Top 10 Benefits of Flying International Business Class

Yes, Flying International Business Class is Pretty Great

Is flying business class on international flights as nice as it seems? Actually, it’s much nicer!

This is because there are a lot of aspects of flying international business class that you’re only aware of if you’ve actually flown international business class. Or obsess over it like I do.

We’ve all seen the larger seats, most of which now convert into beds, with their passengers drinking their pre-flight champagne as the rest of us struggle to find space in the overhead bin for our carry-on luggage.

I’m going to tell you what you can expect when you fly international business class.

The first thing you need to know about flying international business class is that it is more than just a larger seat and free champagne.It’s the whole experience that starts as soon as you step into the terminal, or in some cases, as soon as you step outside your front door into the awaiting limousine.

For me the best thing about flying international business class is how it removes the stress and discomfort from your journey, so your vacation starts as soon as you begin interacting with the airline, not when you reach your destination many long hours later.

Here is what you can expect from the very start of your journey. Not every airline will offer all of these services, but international business class is becoming more and more competitive every day. In order to compete, airlines need to keep upping their game.

So, let’s begin.

1.) Limousine Ride to Airport

This is a service offered by just the most competitive airlines, but it does exist. For several international carriers, they will deploy a limousine to pick you up from your home to take you to the airport.

2.) Dedicated Check-in Lines

We’ve all seen the super long check-in lines for economy class and looked over to see only one or two people waiting in the business class line.

Luckily things are improving for economy passengers as check-in through kiosks and phone apps reduces our need to wait in line.

However, if you’re checking bags, or flying from a nation that is not quite up to speed on the latest technology, the lines can often be horrendous.

3.) Dedicated Security Lines

Just as with check-in, business class has dedicated security access which again allows these passengers to avoid the long lines.

4.) Lounge Access

Once through security the next move for many of us is to find something to eat, a place to sit and charge our phone, or a clean bathroom. In most cases the food is dramatically overpriced, seats are scarce,electric outlets are even more scarce and a clean bathroom has never been experienced.

What if there were a place that had an abundance of comfortable seating? At each seat was an electrical outlet. There was free food, drinks, beer and wine? And what if the bathrooms were not only clean, but often equipped with showers?  Finally, what if this place was so secure that you could literally leave your laptop and luggage at your seat while you go back to the buffet for the third time, and no one will touch your belongings?

Well this place is called the business class lounge or club.Most airlines have different levels of these clubs often differentiating between club members, status holders and domestic premium passengers,international business class passengers, and international first-class passengers.

As an international business class passenger, you have access to all of the features I mentioned above. And yes, it’s a pretty great way to start a journey.

5.) Priority Boarding

This is something we’re all familiar with because we all hear the boarding announcement. International business class is one of the first groups to get on the plane. Not that it’s necessary though since there is never a shortage of carry-on luggage space in the business class cabin due to the lower seat density.

6.) Sleeper Seat

Fortunately for all traveling international business class, this has basically become an industry standard. Trust me when I tell you that a 14 hour flight is a lot easier to endure when you have a flat bed to sleep on.

7.) Better Food

Food on international business class varies greatly depending on the airline but you can expect anything from decent meals to spectacular meals cooked on demand. And all beverages are free, including cocktails and champagne. On some airlines you can select your meal before your flight.

8.) Better Amenities

The amenities kits are nicer in business class but for me the real difference here is when an airline has noise cancelling headphones to use during the flight. I wrote a whole separate post about this one amenity and to me, there are fewer things that make a flight more tolerable than a good pair of noise cancelling headphones.

9.) Arrivals Lounge

Many airlines have another lounge that you can access upon arrival. For example, you land in London after an overnight flight and have a business meeting first thing in the morning. No problem. Just go to the arrivals lounge.

At the arrivals lounge you can take a shower, grab some breakfast and access the Wi-Fi to get some last-minute work done before leaving the airport.

10.) Priority Baggage Handling

If you don’t stop at the arrivals lounge and are in a hurry,never fear, business class passengers have priority baggage handling which means their bags are among the first off of the plane and onto the carousel.

Conclusion

As you can see, flying international business class is a lot more than a larger seat and some free champagne. Flying international business class means that most of the things that make travel taxing or downright unpleasant have been eliminated. Or at least greatly reduced.

But what is really exciting is the fact that even though international business class tickets can cost between four and ten times as much as an economy ticket on the same flight, booking an award business class ticket using miles or points usually only requires about twice as many miles as an economy class ticket.

This makes redeeming points or miles for an international business class ticket one of the absolute best ways to squeeze as much value out of your miles as possible.

I’ll talk more about that in a follow-up post.