Eurobusiness

[RooFlyer]

In another thread, sudoer wrote:

Friends don't let friends book eurobiz unless part of a status run.

... and I can appreciate why . But is regular Eurobusiness such a no-go area?

The main negative is the ordinary Y seat with the middle blocked. Granted, big negative.

I've just booked CDG-VIE-DBV return in Euro-J for about A$800 on Austrian - route equivalent to HBA-SYD-BNE return and with a similar price to a decent VA J sale fare for that route. Y would be about A$400 for middling flexibility class for the same flights. Croatian Euro-J direct was about A$1,100

I only have Silver status on Star Alliance, so with Euro-J I will get lounge access at CDG, VIE and DBV (if there is one); priority boarding, extra carry-on (also checked- not needed), priority security where available, better catering and of course will earn extra KrisFlyer points. The extra carry-on is important, as I have a lot of cough I cart around with me on international itineraries.

So, am I being crazy/extravagant?

Anyone else who is OK to take EuroBusiness?

(BTW I tried on 4 FF programs to get an award seat - SQ didn't offer any on the day I wanted; Alaskan and Qantas wanted to put me on AY via Helsinki and Aeroplan wanted to put me on Turkish, with an overnight strop in Istanbul.)

 

[WilsonM]

To me, it's more a question of why you choose to book Business Class (in general) - are you booking for the extra food, priority boarding and lounges, or for the more comfortable seat?

For me at least, I don't really care for airplane food, I kinda care about lounges (but Priority Pass exists), and I really care about the seat - so I'll book an extra legroom seat in Y, and save money. Euro J doesn't offer much more legroom (if at all), and exit rows are often the last to be allocated anyway so there's a decent chance no one would be next to me.

As such, I'm usually quite happy to fly ULCC's, and then get their 'priority package' - includes priority boarding and an extra carry-on, and then just pay for the exit row seat.

Obviously in your case, the extra carry-on on the full service carriers might be something you can only get in J, and if that's a game changer, then paying a bit extra for the other benefits might be worth it. The status credits or elite miles earned are nice as well. But I don't really value the food or priority a great deal, and the lounges can be solved for a lot cheaper than the $400 premium you're paying IMO.

 

[Forg]

I think what @WilsonM said covers most of it ... except I guess to highlight that you don't only get extra carry-on, you're sharing where you stash that carry-on with 2/3 as many people; so even if you could pay extra for extra carry-on(*) in Y it could still be a fight finding somewhere to put it once you get onboard.

Would checking reviews of the Star Alliance J lounges in those airports help with the decision, if it's a drink & a snack & somewhere to relax that you'd like?


(*) I don't know if this is possible but I do know extra checked luggage is super expensive in general - when my sister didn't check the conditions & thought she had a 20kg allowance SYD-LHR & it turned out she only had 10kg, the extra 8kg or so was VERY expensive - I remember doing unaccompanied baggage instead & that was ~$1k 25yrs ago & was cheaper than paying extra for checked/

 

[Pushka]

We flew twice with BA in the last week or so, one in J, one in Y. In the Y row we had the middle seat spare anyway! Like others, airplane food leaves me cold so we still got the benefit without the payment. As it's one world we were boarded early anyway. Having said that, I think I had the best meal on the J flight - it was afternoon tea and they served sponge cake, scones, jam and clotted cream, g@t and hot tea. The bestest and I ate it all!

However I am fighting with Qantas to get my SC and points for the J flight.

 

[Gold Member]

(BTW I tried on 4 FF programs to get an award seat - SQ didn't offer any on the day I wanted; Alaskan and Qantas wanted to put me on AY via Helsinki and Aeroplan wanted to put me on Turkish, with an overnight strop in Istanbul.)

I’ve found Lifemiles offer good availability in business intra-EU especially via the LH group (LH, OS, LX) and TK.

 

[Quickstatus]

it's more a question of why you choose to book Business Class (in general) - are you booking for the extra food, priority boarding and lounges, or for the more comfortable seat?

None of the above with respect to Eurobusiness...

Primarily because it was Cheaper than economy

 

[jase05]

We always fly Eurobiz when over there. Last trip we flew 9 legs of Eurobiz and whilst not great it’s still better than Y. I hate sitting middle seat in Y hemmed in by other passengers and the majority of flights we went on were absolutely full so Eurobiz was bliss. The service and alcohol is much appreciated and prices aren’t that much more expensive than Y and even if they were triple I’d still probably choose Eurobiz

 

[WilsonM]

None of the above with respect to Eurobusiness...

Primarily because it was Cheaper than economy

In that case, it's a no brainer! Thank you, stupid airline pricing...

 

[elanshin]

The best way to answer this would likely be "do you want to pay $xx_ for QF row 4 blocked middle seat and better inflight meal?"

If Yes - proceed.
If No - find something else.

WIthout status then yes, there may be more value, but I feel as for the most part, it depends on how much that premium is and do I need anything to do with status.

I only have Silver status on Star Alliance, so with Euro-J I will get lounge access at CDG, VIE and DBV (if there is one); priority boarding, extra carry-on (also checked- not needed), priority security where available, better catering and of course will earn extra KrisFlyer points. The extra carry-on is important, as I have a lot of cough I cart around with me on international itineraries.

A bit OT, but TK or UA status match to get *A Gold could also change the equation?

 

[RooFlyer]

To me, it's more a question of why you choose to book Business Class (in general) - are you booking for the extra food, priority boarding and lounges, or for the more comfortable seat?

All of that, and more. For me, its an overall more pleasant experience overall and you are higher up the pecking order when it comes to irrops. Of course if you have status, then that brings most of the advantages of J. In this case, I don't.

Plus, when travelling internationally on routes & airports you might be unfamiliar with (and especially non-Anglo), I think you are more likely to be given assistance, if required. For instance, a FA chatting with you, maybe asking a question to be sent to ground about connections.

I’ve found Lifemiles offer good availability in business intra-EU especially via the LH group (LH, OS, LX) and TK.

Will never touch LifeMiles again after they outright and brazenly defrauded me out of a trip, after seat paid for and ticketed. Had to pay for a long haul revenue substitute. I've told the story somewhere here.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We always fly Eurobiz when over there. Last trip we flew 9 legs of Eurobiz and whilst not great it’s still better than Y. I hate sitting middle seat in Y hemmed in by other passengers and the majority of flights we went on were absolutely full so Eurobiz was bliss. The service and alcohol is much appreciated and prices aren’t that much more expensive than Y and even if they were triple I’d still probably choose Eurobiz

Agree!

The benefits too of being able to take your hand luggage and not have to gate check it.

I don’t mind the blocked middle seat… I actually find it more comfortable than QF’s 737 business class, where the centre armrests are too narrow for me. While euro seat pitch is only economy, being able to move around and use the middle seat space is fine for me.

 

[Quickstatus]

stupid airline pricing...

seat pricing is always dynamic, not necessarily stupid - it's about trying to maximise passenger loads, and sometimes it works in the passenger's favour.

 

[OATEK]

Excluding tag J flights with AY where the final leg into EU is often eurobiz, we have had some really good flights where J is much better than Y. Have flown Aegean ATH - CDG, which was delayed and lounge access was a boon. Did Austrian VIE-ATH where the extra baggage and lounge was not setup. Did a short CDG-VIE with AF where the food was better than QFi and lounge access at that zoo of an airport CDG. Even BA eurobiz was appreciated on a couple of intra-EU flights. But other times Y on BA has been all we needed.