Someone Help me out here!

[Goofy22]

I have a question it maybe dumb but I have no clue why???? We are going to Disney in April with many family members and My SIL and MIL and DN, DN, DN are flying Business class! My SIL insisted since it was there first time flying and one has a particular flare up problem and other has autism. My question is what is the difference between business class and reg coach!? Can you tell I never flown business class??????????LOL!!!!!!!!!!I would think it would basically be the same bang for youre buck! It's one plane so I guess I want to know what are the perks to payin double or triple the regular coach traveling person??????

Airline I believe is airtran and phl-mco dont know the plane size. The service differnce because I figure the service I have gotten on Southwest and Spirit have been awesome and I'm only flying reg coach nothing fancy.

 

[seashoreCM]

Some of the things Business class offers (not all airlines offer all of them)

Seating in a separate sub-cabin closer to the front
More legroom (more distance between seats)
Ability to choose the best seats (including exit rows) at booking time
"Front of the line" for boarding the plane
A free drink or two or three
Less likely to be assigned a middle seat and more likely that the middle seat next to you will not be occupied by a stranger.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[bavaria]

are you asking the price difference, or the service difference?

It all depends on the airline, the route, and the aircraft.

Service:

For United

• A319 a teeny extra bit of space; on a 757/767/777 a lot of extra space
• fresh food meal service, even on a 2 hour flight
• hot nuts after takeoff
• beverage service before takeoff and throughout the flight
• purser and/or FAs who remember frequent flyers
• a full size pillow and blanket on 757/767/777

other carriers, routes and aircraft vary. I fly Lufthansa back home to Germany as they have lie flat beds in business class on an A340. Plus ammenity kits with eyeshades, personal hygiene items, etc. Within Germany its nothing special; seats aren't wider just middle seat is blocked.

Generally, a business class seat will get you a few extra inches of legroom/pitch, and a few extra inches of seat width.

Check out www.seatguru.com for seating info, and your airline's website for meal service etc.

It would really help if you post the airline, aircraft, and route.

Price:

can vary greatly. An economy seat on Lufthansa might go for $900 while a business class seat $6000. On points the price difference is 60,000 points to 80,000 points

On United in North America, business class can be several hundred or a few thousand more than economy.

 

[CarolA]

For a domestic flight from NJ to MCO I don't think it's worth it.

On AirTran the differences are (A) seat size and leg room is a little better. (B) You get free booze. Keep in mind AirTran is not known for outstanding cabin service.

For the flights Barvaria is taking YES it's worth it. The abilty to lie down and sleep for 8 hours is wonderful! LOL!

Also, AirTran sells a lot of upgrades at the gate so you can do it there for less money.

I am not sure how Business Class helps autisum Or flare up (Not sure what that is) I have a friend with a severly autistic child and she flies coach (And if your SIL is afraid they will act up, be warned. As a general rule Business Class travelers are LESS understanding about noisy kids. It's generally busiiness travelers, predominately men and they don't like kids in thier cabin LOL!)

 

[rdsx28]

I was kind of thinking the same thing as the above writer. If the flare up means a lavatory issue you may just want to be in the front closest to the Lav or in the back next to it.If her child is a restless type with Autism who has to constantly be moving around etc. I;m not sure business class is the place for you as it does tend to be professionals traveling and I'm sure the last thing they would want were kids being restless or whinning. I think in coach people may be much more understanding, Good Luck and have a great trip!

 

[cbrfan]

We've flown business class on Airtran. We had bigger seats (great for us Pooh-size people), more legroom, free booze, early boarding, first ones off the plane. I don't think I'd ever actually pay the money to book a business class seat. We just get to the airport early and pay $40-$60 for an upgrade. Or we can use our flight credits.

 

[bavaria]

For the flights Barvaria is taking YES it's worth it. The abilty to lie down and sleep for 8 hours is wonderful! LOL!

Actually, close to TWELVE hours. Combine that with a shower in the Lufthansa lounge on landing, and I am all ready for my connection to Munich and onward 2 hour drive.... I can't imagine doing it any other way now.

But I agree - for most US flights it is not worth it if one is paying the money oneself. On an A319 on United it's almost a waste of my upgrade certificates as my veggie meal rarely gets boarded, and the seat has just a little more space than my United Economy plus seat.

I think that most flights within the US are no longer what one expects from business class. BUT United does serve an ice cream sundae - remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry was in 1st class????

Also, I agree that a lot of travellers in business class are male - most in fact. They don't seem to even like to see a youngish female travelling in business attire - I am routinely shoved out of the way during preboarding. It MAY be different for an MCO flight, but a few weeks ago I flew MCO-ORD on a flight packed with business men coming back from a convention and was again shoved aside. (With apologies to male readers - its just that many male business travellers become a little unpleasant to women when flying; and as Carol says, they really don't like kids. Come read www.flyertalk.com some time! )

 

[CarolA]

I was once boarding a flight from London to Atlanta in First Class and as I was walking to the gate a woman looked at me and LOUDLY said 'they are only boarding First Class' I smiled at her and proceeeded to get on. When she came on sometime later I toasted her with my champagne. Her husband (I assume he was her husband) looked like he wanted to crawl under the plane LOL!

