Does anyone here actually BUY 737 J tickets at their normal prices?

[smit0847]

There are plenty of threads on this site about the 101 ways to fly J on VA- WP comp upgrades, points upgrades from flexis, upgrademe bids, 2-4-1 CC offer, award seats, J sales/happy hours etc but a recent complaint of the lack of value in a Flexi to J upgrade due to the increasing price of flexis made me think, does anyone actually use their own money to pay the normal price for J on short routes? Is it non-FFers who pay for this because they don't already get all the perks we do?

Do you think there is value in paying $400/$500 an hour? Is there a need for 737 J?

Do work policies in this day in age even allow for J on 1 and 2 hour trips? It seems like such a waste of money!

 

[Jousams]

From what I gather there is also a lot of international connecting in J on certain routes I.e ADL-MEL, OOL-SYD, CNS/TSV-BNE.

 

[EuroKick]

My work certainly do. Except for CBR-SYD and CBR-MEL.

 

[Chief Wiggum]

Your tax dollars are hard at work filling a fair portion of the domestic J seats for pollies and senior public service officials etc. Albeit at a better rate than you and I get via the retail website for cash (now-award) fares. But still essentially the seat is being paid for.

 

[markis10]

The simple answer would be very few, while some say my work does etc, its likely because they have a corporate agreement where rebates are in play, one former employer of mine who was a US based multinational got 70% rebate in ticket price, and I still had to fly Y in most cases.

 

[EuroKick]

Wow. I would love to see that. We still pay a huge amount, and I'm in government.

 

[Chief Wiggum]

Wow. I would love to see that. We still pay a huge amount, and I'm in government.

Are you a Minister ? ;-) That's who I was referring to when I said "tax dollars"... folks at that level.

Edit: ignore me... It's late and I can't words read order properly apparently in tonite.

 

[grubbidok]

Not in academia. We have a Prof here who is allowed to use her budget to fly J on those short routes. It's on dispensation though as she's recovering from surgery, and she'll back in Y once that runs out. Ordinarily J is only reserved for those at executive level, though those full Prof or higher can get it with approval in each instance. Even then it's rare, one full Prof I know high up in the Faculty had to attend a panel, fly that afternoon to SYD-LHR for a day and a half before flying back to teach classes the afternoon of his arrival and was still only allowed to book Y+.

 

[Burrito]

Almost always saver lite for our business with occasional points or plat upgrades

 

[anat0l]

There is at least one member of this site who would pay for J straight up (no, it is not me). Doesn't matter if domestic or international, or how long or short the journey.

Before GFCs and all that jazz kicked in, some travel policies were incredibly liberal. Of course, you had to really justify your travel to a capital T (not a trivial pursuit), but once you cleared that hurdle, premium travel was yours and all you had to do was produce a comprehensive report afterwards of your excursion and justification of benefit to the company.

 

[RooFlyer]

I've clients who stump up for domestic J (which for me always starts with HBA-MEL or HBA-SYD) - QF or VA as schedule dictates. Mind you, there are quid pro quos - like I jump at short notice (incl overseas if necessary).

But to go back to the OP - no, I wouldn't pay full J on a short dom leg.

 

[JennyH]

I have paid many times for J class on short domestic legs (MEL-SYD, MEL-BNE) - it helped me maintain my status. Last year the cost for a business seat MEL-SYD ranged from $369 - $529 (one way). Today, however when I looked, a business saver ticket for that route has jumped to $629 ($729 full price). That is too much for me even if it is for work (self employed) and I will either look at Qantas, or using points to upgrade.

 

[moa999]

I have paid a few times (mostly last minute) when J was only $20 more than the cheapest flexi - mostly on SYD-BNE.
This was happening more last year when VA changed the website such that you had to search for J fares specifically resulting in some cases where Y was essentially sold out but Discount J still available.

 

[Shano]

Our travel policy allows J on all domestic sectors for CEO and CFO only. Other senior executives are permitted J on transcon. Me...Y only domestically.

If my own money, wouldn't pay for J fares.

 

[anat0l]

I have paid many times for J class on short domestic legs (MEL-SYD, MEL-BNE)

That's a good point. Sometimes when you're just short of a status level, some people recommend stumping up for a J fare in cash to make up the shortfall. It's not entirely economic as such, but it can do the job in a pinch.