Is business class worth it and how early to do you book

I'm starting to look at flight options for our cruise out of PR in November. We will be flying from Spokane, WA. I've been debating on business class for a couple of reasons 1) it looks way more comfortable with two seats instead of three. Since BF likes this window, I always get stuck in the middle seat and I HATE it. Very cramped and have to climb over somebody if I need to use the restroom, so with business class, we could both get what we want. 2) I can get it for a fairly decent price right now.

Now for my second question, how early do you book your flights? I've booked far in advance before, and it became a nightmare with them changing our itinerary and me having to keep calling them and having them fix it. However, I'm also afraid of waiting too long and not getting the flights that I want and have the prices sky rocket.

Booking our flights is one thing I despise ( right along side flying itself:p:D), because I always stress when to buy, pricing and all that. So any input will help tremendously! Thanks in advance :)

What airline has business class for this routing?

Oh sorry I forgot to mention the airline! We are looking at American

No one knows if it's worth it to you, but you. I didn't see any flights next November, GEG-SJU, that don't have at least two connections. It's harder to enjoy the business experience with several small hops. I picked the dates Nov 4 - 19th, and see coach on AA is $569 versus business at $920. To me, the extra $700 for two people is just not worth it.

IME, prices for business tend to be much more stable than economy prices. If you want to book, I'd book when I saw a price I was comfortable with.

AA offers pretty good value on SEA-SJU round trips in premium cabins. (I haven't checked out of GEG and don't know if you'd be willing to drive to Seattle.) For this coming November, round trips in first/business are $793 and coach is $474 - $525 for the same days, which is a steal considering it's a bloody long trip. I'd book flights right now; the fare has been known to spike up to over $1000.

Try to go for itineraries that don't change planes in Charlotte or Philadelphia. Those routes will likely involve former US Airways planes, which are lacking most amenities in first/business class, like any in-flight entertainment etc. Instead try for plane changes in Miami, Dallas or JFK, where you'll have higher odds of getting ex-AA legacy planes. AA is integrating US' fleet, so things might change on this front by November, but it's worth considering.

(Note AA calls its front cabin "first class" within the 50 states but "business class" to the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico, but it's the same seats and service.)

AA offers pretty good value on SEA-SJU round trips in premium cabins. (I haven't checked out of GEG and don't know if you'd be willing to drive to Seattle.) For this coming November, round trips in first/business are $793 and coach is $474 - $525 for the same days, which is a steal considering it's a bloody long trip. I'd book flights right now; the fare has been known to spike up to over $1000.

 

Try to go for itineraries that don't change planes in Charlotte or Philadelphia. Those routes will likely involve former US Airways planes, which are lacking most amenities in first/business class, like any in-flight entertainment etc. Instead try for plane changes in Miami, Dallas or JFK, where you'll have higher odds of getting ex-AA legacy planes. AA is integrating US' fleet, so things might change on this front by November, but it's worth considering.

 

(Note AA calls its front cabin "first class" within the 50 states but "business class" to the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico, but it's the same seats and service.)

I have looked into flying to SEA. I need to factor in the cost of the flight to GEG and also a hotel stay since we would need to fly into Seattle the night before our flight to SJU. I'm mainly looking at making the entire trip more comfortable, especially not being stuck in a middle seat. Thanks for all the other tips as well! I will try to keep that in mind and need to check prices out of SEA again because I don't recall seeing them that low.

No one knows if it's worth it to you, but you. I didn't see any flights next November, GEG-SJU, that don't have at least two connections. It's harder to enjoy the business experience with several small hops. I picked the dates Nov 4 - 19th, and see coach on AA is $569 versus business at $920. To me, the extra $700 for two people is just not worth it.

 

IME, prices for business tend to be much more stable than economy prices. If you want to book, I'd book when I saw a price I was comfortable with.

Fly to anywhere from GEG can be a real nightmare with all the plane changes we would have to make. I'm just looking at trying to find a way to be more comfortable in the way. We will be flying out in November 5th and returning on the 20th

It would not be worth the drive to Seattle to save this small amount of money, especially adding time, gas, wear and tear on your car and parking. I also must note I hate that drive.

I'd just book from GEG. The price seems reasonable to me.

It would not be worth the drive to Seattle to save this small amount of money, especially adding time, gas, wear and tear on your car and parking. I also must note I hate that drive.

 

I'd just book from GEG. The price seems reasonable to me.

