Business Class vs Cattle Class

This is my opportunity to brag about how great it was to be bumped from Economy Class to Business Class for the 11 hour leg of my flight from Perth to Dubai (before continuing in Economy onto Istanbul).

If you have never travelled Business Class, I’d recommend it, its definitely the way to travel… except for the price.

Because I volunteered to reschedule my flight on the overbooked flight from Perth to Dubai, Emirates gave me a travel voucher to the value of a return ticket from Istanbul to Perth to use within 12 months, and they managed to get me on a Business Class flight to Dubai.

Sure, it meant I lost the full amount of my first night booked in Second Home Hostel in Istanbul, sure it meant I missed opening night of the Anzac Day 10 Day Sortie with Topdeck, but heck! It was Business Class.

So what does Business Class have to offer?

There are only 9 seats to an aisle, each seat is in a cocoon of its own, with privacy screens and plenty of legroom. Each seat has its own reclining chair with built-in massage. The chair reclines to a bed.

The air stewards pay you much more attention.

You get your own blankets, pillow, and mattress. The blankets and pillow are thicker and better quality.

The food comes on actual dinnerware, and is different to what’s served in Economy. Plus, it arrives in courses, and not all on a single tray. The drinks selection is top-shelf, like 18 year old Chivas Regal. I didn’t drink anything alcoholic, since my flight was 6am.

Each chair has a built in TV, but the entertainment is the same selection you get in economy… which on Emirates, has a lot of variety.

The TV has a PDA-style remote control that can be unmounted from the seat. There is also a built in phone, but calls cost quite a lot. Emirates also has on-board mobile phone coverage.

Have I mentioned the leg room? You can fully recline, so there’s no being cramped.

There’s a walk up lounge bar, but you wouldn’t have seen me there at 6am.

There’s cologne in the WC, and every passenger gets a free toiletries bag. One that I am still using after 2 weeks of travelling.

There are no kids kicking the back of your seat; and thanks to noise cancelling headphones, there are no crying babies.

If you actually pay for you Business Class ticket, you also get access to the lounge before and after the flight, and you get chauffeur driven to your pick-up and drop-off points (I wasn’t eligible for either of these facilities).

…and Economy

Well, you all know how rough that is. No leg room, having the person next to you cramped right in there with you; falling asleep on your shoulder. Cheap headset, pillow, and blanket. Tasteless food, with small portions, all delivered squished up on a tray-table.

One thing I liked about flying Emirates, that I haven’t seen before (but may well be on every flight these days) was the on-board cameras of the front and bottom view from the plane. Just by navigating the entertainment unit information menu, you can view the take-off and landing as the pilot views it. Totally cool!

My second leg of the flight, 4 hours worth, was hard enough to try and sleep in Economy. So grateful I had the opportunity to fly Business. Saddened by the fact that it may never happen again.

Cattle Class for me.

Let me know on Twitter, or in the comments, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to fly other than Economy. Go ahead.. brag about your experience.