Why I’m Choosing Economy More Often, Even When Using Points

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to enjoy traveling with more intention. I’m traveling for reasons that are meaningful to me, whether that means attending a destination wedding, meeting a family member or friend’s new baby, or finally going somewhere that’s been on my bucket list for years.

But my meaningful redemptions don’t always align with the flexibility needed to book award travel, and I’ve been sitting in the back of the plane much more often lately. Despite being spoiled by sitting in some of the best seats available, it hasn’t bothered me at all.

Here’s some insight into why I don’t mind flying economy — even on long-haul flights — and a few tips to help you survive it.

Why I Don’t Mind Flying Economy

As a points-and-miles enthusiast, I’ve experienced my fair share of incredible flights over the years, from cruising in Air France business class to jetting in Emirates first class.

Many trips like that came about because I was seeking out the flight experience, and with minimal commitments and only myself to look after, it was easy to get on a plane whenever an enticing redemption opportunity came along.

In an ideal world, I’d fly first or business class on every trip, no questions asked. But who wouldn’t? Unfortunately, that’s not the real world, so decisions have to be made about prioritization and resource allocation. That’s led me to choose the economy cabin a lot more often these days.

My Life Got Fuller — And So Did My Calendar

In my twenties, I was focused solely on myself, with my first real job, settling into living in my first real apartment, establishing a group of friends, and generally learning how to be an adult. As that decade came to an end, I started noticing activities I wanted to be a part of, many of which required travel.

When a wedding happens on a particular weekend, or your grandmother turns 90 on a specific day, you don’t have the luxury of picking up whenever you want to travel — you need to be there. I didn’t have the flexibility that I could rely on before, and my options were limited by needing to be in certain places at certain times.

Instead of doing what I do so often — run multiple searches of award programs to see when I could find the absolute best use of my points — I pick flights that fit the schedule I need. It’s really as simple as that.

In the majority of cases, especially when I’m traveling domestically, I don’t find a first class ticket to have much greater marginal value to me than an economy seat does. You’ll mostly find me sitting in the back of the plane these days. As long as I have my window seat (I’m still an AvGeek, after all), I’m good to go.

I don’t view this as a regression, but as an acceptance of a fact of life: I — and the vast majority of people — don’t have room in the budget to splurge on a premium ticket every time, and that’s OK with me. Air travel is a luxury in and of itself, and if I get where I need to go when I need to, I consider that a win.

Sometimes the Flashy Redemptions Just Aren’t There

At times, despite our best efforts, redeeming miles for a premium seat isn’t an option. Take, for example, a trip I recently took to the United Arab Emirates. It’s a long way from Chicago to Dubai, so naturally I began researching options for getting there in style.

Much to my chagrin, I came away from days of research completely empty-handed. I tried just about every trick in the book, but nothing was lining up. At that point, I resigned myself to the fact that I’d have to fly there and back in economy. Cash tickets in business class were selling for well north of $7,000 round-trip, and that wasn’t even close to being in the budget. Trust me, I looked for any deals to other cities even remotely close, but no dice.

I bit the bullet and redeemed miles for economy tickets — a combination of American Airlines and British Airways to take me from Chicago (ORD) to Dubai (DXB) via London (LHR), and a nonstop Emirates flight to New York (JFK) on the way home.

Was I excited to be crunched in a coach seat for that long a journey? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, travel is about the destination, and I forgot about the flights the second I stepped off the plane. I had a great week in the Gulf, and the economy flights there and back were merely a formality. I’m here to tell the tale, aren’t I?

Even better, I didn’t deplete any mileage balances, thanks to the far more reasonable redemption rates in economy versus business class, first class, or even premium economy.

Hot Tip:

Use a service such as Seats.aero to aid in your award searches. It helps save you time and effort when searching for award tickets.

Economy Enables More Trips

Regardless of whether you pay with points or cash, it costs less to book economy seats instead of premium tickets. As a result, you’re left with more points in your accounts or more money in your pocket, which fuels more trips in the future.

With my travel schedule as busy as ever, I have decided to prioritize destinations as much as possible instead of splashing out on 1 or 2 flights. The only feasible way to enable this — at least in my situation — is to default to flying economy so I can preserve money and points or miles for further travel.

When I can travel more frequently, I can show up to more of the things that really matter to me these days. If I have to sacrifice a little comfort in order to do that, it’s a tradeoff I’ll take every time.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a great premium cabin flight when it makes sense. I’ll do my requisite research, especially when I do have some flexibility, to see if I can redeem points for a special flight experience, but it’s not a make-or-break situation for me.