I'm with you when it comes to making that drive. We go over there regularly to visit my mother who lives a ways north of there and I always dread it. Even though we would fly instead of drive, the savings wouldn't be enough to warrant the extra hassle. I'm just trying to decide if I want to pull the trigger now or wait.

As mentioned elsewhere, Business and First class fares don't vary much. While on a given day/flight, coach can vary widely, Business and First seems to rarely move much. I wouldn't wait to book- you are likely only limiting your choice of seats.

"Worth it" is a strictly personal decision only you can decide. We are in a position, after many years of flying coach only, to now fly First and Business, only. And we don't regret it a minute. As you get older, and the body takes a beating from things like coach flight...Business or First is definitely worth it to us.

My de facto cabin when flying domestically is F and I find prices really don't vary nearly as much as those in economy. You have less fare "buckets" so can sometimes book relatively last minute and fares aren't hideous.

Whether it's worth it is up to you and really is a personal decision...6rugrats says they wouldn't pay $350 extra per person on your itinerary...I just paid $300 extra per person over Y to fly F between NYC and Chicago (return). To me it's just a better, more satisfying experience. Even with my top tier elite status benefits flying economy can be a trial, F just makes each piece of the journey a little better and when you price your itinerary out per hour of travel it's really not very much per hour over Y.

Try to go for itineraries that don't change planes in Charlotte or Philadelphia. Those routes will likely involve former US Airways planes, which are lacking most amenities in first/business class, like any in-flight entertainment etc. Instead try for plane changes in Miami, Dallas or JFK, where you'll have higher odds of getting ex-AA legacy planes. AA is integrating US' fleet, so things might change on this front by November, but it's worth considering.

This I would generally agree with although I have seen AA putting the A330s on the PHL-SJU flights with some regularity so that's the old Envoy Suite thing...

Other than that I would generally agree with sticking with Gardyloo's advice....some of equipment is starting to get more mixed up but I do find the difference between AA's and US's equivalent aircraft in F to be pretty obvious; more legroom, in-seat power, newer seats, etc.

As mentioned elsewhere, Business and First class fares don't vary much. While on a given day/flight, coach can vary widely, Business and First seems to rarely move much. I wouldn't wait to book- you are likely only limiting your choice of seats.

 

"Worth it" is a strictly personal decision only you can decide. We are in a position, after many years of flying coach only, to now fly First and Business, only. And we don't regret it a minute. As you get older, and the body takes a beating from things like coach flight...Business or First is definitely worth it to us.

Well I just went for it and booked our first business class flights :). Yay no being stuck in the middle seat for me!

My de facto cabin when flying domestically is F and I find prices really don't vary nearly as much as those in economy. You have less fare "buckets" so can sometimes book relatively last minute and fares aren't hideous.

 

Whether it's worth it is up to you and really is a personal decision...6rugrats says they wouldn't pay $350 extra per person on your itinerary...I just paid $300 extra per person over Y to fly F between NYC and Chicago (return). To me it's just a better, more satisfying experience. Even with my top tier elite status benefits flying economy can be a trial, F just makes each piece of the journey a little better and when you price your itinerary out per hour of travel it's really not very much per hour over Y.

 

This I would generally agree with although I have seen AA putting the A330s on the PHL-SJU flights with some regularity so that's the old Envoy Suite thing...

 

Other than that I would generally agree with sticking with Gardyloo's advice....some of equipment is starting to get more mixed up but I do find the difference between AA's and US's equivalent aircraft in F to be pretty obvious; more legroom, in-seat power, newer seats, etc.

Thank you for the helpful advice. I just decided to go for it and booked business class for our flights. My main gripe when flying is being stuck in the middle seat and the terribly uncomfortable seats. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference in experiences will be :)

I looked in the meantime and it seems like flights out of GEG are around $100 more than out of SEA, so counting the drive (which I too am not fond of, especially in November) and the cost of parking at SEA, it's a no-brainer.

I assume your basic choices on routes out of GEG on AA are to Phoenix, then somewhere else for a second plane change. That likely will put you on ex-US metal for the first two flights, then maybe AA metal for the last leg.

Well I just went for it and booked our first business class flights :). Yay no being stuck in the middle seat for me!

Good for you! I refuse to choose a middle seat (sometimes I don't have a choice such as when standing by for an earlier flight) and am perfectly happy to sit across the aisle from DH when we travel, or take the aisle to his window and not talk around the person in the middle. We can catch up when we land.:)

Enjoy your trip!

