Why Flying International Economy Coach is Not the End of The World

 

Last week, I wrote about “Why Flying International First Class Doesn’t Make Sense.” Ben, who writes One Mile at a Time, countered my post with “Why flying international first class does make sense.” There were definitely some great comments on both blog posts.

Brian, the infamous Points Guy made a video yesterday requesting his readers for help on “How Will I Survive 21 Hours in Coach?

Brian’s routing is JFK-AMS-CPT with a whopping 9,641 miles in economy coach.

TPGrouting1

Like Brian, I’m a big fan of elite status, but sometimes it’s tough to find that Business/First Class award space. It’s even tougher when it’s last minute, although some bloggers preach that being flexible and last minute can lead to that coveted premium award redemption.

There is one upside of flying in coach. First off, the meal service is very quick. Usually the meals are blasted with heat during the boarding process and the meal carts come out right before Business class even gets their hot towel! After the tray collection is done, you can usually go to bed without flight attendant disturbance. In Business /First Class, you’re constantly hounded by flight attendants for drink refills. You won’t get bombarded with questions in economy.

Here are some of my best meals I’ve had in international economy coach:

JFK-CDG (New York to Paris) on Air France

econmeals1 econmeals2

AMS-LAX (Amsterdam to Los Angeles) on KLM (on two different occasions)

econmeals3 econmeals4 econmeals5

CGK-NRT (Jakarta to Narita, Japan) on ANA

econmeals6

JFK-IST (New York to Istanbul) on Turkish Airlines

econmeals7 econmeals8

Here are some of my personal tips when flying international coach:

  1. Ask at the airport check-in counter if there’s a possible buy up to Business Class. If that’s not available, ask for Economy Plus/Comfort where you get more leg room.
  2. If you failed at the airport check-in counter, try asking the same questions to the gate agent working that flight. Sometimes you can score a great seat by “just asking”.
  3. If you’re stuck in coach, at least get a better seat and don’t be stuck in the middle. Ask the gate agent nicely if there are any better seats available. Of course, elite status helps tremendously in addition to being polite.

I’m a big fan of Brian, but sometimes flying international economy coach is not the end of the world. In the end, all the passengers will get off at the same destination. That’s why we fly, right?

 

About the Author

Points Summary
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3 Comments on "Why Flying International Economy Coach is Not the End of The World"

  1. While I think your point about the destination is valid, I can’t swallow the rest.

    1. Quick meal service that allows you to go to bed is only a plus when you have a bed to sleep in.
    2. Having the flight attendants “bother” you with drink refills is really only a bother if you have a bed to sleep in; otherwise it would be nice to have some service while I’m sitting upright and entertaining myself with movies/reading. And for the record, I’ve never had a flight attendant bother me while I was trying to sleep in J/F for a drink refill.
    3. Those “best” coach meals looked rather revolting and would never be considered a plus in my book. I’d rather bring peanut butter and crackers/bread and make my own food.
    4. You even invalidate your own argument. Your top tip for flying coach is to try to buy up to business at the airport (first at check-in, then again at the gate). So essentially the best advice you can give about flying coach is… Don’t. Pay for an upgrade to business.

    Don’t mean to be a hater, but this post belongs in coach with the crappy seats, meals, and service. If you look at it critically I think you’ll agree. You know better.

  2. While I think your point about the destination is valid, I can’t swallow the rest.

    1. Quick meal service that allows you to go to bed is only a plus when you have a bed to sleep in.
    2. Having the flight attendants “bother” you with drink refills is really only a bother if you have a bed to sleep in; otherwise it would be nice to have some service while I’m sitting upright and entertaining myself with movies/reading. And for the record, I’ve never had a flight attendant bother me while I was trying to sleep in J/F for a drink refill.
    3. Those “best” coach meals looked rather revolting and would never be considered a plus in my book. I’d rather bring peanut butter and crackers/bread and make my own food.
    4. You even invalidate your own argument. Your top tip for flying coach is to try to buy up to business at the airport (first at check-in, then again at the gate). So essentially the best advice you can give about flying coach is… Don’t. Pay for an upgrade to business.

    Don’t mean to be a hater, but this post belongs in coach with the crappy seats, meals, and service. If you look at it critically I think you’ll agree. You know better.

  3. If you’re flying for the meals then you’re doing it wrong. None of them are comparable to what you can get for a rather small sum at a decent restaurant on the ground. Flying remains, at its core, a means of transportation. Some seats are more comfortable than others, but in the end it is just a way to get where you’re going.

    Get a better seat if you can, with a bit more legroom or a bit more width or whatever. Sleep if you can (I’ll sleep anywhere, even in Y). Enjoy the destination when you arrive.

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