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In 2016 and 2017, both times in November, I was able to buy business class tickets roundtrip (same exact dates and routes) for around $2500 per passenger to Europe for the following summer.
This year the lowest I can find is double that, per passenger, for same dates in summer 2019.
Yup. In 2017 I flew around the world for $1,000. In 2016, RT Houstin-Sri Lanka for $750. Added on Bangkok to Australia for $250.
Business class? If somebody offered you $1,000 to spend a Saturday sitting ten hours in a tourist class seat and watch a couple of movies, cash tax free, would you take it?
Yup. In 2017 I flew around the world for $1,000. In 2016, RT Houstin-Sri Lanka for $750. Added on Bangkok to Australia for $250.
Business class? If somebody offered you $1,000 to spend a Saturday sitting ten hours in a tourist class seat and watch a couple of movies, cash tax free, would you take it?
It's their money, and if that's what they value, so be it.
Many of the "retail" (i.e. non-client/corporate paid) biz fares tend to be those for whom it's either comfortably affordable or downright trivial, like my late Singaporean friend (worth over S$50m). Given their business/professional lives, travel times tend to be in short bursts. The value of losing 3 days of recovering from jet lag flying Los Angeles-Paris-Johannesburg could be worth spending an extra $3,000 for business class (sleep on plane, hit ground running) if you have a 7 figure net worth but only 10 vacation days. For them, the extra perks like an empty check-in line, an empty VIP security lane where you aren't barked at like terrorist cattle, a lounge to relax in, a flat-bed seat/suite, champagne, decent food, and flight attendants who don't outwardly despise you... Well, those extra benefits make the flight something to be enjoyed (i.e. part of the vacation) rather than a final hurdle to be cleared.
In 2016 and 2017, both times in November, I was able to buy business class tickets roundtrip (same exact dates and routes) for around $2500 per passenger to Europe for the following summer.
This year the lowest I can find is double that, per passenger, for same dates in summer 2019.
Yup. In 2017 I flew around the world for $1,000. In 2016, RT Houstin-Sri Lanka for $750. Added on Bangkok to Australia for $250.
Business class? If somebody offered you $1,000 to spend a Saturday sitting ten hours in a tourist class seat and watch a couple of movies, cash tax free, would you take it?
No I would not take it. I would rather stay home than fly coach.
However, if business class fares are going to start doubling or tripling, then I guess I will be staying home more often.
Yup. In 2017 I flew around the world for $1,000. In 2016, RT Houstin-Sri Lanka for $750. Added on Bangkok to Australia for $250.
Business class? If somebody offered you $1,000 to spend a Saturday sitting ten hours in a tourist class seat and watch a couple of movies, cash tax free, would you take it?
But I'm a notorious cheapskate. (Which has It's benefits. Like helping me retire at 52. ). And the cost of flying has increased.
We ALWAYS fly coach. Raleigh to Capetown. Raleigh to Japan next year (gloriously using up those hard earned Delta FF miles). Admittedly, at 75 it's getting harder and harder for out-of-shape DH, and when he says it's not worth it, we'll be sticking to shorter flights.)
In 2016 and 2017, both times in November, I was able to buy business class tickets roundtrip (same exact dates and routes) for around $2500 per passenger to Europe for the following summer.
This year the lowest I can find is double that, per passenger, for same dates in summer 2019.
????
Shall we guess the routes and dates?
Tampa - Paris RT business class on American, $3047 in July.
Miami - Madrid RT business class on TAP, $2449 in August
JFK - Frankfurt RT business class on Singapore Airlines, $1990 through October
Who said it wasn't? I asked him (not you) a rhetorical question. Neither of you have answered it.
The busy multi-millionaires you described don't ask forums about rising plane fares.
Oh, yes, we do! I kept watching Business Class fares to Edinburgh last year and when I saw one that was about $300 less than what I'd seen in the past, I grabbed it. (For the record, it was $4,200 from MCI for travel this past September, so closer to what you're seeing now.) I know it's crazy. I save money in other areas that would make you laugh because I'm such a tightwad- but I LOVE the whole Business Class experience (priority boarding, lounge access, bigger seats, better food, free-flowing alcohol, lower ratio of passengers to lavs). I can still afford to pay my bills, support charities and stash money in my granddaughters' 529 accounts, so that's my splurge.
My next transatlantic in Business will be with miles- getting an airline-branded credit card with a 60,000 mile bonus went a long way towards getting the needed miles.
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But I'm a notorious cheapskate. (Which has It's benefits. Like helping me retire at 52. 
