Hacker News Reader

Comment by wenc | Hacker News Reader

That is a brilliant idea especially for couples with children on long hauls.

Not many people will pay for business on their own dime (business class generally not worth the multiplier -- it's a captive market for consultants and the wealthy), but some might consider buying an extra seat an extra seat if the price is right.

View on HN

I can't sleep on airplanes, primarily because I can't sleep while sitting up. Even totally exhausted, I'll fall asleep for 20 minutes at most, before something becomes painful and wakes me up.

It's completely miserable on a transpacific because I arrive so very exhausted.

Still, business is WILDLY more expensive. There's no intermediate step to paying several times more. Is actually sleeping worth a few hundred dollars to me? Yes. A few thousand? No.

Premium Economy is a thing now and I’ve become a die hard. Is business worth $5000 more? No. But I’ll spend $400 more for a person sized seat and better food.

Premium Economy doesn't really solve the problem of not being able to lay down -- I can't sleep well when sitting, even in a Premium Economy seat that has a bit more recline.

But in a lay-flat seat, I can easily sleep for 7 - 8 hours (though still need a couple glasses of wine to kick-start it since bedtime on the plane doesn't usually coincide with my body's clock)

BA has one of the densest business class seats in the business, yet it takes up twice as much space as premium economy and 4 times as much space as business.

A quick look on the Uk-singapore route shows business as 5 times the price as economy.

In theory, it's a good idea. In practice, it's barely big enough for a small child and a relatively small adult.

You still have to be somewhere around 5ft tall else your feet gonna stick out.

Also, let not forget Air NZ joke biz class...

That said I am keen for them to do 20hr flight direct to Europe. Somewhere like Istanbul, Poland or Finland seems feasible from what I researched.

But business is roughly double the price of economy. Do you need to buy an extra seat at the same price, or is it just a small premium available when they think the plane will be underbooked?

It's usually at least 3-4x, not double. On some routes, it's even up to 10x.

Also, here as a couple, you might have this just for 50% more (booking 3 seats instead of 2; assuming price per seat is the same)

Yeah First class on Chicago to Bismarck might be 2x but JFK to Heathrow is an easy 10x

You just need to look for flight sales (like you would for an economy ticket).

Example:

JFK to FRA, business class, A380 lie flat: $1,996USD

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals/1894422-s...

That’s only a 2.3x multiple of the $875 economy fare.

Norwegian is ~$200 single New York - London

Reply on news.ycombinator.com