Make your next flight an ¨Economy¨ experience, regardless who you are.

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juddles

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have been a lucky person in recent years and have been able to achieve J travel for all long haul flights. (BTW my personal definition of ¨long-haul¨ is currently anything over 2 hrs.) And part of the reason for my ability to travel well is due to knowledge gained here in this fórum- my personal economics would never have achieved this.

I have never been one for spending on J for short legs - I pay for my own tickets and am not a rich bugger, so the difference is just completely unjustifiable for these hops.

But have been quietly happy cruising back and forth across the Pacific, Antarctic, and within South America on a combination of LAN and QF on 747´s/767¨s/A340´s, and Avianca A330´s, all in J. And I truly enjoy each flight. But i think that through repetition, I had lost the ability to really appreciate the difference that J travel is.

This morning I did MDE-BOG-MIA in LAN, but in Y. Family holiday thing. And I hated it.

I know that BOG-MIA is only just over 3 hrs, but it was for me a very uncomfortable experience. Row 42. (The pathetic LAN website was not working - usual - and would not recognize QF WP status, so would not allow me to select good seats) I am 6´7¨ and their seat pitch STINKS. The ¨lady¨ in front of me insisted on full recline from boarding til deplaning. The tiny IFE display, which is meant to tilt up to allow viewing when the seat is reclined, refused to do so. So could not use it. Etc Etc. Won´t bore you with the details of all the unpleasantries that go with Y flying, we all know them.

But what my point is, is that next time I am in J, I will actually appreciate it again!!

I think for those of us lucky enough to travel up the front, please do your next leg up the back to regain the joy of flying J.

For those of you who are unable to always fly J, please don´t stretch the budget to experience J in your next flight. That will just accentuate your pain on subsequent Y legs.

The transition from Y to J should be something that never goes back. But if you have made that transition, do a leg again up the back. Just to remember what it was like!!

 
have been a lucky person in recent years and have been able to achieve J travel for all long haul flights. (BTW my personal definition of ¨long-haul¨ is currently anything over 2 hrs.) And part of the reason for my ability to travel well is due to knowledge gained here in this fórum- my personal economics would never have achieved this.

I have never been one for spending on J for short legs - I pay for my own tickets and am not a rich bugger, so the difference is just completely unjustifiable for these hops.

But have been quietly happy cruising back and forth across the Pacific, Antarctic, and within South America on a combination of LAN and QF on 747´s/767¨s/A340´s, and Avianca A330´s, all in J. And I truly enjoy each flight. But i think that through repetition, I had lost the ability to really appreciate the difference that J travel is.

This morning I did MDE-BOG-MIA in LAN, but in Y. Family holiday thing. And I hated it.

I know that BOG-MIA is only just over 3 hrs, but it was for me a very uncomfortable experience. Row 42. (The pathetic LAN website was not working - usual - and would not recognize QF WP status, so would not allow me to select good seats) I am 6´7¨ and their seat pitch STINKS. The ¨lady¨ in front of me insisted on full recline from boarding til deplaning. The tiny IFE display, which is meant to tilt up to allow viewing when the seat is reclined, refused to do so. So could not use it. Etc Etc. Won´t bore you with the details of all the unpleasantries that go with Y flying, we all know them.

But what my point is, is that next time I am in J, I will actually appreciate it again!!

I think for those of us lucky enough to travel up the front, please do your next leg up the back to regain the joy of flying J.

For those of you who are unable to always fly J, please don´t stretch the budget to experience J in your next flight. That will just accentuate your pain on subsequent Y legs.

The transition from Y to J should be something that never goes back. But if you have made that transition, do a leg again up the back. Just to remember what it was like!!


On long haul flights (for me over 6 hours) I wander the Y cabin. The 10 across on Emirates 777, for example, is plenty enough to remind me of the joy of being in front of the curtain
 
This morning I did MDE-BOG-MIA in LAN, but in Y. Family holiday thing. And I hated it.

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I agree with your sentiments completely.

We are travelling VVI-LIM-MIA in Jan but fortunately found a J fare through Expedia that was only about $35 each more than Y.

I only say this to highlight the importance of looking at multiple sites when booking fares.
 
It has always been Y class for me. If I ever go to London flying Y, I would schedule a good 10 hour sleep in Dubai. :mrgreen:
 
I've done 52 economy flights since january 15, with nearly the same amount to go until december 31, I'm definitely over sitting in Y
 
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I just suggested this to hubby for our flight next month. "Don't be stupid", was his reply.

We've done our dues in long haul Y, we don't need to be reminded how good we have it these days, especially as his ticket is self funded. I can't put him back there, even if I tried.
 
Pre-allocate your seating on all flights as early as possible ie at the time of booking rather than doing it 24 hours prior via OLCI or worse still leaving it until you get to the airport. If the airline doesn't recognise your tier status on their website giving you access to preferred seating (such as the LAN scenario mentioned by the OP) then call up & get them to do it.

Sure it may seem like a hassle at the time but you'll reap the benefits ten fold once on board in your preferred seat. I'd rather spend a few minutes or even half an hour on hold to get a good seat than not do it and put up with a bad seat for 10 hours or more.

If you don't get free seating it may be worth paying to allocate seats on a longer flight particularly if you want window seats or coveted seats like 80A/80K/71D/66A on the QF A380 or the last few rows of the B747 where there's only two seats. BA's A380 that operates HKG/LHR has a 2x4x2 config in whY on the upper deck so a couple may feel it's worth paying for seats to not have a third person by the window who has to climb over them to get out or who they have to climb over if they were on the main deck with a 3x4x3 config.
 
I think for those of us lucky enough to travel up the front, please do your next leg up the back to regain the joy of flying J.

For those of you who are unable to always fly J, please don´t stretch the budget to experience J in your next flight. That will just accentuate your pain on subsequent Y legs.

The transition from Y to J should be something that never goes back. But if you have made that transition, do a leg again up the back. Just to remember what it was like!!
Trying to stretch the budget to fly premium cabins is not so easy.

I don't mind economy but if I had to sit down the back on long haul with serial recliners in front it would be torture. I would use my status to ensure I had the best seat possible.

I will try and avoid airlines where I know I will not be able to get decent seat in economy.
 
Long Haul for us is 5+ hours, usually go in J using either miles purchased from USA airiness (my fav.), QFF points and cash or a combination. IMO 2/4 hours is not long haul.
 
Ok I have taken enough Y class to last a lifetime ! I fly vey infrequently these days and if I do it is to Europe so I will let others do the long haul in Y and get back to us and post it all here. I promise to read every word and when I turn left you will pop into my mind !
 
Im a bit lucky that anything over 3 hours is J, but due to the number of legs each trip i can score most in J. But there is always the "jolt back to reality". Recently could not get CX to Manila so flew PAL. Got a middle of the plane seat and at the gate, got the welcome, "we have another boarding pass". It was the opposite direction!!! Last row, aisle, next to the two toilets. Brought me back to reality very quickly.....

You get use to a bit of a "cocoon life" when you stick with the OW's and SA's, but cross the road a Pt or Au status means nothing, so i agree its good to get a reality check now and then......
 
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