What is the difference between economy and business class

In business class, though, the type of seat and the comfort it offers can vary greatly. On shorter flights outside Europe, you will most likely encounter large recliner seats that are considerably wider and offer better legroom than their economy class counterparts. In Europe, the situation is nowhere near as good since even in business class, you will most likely get a normal economy class seat with an empty seat next to you.

On longer flights, the seats can range from older angle-flat and full-flat seats that offer little privacy all the way to suites with doors. In either case, though, the seats generally offer way more legroom than economy class seats, and are much more comfortable to sleep in. That is, unless you are lucky to have a row of three or four seats to yourself on your economy class flight.

As mentioned in the introduction, I previously wrote an article about the most common business class seat that are out there, so make sure to check that article as well.

Separately from the above, business class cabins have more toilets relative to the number of passengers than economy class cabins do, and sometimes though rarely and only on some aircraft types operated by some airlines offer things like bars and onboard lounges. On the shortest flights, the meal service in economy and business class might essentially be the same — either no service or a light snack.

On slightly longer flights, it might mean the difference between getting nothing other than buy-on-board service or a cookie in economy class and a cold meal in business class. Where it gets interesting, though, are medium and long-haul flights.

While the quality of meal will differ a lot depending on the airline you are flying, in general, on these flights, you will get a multi-course meal in business class as opposed to a single-tray meal in economy class. On overnight flights, the business class meal might be served on a single tray to save some time and allow passengers to maximize the amount of sleep they get. On top of that, in business class, some airlines — such as Singapore Airlines — offer the ability to pre-order your favorite meal in advance.

And, other airlines — like Qatar Airways — offer dine-on-demand service where you can order what you want when you want it rather than having to get the meal at pre-determined meal times. The drink selection — especially if you drink alcohol — is generally much better in business class as well.

On longer flights, you will generally be able to select from a variety of wines and even Champagne in addition to various liquor and soft drinks. Economy Class vs. Business Class: The Rest. While the above three are the main differences between economy and business class, there are some other, minor, differences as well. One of those, if you are flying on a paid ticket, is that a business class ticket will in most cases earn you more miles than an economy class ticket on the same route would.

The most common exception is if you are flying on a full fare economy class ticket which might earn the same amount of miles as a discounted business class ticket.

The other difference worth mentioning is luggage allowance. Pitch can vary from in and width from in. Other factors that may vary are power outlets, Wi-Fi, food, in-flight entertainment, type of TV screen and level of service. Before we move on to premium economy class, we should mention that there could be an in-between class on some flights, especially in the US for example.

This basically means you are flying with the same service as economy, but you will have a few extra inches of legroom as well as seat recline. Search economy. A little more legroom and a TV.

Worth the extra cash? Premium economy can be called many different things. And added cost, of course. Flying premium economy will give you a dedicated lounge at the airport, and the seats will be in a different cabin to economy. Search premium economy. In some cases, business travelers are given access to exclusive lounge areas of the airport, where they may receive snacks or even massages.

Business class passengers may receive priority boarding and, depending on the plane layout, may deplane before the rest of the economy class passengers.

Other in-flight perks may include personal television monitors, power adapters for laptops, Internet access, more generous luggage allowances or better snacks and meals. For frequent air travelers, the decision between business and economy class can also affect point- or mileage-based frequent flier programs. Often airlines reward business class passengers with percent to percent more points or miles, compared with economy class passengers flying the same route.

In most frequent flier programs, miles may also be redeemed for an upgrade from economy class to business class or, in some cases, redeemed piecemeal for discrete business class perks.

If you're already planning to use miles to pay for a flight, "Inside Flyer" magazine estimates that the switch from economy to business class on average requires about 50 percent more miles for the same trip. Naturally, with the perks of flying business instead of economy class, the difference in price is typically substantial.

Though pricing varies tremendously by airline, route and even day of the week, The Travel Insider estimates the average business class seat on a trans-Atlantic flight costing almost 10 times that of an economy seat on the same plane. According to the same report, published in and updated in , business class typically accounts for the lion's share of an airline's income on a given flight, with far more seats per plane than in first class.

Given the economic advantage of attracting business class passengers, airlines have ample incentive to entice potential passengers with ever-increasing business class benefits. Since , when Qantas introduced business class as an alternative to first class or economy, the concept of business class has taken several forms.