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As someone who used to commute from NZ to London (!) I spent a lot of time in business seats. Def Air NZ were incredible service, good seats but having seen flashys reverse herringbone that would be appealing. Emirates a380 biz was nice but I didn't like the layout that much, bar was quite cool though. Virgin upper was pretty good as well if only for the lounge! I used to go via LA, new lounge will help and in biz you are fast tracked through security - door open to g and t was about 10 mins mostly.
I have and would pay for a business flight from my own cash if I was time bound or u wanted a special start to a holiday. Saying that I have loss of unused airmiles on NZ, virgin and Emirates.
Premium economy is a good call, again air NZ premium is like business service in lesser seats, virgins is more economy service in a nicer seat.
Paid for the premium on BA last time because they allowed me to fly with my bike bag. At 6.6 tall I also thought it might give me more room. After enduring a night of someone squashing my legs with their effin' seat on anti social incline (yes I did ask nicely if they would refrain) decided i'd go back to getting a bulk head seat. I sleep on the plane and would rather spend any money I save travelling economy on other things.
Premium Economy seems a tricky one, like I said above on the trip over to LA it was rammed and I had the front row of economy to myself instead. Much more comfortable.
It depends if it is just UK to Dubai (only ~6 hours) or a connection further afield, whether it is a day or night flight and whether you need to be fresh when you arrive.
Whether or not it is value for money for you is very personal and depends if this is a 'one in a lifetime'. The perks of extra baggage, fast lane past queues, lounges, better food / drinks and better service are all very nice but only really add a few 100 in value (compared with eating in an airport restaurant beforehand, paying for baggage etc.) For me, the benefit I would and have paid for is the lie-flat bed - it makes a huge difference on night flights or where you are changing numerous time zones. I would choose to travel longer / further in order to get a cheap business class seat flights >10 hours (west coast USA, Asia, Australasia) over a more direct route in economy, because sleeping well can stop the jet lag and basically gives you an extra day / few days not feeling groggy. But of course, what you consider 'cheap' business class depends on what you can afford.
I rarely fly
If you don't fly enough to get status / miles and understand the scheme, you will probably be much better off with a credit card earning cashback rather than frequent flyer miles. Some bits of schemes are good (e.g. short haul rewards on BA, if you live near London, and also within USA, Australia, Asia on partner airlines), they have all generally tightened up recently (getting reward availability in premium cabins on popular routes is very hard).
Wouldnt matter, always take sleeping tabs on long haul flights, sit by the window so no one disturbs me and just tell the person next to me and flight attendant not to wake me up till we arrive.. i despise airports and flying..Id rather drive a very fast car to my destination.
IME the best seat, and the one I use to book on long-haul night flights was 64A. Upstairs, backward facing, window and hidden from view.
Once I was in my seat and we were taxi-ing I'd have it dropped down and asleep - having already had dinner/drinks in the lounge and instructed the stewardess to not wake me until breakfast 🙂
Br, 62A/K are my preference. Easier to get out and all that extra space from the exit row.
Any flight over 4 hours then I would pay the extra for premium.
I travelled back and forth from Singapore in Economy on the 380 with Singapore once every 6 weeks in the 2yrs I lived out there, 14 hours and not bad at all.
I often use my BA air miles to upgrade to business on European shorthaul but thats only when reward flights are sold out in economy. I wouldn't pay the upgrade price.
We often book premium economy if the upgrade is not too pricey and we pick it for the leg where we will sleep.
Agreed on the original Upper Class, I used to go to NY once every 3 weeks and it was my preferred choice. Latest is ok but not the clear class leader it was.