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- May 1, 2011
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@sparechange, never flew private/business, but I know a bit about this as I researched it some time ago.
Firstly, there's a big difference between private and business. Business class is still dealing with the same BS as everybody else. The only difference is that you get priority when boarding and if it's a good airline and a longer flight, you get a lie-flat seat (and obviously some additional perks like a better meal, toiletries and stuff, but IMO that's not really that important). Other than that, you still have to go through security and still need to be at the airport about 2 hours before your flight.
I personally wouldn't spend money on business class unless it's lie-flat and a long-haul flight (particularly if you want to sleep during the flight). I recently had a 14-hour flight in economy; I bought a seat with extra leg room but it didn't really make the experience that much better (it sucked a lot). Before that flight, I had a 13-hour flight, also in economy, and there were many unoccupied seats so I had the entire row of four seats to myself and could sleep most of the flight. Huge, huge difference in terms of comfort.
Next time for any flight longer than 8-10 hours I'd probably fly business (as long as it's reasonably priced) just to be able to sleep comfortably. As for shorter flights, not sure it's worth the price.
As for private, this is completely different. You don't fly from the same airport than regular commercial flight passengers. You don't deal with airport security, which means you don't need to deal with all the BS regulations regarding toiletries, liquids, etc. Your jet won't leave without you, meaning you don't have to worry even if you're a few minutes late. If you fly frequently, you can save A LOT of time as you can essentially be at the airport just a few minutes before take-off vs at least two or so hours when flying commercial.
For me personally, the only extravagant thing I'd definitely spend money on if I were a billionaire would be flying private. The freedom of being able to travel whenever and wherever you want and not have to deal with the nightmares of airport security would be incredible.
Firstly, there's a big difference between private and business. Business class is still dealing with the same BS as everybody else. The only difference is that you get priority when boarding and if it's a good airline and a longer flight, you get a lie-flat seat (and obviously some additional perks like a better meal, toiletries and stuff, but IMO that's not really that important). Other than that, you still have to go through security and still need to be at the airport about 2 hours before your flight.
I personally wouldn't spend money on business class unless it's lie-flat and a long-haul flight (particularly if you want to sleep during the flight). I recently had a 14-hour flight in economy; I bought a seat with extra leg room but it didn't really make the experience that much better (it sucked a lot). Before that flight, I had a 13-hour flight, also in economy, and there were many unoccupied seats so I had the entire row of four seats to myself and could sleep most of the flight. Huge, huge difference in terms of comfort.
Next time for any flight longer than 8-10 hours I'd probably fly business (as long as it's reasonably priced) just to be able to sleep comfortably. As for shorter flights, not sure it's worth the price.
As for private, this is completely different. You don't fly from the same airport than regular commercial flight passengers. You don't deal with airport security, which means you don't need to deal with all the BS regulations regarding toiletries, liquids, etc. Your jet won't leave without you, meaning you don't have to worry even if you're a few minutes late. If you fly frequently, you can save A LOT of time as you can essentially be at the airport just a few minutes before take-off vs at least two or so hours when flying commercial.
For me personally, the only extravagant thing I'd definitely spend money on if I were a billionaire would be flying private. The freedom of being able to travel whenever and wherever you want and not have to deal with the nightmares of airport security would be incredible.
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