 

[bavaria]

Carol -

The worst is Lufthansa - they use these stupid turnstiles to board, and you haven't been shoved aside until you get shoved backwards and get stuck in one of those....

And usually once each trip I encounter a male traveller who 'helpfully' points out that 'this is the First Class/1k line' just like that woman did.... 'oh really, thanks for the information!'

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Flying Business makes flying Coach in the future difficult to bear. Don't fly business unless you feel you can always fly business.

Don't even think about First!!!

Andrew

 

[canwegosoon]

Since you posted you are on Airtran...there are only 2 types of planes 737/717 each has the following seat width 22(vs 18 in coach), pitch 37(30/31 in coach), also there are on 12 seats per flight they are in a 2 by 2 configuration. The cost seems to be about 2-3 times the price you can get on coach.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

For such a short flight, I don't see why they would pay so much more! The difference won't be noticed that greatly in that short of a time.

 

[Goofy22]

For a domestic flight from NJ to MCO I don't think it's worth it.

On AirTran the differences are (A) seat size and leg room is a little better. (B) You get free booze. Keep in mind AirTran is not known for outstanding cabin service.

For the flights Barvaria is taking YES it's worth it. The abilty to lie down and sleep for 8 hours is wonderful! LOL!

Also, AirTran sells a lot of upgrades at the gate so you can do it there for less money.

I am not sure how Business Class helps autisum Or flare up (Not sure what that is) I have a friend with a severly autistic child and she flies coach (And if your SIL is afraid they will act up, be warned. As a general rule Business Class travelers are LESS understanding about noisy kids. It's generally busiiness travelers, predominately men and they don't like kids in thier cabin LOL!)

Carol having flown coach previously those were my sentiments exactly thats why I couldnt understand why she insisted on flying Business Class! I was confused I thought maybe there was some well kept secret I didn't know about! LOL! My niece has crohns disease and has to use the bathroom sometimes for awhile!!! My nephew is autistic and does sometimes get easily agitated and my other nephew is very outspoken and loud! Thats why I didnt get it as I know they will not drink alcholic beveragess it didnt seem to make any sense whatsoever to me! I'm paying 1/3rd of what they paid flying coach and I refuse to fly business class I don't see the point for a barely 2 hour flight! If I was Bavaria I would definitely fly business class it wouldnt be a question at all! I can totally understand that!

 

[cbrfan]

Maybe they wanted a refundable fare in case they back out??

 

[Goofy22]

Maybe they wanted a refundable fare in case they back out??

I guess that would be an option but I dont think it was because she made it seem like well almost like it was a special thing to fly business class ( plus they had a fare that was apprx $100 cheaper each way that was actually labeled refundable)and since it was there first trip and all the issues that is why she was flying business class and coach was not an option. It didn't make sense to me because of the autistic chld he sometimes is loud and noisy since he only makes noises and doesnt talk. And the other one is just loud and obnoxious and the oldest shes fine besides her crohns disease if she were to have a flare up it was like she was under the impression their was a private bathroom or something I don't know thats the way it seemed. I was under the impression people in business class would be a bit perturbed with these issues etc.. maybe its just me but I know I wouldnt want a screming child or a loud one if I paid almost $400 per trip! Maybe it is just me!!

 

[bavaria]

Frankly, I am concerned that they (your family) will be HIGHLY disappointed with the business class experience on a 717 or 737.

If they are expecting that ice cream sundae, they had better fly United!

Seriously, do they know that they aren't getting much except extra legroom on a two hour domestic flight on a low cost carrier?

 

[bavaria]

From AirTran's website

Welcome to the nation's first and only affordable Business Class. Stretch out in two-by-two seats that offer more legroom, more room in the seat, and all the room your elbows could ever want. You'll even get drinks on the house.

they're not getting much. No wonder 'upgrades' start at $40 per segment

 

[Goofy22]

From AirTran's website



they're not getting much. No wonder 'upgrades' start at $40 per segment

I'm not sure what they know but her mind is set so Oh well!! Theres no talking to her! So she will find out when my MIL says this is no different then coach like we flew the last time we came in 2005 (which was with me and my husband on SWA) .and it cost how much $$$ Oh Well!!

 

[bavaria]

but at least her elbows will be happy!!!

all the room your elbows could ever want

Best of luck, have a great flight - it sounds like you have a good attitude about it!

 

[canwegosoon]

Goofy22 I have to ask is she the type of person that equates money(or the ability to spend it) as power, or how great she is? Because honestly, she could have gotten an exit isle and had all the room she needed, and to the austic child I believe that these planes are a 2-3 configuration, so they could have been 2 by 2 in coach as well. To me this stinks of "well-I ONLY fly business(like big woop phl-mco) or I won't fly at all"
I hope you have a great trip and suffer through your 2 hour "ordeal in coach" with all the style and grace you seen to have! Have a good time

BTW is she insisting on a hummer limo or are you taking ME where she will be come one of the masses again.