I booked our LAX-SJU first/business last November for our May cruise at approx $1400 for the two of us...now not even one of us could fly for that price...Glad I booked when I did....Now if AA would just stop making changes to my flights and seats :eek:

Since BF likes this window, I always get stuck in the middle seat and I HATE it. Very cramped and have to climb over somebody if I need to use the restroom,

 

I've booked far in advance before, and it became a nightmare with them changing our itinerary and me having to keep calling them and having them fix it.

No reason be to be stuck in a middle seat in coach. Just book the window for BF and the aisle for you. If BF gripes about that, book him the middle. No reason YOU should always have to suffer in the middle seat because he has to have the window.

Booking flights far in advance always means things could change but it shouldn't be a "nightmare" to call and fix it. It's simply the trade off for, theoretically, locking your seats in at decent price. Just my .02

You know...you don't HAVE to book the middle seat! You could book a window for the friend, and the aisle for you! Always a chance (albeit, small) that no one will book that middle seat!

Hubby and I will both book aisle seats...same row....so that we have a bit of "elbow" room! No law says you have to sit side by side!

You know...you don't HAVE to book the middle seat! You could book a window for the friend, and the aisle for you! Always a chance (albeit, small) that no one will book that middle seat!

Hubby and I will both book aisle seats...same row....so that we have a bit of "elbow" room! No law says you have to sit side by side!

We have tried to book the window/aisle many times and stress out as passengers come down that aisle at boarding :eek:

Sometimes it works that the middle seat stays empty but more often lately it hasn't worked.

Usually that middle seater will happily trade our aisle or window...we decide which to offer depending on a few factors ;)

Now if I can't fly first/business I'll try to book according to the configuration...but darn when they change aircraft.

DH & I sit in opposing isle seats when we fly coach.

I looked in the meantime and it seems like flights out of GEG are around $100 more than out of SEA, so counting the drive (which I too am not fond of, especially in November) and the cost of parking at SEA, it's a no-brainer.

 

I assume your basic choices on routes out of GEG on AA are to Phoenix, then somewhere else for a second plane change. That likely will put you on ex-US metal for the first two flights, then maybe AA metal for the last leg.

I was noticing that too. Oh well, atleast I got what I wanted :-)

No reason be to be stuck in a middle seat in coach. Just book the window for BF and the aisle for you. If BF gripes about that, book him the middle. No reason YOU should always have to suffer in the middle seat because he has to have the window.

 

Booking flights far in advance always means things could change but it shouldn't be a "nightmare" to call and fix it. It's simply the trade off for, theoretically, locking your seats in at decent price. Just my .02

He just feels more comfortable being able to see out the window is all. I've just had bad experiences trying to fix changes, one time the airline messed it up so badly, we almost couldn't board our next flight:eek:. Needless to say I refuse to fly on said airline again ;)

You know...you don't HAVE to book the middle seat! You could book a window for the friend, and the aisle for you! Always a chance (albeit, small) that no one will book that middle seat!

Hubby and I will both book aisle seats...same row....so that we have a bit of "elbow" room! No law says you have to sit side by side!

That's very true, it would just be awkward for us to not sit next to each other lol. I usually bring something along to keep us entertained for the duration of our flight

Some great fares to Paris and London

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-02-19/flight-deal-of-the-day-business-class-to-london-for-1100?mbid=nl_022116_Daily&CNDID=22891270&spMailingID=8568768&spUserID=MTIzMjU5NTk0NzYxS0&spJobID=862048432&spReportId=ODYyMDQ4NDMyS0

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Now for my second question, how early do you book your flights?

One consideration with buying F is there are typically only 12 to 16 seats so 6 to 12 pairs. You have to frequently check your desired flights and look at available seat maps to see availability of a pair you want (e.g. no bulk head) or singles causing lack of pairs. If you see around half the seats left or 3 pairs you should buy to not risk getting locked out or a big price jump for the last few.

I usually price it out for 1, 2, 4 and 6 seats to see if the higher count gives a higher price tipping me that I am running out of lower priced seats. AA's site will warn X seats left at $X. Your trip for 2 = $919, but ask for 4 = $959. That rule is not always true, you may be able to buy 2 @ $919, then also get 2 more at $919, but you don't know until you really do it.

Look at one of the seat sites like Seat Guru or Expert to avoid bad seats, like in some DC9 MD88 configs the last row of first 2-2 and coach 2-3 is undesirable.