Advice to First Time Business Class Flyer

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missskybird

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Feb 14, 2013
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Good Morning to everyone! I am new to the AFF Forums and would really appreciate the advice of the 'veteran' flyers. For the first time my hubby and I are planning to fly to London and to fly Business Class (as I do suffer from a medical condition which makes having limited mobility for long periods of time painful). This will probably be the only time we will experience Business Class or travel to Europe so we want to make sure we make the best choices.

Our intention is to fly to London and have some time there and then fly to Rome to go on a Western Med cruise.We have been looking at Singapore Airlines Business Class and it looks amazing.

I would value the opinions of the AFF members both on which airline or any other travel tips they may have.

Thank you in advance
 
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what features are you looking most for? Food and drink, entertainment, comfort of bed/ seat etc. is price a factor?
 
Also do a quick search. Others have raised the same question for pretty much the same route a couple of times now. It comes down to what you want vs price. If price is a factor, mixed class (economy to Asia then business to europe) may be a good idea for you.

If you are happy to split the trip up, you have the option of many many carriers from Asia or the Middle East and Europe that don't fly all the way to AU or code share.

Please let us know a bit more detail.
 
what features are you looking most for? Food and drink, entertainment, comfort of bed/ seat etc. is price a factor?

Thank you for your reply. I guess price is a huge factor but I guess I want it all lol! Comfort is a huge worry for me as mentioned previously. Food and drink would be second. However I do not want to go with one of the lesser known Asian carriers.
 
If comfort is the main factor, then I would strongly suggest Cathay Pacific. I've never found the Singapore Airlines beds to be that comfortable and while the seat itself is well padded, the bed configuration when flipped over is a little strange in my opinion. Cathay had a far superior all round seat.
 
This will probably be the only time we will experience Business Class or travel to Europe so we want to make sure we make the best choices.

Not if you stick around and explore AFF ;)

Welcome and I hope you enjoy Business class!

I would go with SQ, CX, QR, EY in that order...
 
Flying back from anywhere other than the UK will save you more than $350 per person in UK Air Passenger Duty. So maybe fly into UK to start.
 
Flying back from anywhere other than the UK will save you more than $350 per person in UK Air Passenger Duty. So maybe fly into UK to start.
Agreed, first thing I thought when I read this, into LHR and out anywhere else. If price is a serious factor Royal Brunei offer some very good deals from time to time, otherwise pretty much agree with the recommendations.
 
CX or SQ, take your pick. My preference is flying via Hong Kong which breaks up the two legs the best. If having a stopover, Singapore my pick provided you don't have to fly back home overnight. I always avoid overnight final leg flights of less than 8 hours duration.
If wanting to go via the Arab states, EY beats EJ hands down though final European leg shorter than even to Singapore unless you wanted to start in Ireland.
 
Another thing to consider do you want to get the journey over with as quickly as possible, or would you prefer to break it up into smaller sectors? If smaller sectors is preferable, if you are based on the east coast then Emirates maybe worth considering as you can turn the journey into 3x7 hr sectors (with or without stopovers) instead of a 7-9 hr sector plus a 12-14 hr sector. The downside with these Emirates flights is that unlike CX (or SQ SIN-Europe sector) is that not every seat has aisle access, which I guess may be important for you. However this may not be an issue if travelling with your husband.
 
Thank you for your help everyone. I do lean towards SQ I guess my next question is who do you recommend booking with? With the airline direct, Online Booking Agent or Travel Agent?
 
Thank you for your help everyone. I do lean towards SQ I guess my next question is who do you recommend booking with? With the airline direct, Online Booking Agent or Travel Agent?

i would be booking with sq direct. no need to really get a travel agent involved.

but bear in mind SQ is very expensive. It's a great airline, but there is so much better in terms of value out there. Full flat beds are pretty standard these days, even choosing a Chinese carrier such as China Eastern or Air China (although you need to check the aircraft choices, not all are full flat).

Difference in price? could be as much as $6,000 saving based on a couple depending on when you go. And still with the same one stop service.

of course if you get a mixed class fare via Asia, you could be looking at as little as $5000 for both of you, saving even more.
 
Flown in a number of J seats usually via Hong Kong, found the CX seats the widest of all.

Quick airline search here.
 
Where are you flying out of in Australia? Singapore Airlines top notch business class seats are limited to 2 flights a day in each of SYD and MEL, so bear that in mind too.
 
Whats your budget pp for these flights? Business Class to Europe can cost anywhere from about $4k on Royal Brunei, up to $10k on QF.

Once we know how much you want to spend we can advise the best product.
 
Are you wanting to fly straight through or are you interested in breaking your journey. There can be excellent value for some flights out of Asia in J - just takes a bit more planning and you could save thousands of dollars compared to a full fare from Australia.
 
Whats your budget pp for these flights? Business Class to Europe can cost anywhere from about $4k on Royal Brunei, up to $10k on QF.

Once we know how much you want to spend we can advise the best product.

or even less than 4K with Vietnam Airlines (not in the same league as SQ but hard to beat at the price).

I would always book direct with the airline rather than via an agent unless the price difference was huge - some airlines won't want to talk to you directly if you've booked using an agent which might prove tricky if you have a problem out of hours or when you're already overseas.

I would look at maybe breaking the trip up as well, my last flight I had 12 hours in Bangkok so I booked the Novotel at the airport and had a relaxing mini-break there. A couple of days would have been a better idea, particularly as you say you have mobility problems you might really benefit from being off the plane for an extended time. Even in business a long flight from Australia to Europe is tiring.

Whatever you decide to do you will have a great trip - the first time in business is unforgettable. Please be sure to tell us what you've decided to do.
 
Amen to that - it was a fantastic start to our European holiday last year!

Mine was many years ago with Lauda on a (then) new 777. Had great big seats that reclined, but it was before the days even of angled flat-beds. I thought I was in heaven. I didn't sleep a moment of the trip from Sydney to Vienna, I was so determined to get my money's worth.
 
Wow I am overwhelmed with the kindness of you all! We will be flying out of Sydney. Budget? We thought we would probably have to pay about $8,000 each (very expensive I know) but hubby is determined to make this the trip of a lifetime (35th Wedding Anniversary) but of course I would love it to cost less.
I had thought about a flight that would perhaps have a layover of a few hours to give me time to get up and about and stretch my muscles. Having stopped in Singapore I thought that one of the hotels at the airport would be the go. But you have given me food for thought about maybe breaking the journey. I naievely thought that flying Business Class equated to it not be tiring, even to London, I'm guessing that I am probably over estimating how exhausting just the act of flying for that long will be.
I did it once in 1979 on a $500 airfare Sydney to London return and I don't have fond memories of that journey lol!
I really do not want to stop in Dubai or similar and there are not a lot of Asian destinations that interest me as far as a stopover.
Interesting to know about the top notch business seats on SQ limited to two a day. What flights would they be?
Once again I am really appreciative of the advice.
 
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