flights*

 

[seashoreCM]

Paid first class (F) is a bad deal unless you need to book a walk up or unrestricted ticket. There is a significant chance of being downgraded and you only get back the difference between what you paid and the cost of full fare (unrestricted) coach (Y).

There also exists a "first class" fare (usually called A) for a first class seat derived from a built in upgrade. There is a significant chance that the upgrade will be denied and you will be seated in coach.

 

[rwdavis2]

We have started buying first class seats since the prices have come down over the years. They used to run about $4-$6K but many airlines offer them at $1-$2K. But we only buy them from coast to coast.

 

[Semperfi1972]

We have started buying first class seats since the prices have come down over the years. They used to run about $4-$6K but many airlines offer them at $1-$2K. But we only buy them from coast to coast.

Well we are almost Coast to Coast... AZ to FL.

 

[Starwind]

Within Canada and the US we fly "economy plus" by whatever name it goes by. On our preferred airline WestJet (who does not have first class), "Plus" is its own fare category and in addition to the extra leg room of "economy plus", it also includes two checked bags, priority security and boarding, free food and drinks on board, and for most of their planes they block the middle seat, so more room in the row and dedicated overhead as well. And it is refundable.

When flying for personal travel, we book that class from the beginning. If for work, who only pays for normal economy, I will pay to upgrade at checkin if there is availability.

SW

 

[RAD]

One our next trip, a DCL Alaska cruise I looked at the costs of some of the extra's we'd like/want like extra legroom coach seats, luggage charges for extra bags and probably over 50lbs and the restricted first class fare was only a hundred more the what we'd pay.

 

[alliecat523]

First class direct. Definitely. With a lot of the pricing coming down it's worth the extra money.