Booked in March.
I will say this: everyone should take at least one international business class flight some time in their life. Don’t get me wrong- they’re expensive and it isn’t my money- but when you see what flying could be it’s kinda amazing.
ETA. Thanks for the therapy. I was pretty dressed about it. Should be boarding in about 10 minutes
Looking your best does sometimes help a person feel better.
I haven’t done this, but I’ve frequently flown long distance domestic flights in business class within the US and Canada, and it’s certainly been comfortable. I was often impressed and even amazed at the quality of the meals.
I’ve had the pleasure 4-5 times between North America and Europe. I don’t drink, but I love having the lie flat bed.
The bed is a game changer. I show up in Europe pretty much ready-to-go instead of totally destroyed. On my last flight to Heathrow, the make-your-own sundae bar they rolled out was pretty nice too.
Yeah. If you can take an overnight and get a real sleep, you can pretty much arrive without jet lag.
The good thing is I’m the boss, so I decide whether I go business, but I have to stay within budget so I pick and choose when I do. And the price can be all over the map. I once upgraded a premium economy JFK to Tel Aviv to business for $600. Fuck, for that price I’d pay from my own pocket if I had to.
I’ve generally found the business class food on American to be pretty good. I think the seats and beds are better on United, but their food- eh.
I choose to believe that the idea of being able to lie flat on a bed during a flight is a myth.
I cannot believe that something like that can exist.
It is too perfect to be true. Shame on you for spreading such lies!!!
I had enough points to do that once on a trans-Pacific flight. It was unforgettable. If it wouldn’t otherwise cost the soul of my firstborn, I’d do it every time
That’s easy to say when your work is paying for a $10,000 ticket. 
Sure, but this is a really, really long flight. Boston to Brisbane. Over to Europe can be a lot less. I mentioned Israel, but I also once upgraded an economy Boston to Paris ticket for $730 delta/Air France.
And I did say it’s something you should experience, not something to do on the regular. It’s just such a different experience
To not have terrific food on an international business class flight is unforgivable!
Back in the day when I was a frequent flyer, I flew just about all airlines at one time or another, but some of my fondest food experiences were on Air Canada business class. The airline has been disparaged in recent years for various reasons, but boy, back then I had no complaints.
Preparing great in-flight meals is a notoriously difficult challenge – they have to be prepared well in advance, stored, re-heated aboard, and then served as quickly as possible. On top of that, the low humidity and lowered air pressure affects our sense of taste, and part of the catering wizardry is compensating for that. It’s quite the art form, yet at its best, the final result is worthy of a fine restaurant.
Wait, what kind of food are the rest of y’all getting in cattle class? Because I’ve never had a bad meal in economy, flying South Africa to Europe, Asia or the US. That’s been on BA, Lufthansa, KLM, Emirates, Qatar and Singapore (mostly Emirates).
I did. When i flew to Israel, I kept taking little upgrades, and when i got to the airport i discovered i had somehow ended up in business class. Special, faster check in. Great food. (Free booze that i didn’t want.) We didn’t get flat seats, but we had a ton of room. So maybe it wasn’t business class. But it was really nice class, and surprisingly not terribly expensive.
I’m did that once flying to Japan. It’s really nice. But not worth a few grand to me. I did it for flukish reasons that probably won’t happen again.
Those are all international flights, where you do get something in cattle class. I’m not sure what nowadays, but you’d get something.
Here in North America, cattle class gets nothing on domestic flights in Canada and in the US; and even on transborder flights between the US and Canada. Oh, in fairness, you might get complimentary coffee, tea, juice, and soft drinks; and a little bag of pretzels (two, if you ask nicely), but you don’t get a meal.
What you can do is buy stuff, mostly (on Air Canada anyway) from Canadian family restaurant chains. Maybe a chicken sandwich from Swiss Chalet, or a ham-and-cheese wrap from Tim Hortons. Of course, you might complement those with things like a small can of Pringles, or some Christie cookies, and you’ll pay for those too. Alcohol, of course, always costs in cattle class.
And our domestic flights can be quite long. Nothing like having to survive on a Coke and two bags of pretzels (I asked nicely) on a five-hour flight from Toronto to Vancouver.
There’s a reason I fly business domestically and transborder nowadays.
One or more three-course meals for longer flights, at least one for a 7 hour flight like Dubai-Kuala Lumpur, generally a snack as well. Coffee/tea, juices, booze, all free.
Even if you’re flying say NY to LA? That’s a 6 hour flight!
Oh, hell, no. Booze on my flights is free. Remind me never to fly domestic in the US (not that that’s ever likely)
Being mostly povvo and never travelling anywhere except to go camping, in more recent years I have discovered that travelling outside my country (Australia) is actually cheaper than holidaying within. Of course, that has meant economy flights, but whatever.
My bucket-list wish is to fly business class AT LEAST ONCE on a medium-long haul flight. I fucking earned it.
I’ve flown business class across the pond way back when (80s/90s) for work when it just meant wider seats, better meals, and free booze; no lie flat seats back then. I’ve also flown 1st class a few times on smaller flights where it made sense. My favorite was getting bumped into 1st class due to a snowstorm, missed connections, etc, on a flight from DC to SF. It was in the front cabin of a 747, and I remember getting Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dessert.
Welcome to enshittification. Everything is an optional add on for a price.
For cross-country flights on the major carriers, snackboxes and hot meals are available for purchase.
D’oh! Thank you. I did read your post, but somehow that bit went right over my head. Sorry to be obtuse.
A couple months ago I took a cruise that started in Norway, landed in Amsterdam, and debarked in London.
The UK has an ETA which began at the start of 2025. The cruise line warned us to get that ETA done ahead of time. But they were spamming so many emails about the cruise at me/us, most of which were upsell advertising, not need-to-know info, that it would have been easy to have skipped right over it.
The EU is in the process of rolling out an ETA system too. Which was also originally slated to start in Jan 2025. But which start date was pushed back at the last minute to late 2026: