Business Class Experience in Coach

Besides a larger seat, food and drinks are marginally better in expensive business class. Save your money and bring the business class experience to coach air travel.

Long flights in coach class, with cramped seats, surly flight attendants, and (on some airlines) having to pay for a drink of water, can be uncomfortable and trying on your nerves. Business class seats, which can cost four times more than coach seats, not only offer more room to stretch but they have other amenities to make your journey more comfortable. I recently had the opportunity to travel in business class on trans-Atlantic and inter-European flights, which got me thinking – how can I re-create this more civilized travel experience the next time I fly coach?

Goody Bag

Business class travelers get a bag of goodies for the flight, like socks to keep your tootsies warm when they crank up the re-circulated air, travel sized hand lotion, a teeny tooth brush and toothpaste, ear plugs, and eye shades. These things are easy to get before you travel and bring onboard. Besides, at least you’ll get the brands you like. Put the liquids in a clear, plastic bag before you go through the security checkpoint so they don’t end up in the trash bin.

Drinks

You never get enough water in coach class. After the security check, buy two bottles of water (or your drink of choice) to bring with you. I don’t drink on airplanes (who wants to be dehydrated or running to the stinky airplane bathroom anyway?), but you could certainly bring little travel sized bottles of alcohol to make your own rum and coke mid-flight.

Food

Airplane food is disappointing, regardless of the class. It is cooked 24-48 hours in advance and re-heated on the plane so you can’t expect much, regardless of how much you paid for the flight. The business class menu may say steak with béarnaise sauce, but the steak is usually an overcooked piece of shoe leather. Choose the pasta, usually the least offensive option, and know that savvy travelers in business class are doing the same. So what you’re using a plastic fork in coach instead of a metal one in business class?

Attitude

Those who pay seem to get the nicest service. Perhaps it was just the individuals on my flights, but I was surprised at how much nicer the flight attendants treated passengers in business class. Do they adopt a different personality once they get past the business class curtain to treat the coach travelers like the uncouth cattle they think they are? Either way, I try to be polite when flying coach but ignore the attitude.

Seats

There is nothing you can do to about the small coach seats on trans-Atlantic flights that offer little leg room for those of us over 5”4 tall. You can try your luck and call the airline 48 hours before your flight on the off chance you are able to reserve an exit row seat. But, if you are taking a short haul inter-European flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki on SAS Airlines, for example, you’re not missing anything in the spaciousness department. Business class seats on short haul flights don’t have any more room than the coach seats, making the exhorbitant business class fares not worth it at all, in my opinion. Know that your coach experience is virtually the same!