Strategies for Flying Economy More Comfortably

There’s no denying that flying in economy is less comfortable — often significantly so — than a premium cabin. However, it doesn’t always have to be an unpleasant experience. Here are some of the things I do to ensure I have the best possible flight, even if I’m sitting in the back.

Flight Timing

When you’re flying coach, especially on longer flights, your flight timing is critical. Let’s consider long-haul eastbound transatlantic flights. The general setup now is that the majority of these flights depart the U.S. East Coast and Midwest fairly late at night and arrive at their destination sometime in the morning or early afternoon on the next day.

The idea is that you’d be able to maximize your sleep on board and hit the ground running. We all know that’s hardly ever the case. If you’re flying to a destination that typically sees more daily frequencies from the U.S., there are some tweaks you can make — depending on a few factors — that could improve your trip.

Let’s say you’re flying from New York to London. This route sees numerous nonstop flights every day, departing at practically all hours. If you’re staying somewhere in London that you can access immediately upon landing, I’d recommend taking an earlier flight over from New York, such as one that departs at 6 or 7 p.m.

You may not be as tired as you would be if you were departing at 11 p.m., but hear me out. The flight is barely long enough for more than a couple of hours of sleep, and what sleep you get won’t be great since you’re mostly sitting upright in a cramped economy seat.

Why not take a flight that lands in London before 7 a.m., go right to your destination, take a 3- or 4-hour nap, and then start your day? You can land early, get a few hours of meaningful sleep, and still be early enough in the day so your sleep schedule isn’t completely ruined for the rest of the trip.

Consider the Aircraft Type

Another essential factor to consider is the type of aircraft you’re flying on. If an airline operates multiple flights per day on a given route, it may use varied aircraft types. You won’t always have the option to choose, but there are some general tips to keep in mind if you do.

If you’re flying domestically, it’s wise to stick with the Airbus A320 family, which includes the A318, A319, A320, A321, and the newer neo, LR, and XLR variants. The fuselages on these aircraft are several inches wider than those of their chief rival, the Boeing 737 family, offering greater passenger comfort.

In many cases, the economy seats on Airbus aircraft are 18 inches wide, while those on board 737s are generally about 17 inches wide. There can be variations, but generally, the A320 family is more comfortable than the 737 family.

Similar principles apply to wide-body aircraft, where seat configuration and cabin width play essential roles in the calculus. When it comes to seat configuration, there are a couple of ideal scenarios.

First, look for aircraft with only 2 seats on either side. Typically, these are Airbus A330-family aircraft with (mostly) 2-4-2 configurations in economy, and Boeing 767s, with a typical 2-3-2 economy layout.

However, the configuration isn’t everything. Consider the Airbus A380, the largest commercial airliner in service. Even though the standard economy configuration is 3-4-3 on most Airbus A380s, the fuselage is so wide that each seat feels considerably more spacious than an economy seat on a Boeing 777, for example.

When I flew in economy on Emirates’ A380 from Dubai to New York, I snagged a window seat and slept for almost the entire flight. I was quite comfortable with the space between my seat and the aircraft wall on my right.

Arm Yourself With the Proper Accessories and a Solid Inflight Ritual

Sleeping on an airplane will always be a far cry from sleeping in your bed at home, but there are things you can do to improve your comfort on a long flight in economy. First, invest in some accessories that can elevate your experience.

Inflight accessories are a personal preference, but consider bringing items such as noise-canceling headphones, a solid and supportive neck pillow, a trusty water bottle, an eye mask, compression socks, and facial products to ensure you don’t dry out, which are crucial components of feeling more comfortable during your economy flight.

I could survive just about any economy flight, even if I neglected to bring any accessories, because I have a battle-tested ritual that works like a charm for me every single time. I try to stick to the same routine each time.

I wear a comfortable flying outfit (usually involving sweatpants), fill my water bottle to the brim before I get on the plane, and eat a filling, nutritious meal before boarding (ideally in an airport lounge). In my backpack, I make sure my lip balm is easily accessible, as I tend to get chapped lips after many hours of sitting under an airplane’s air conditioning nozzle, and that I have an over-the-counter sleep aid close by.

As soon as I get settled, I start my in-flight ritual: I play a movie on the IFE screen, drink some water, put on my lip balm, and take my sleep aid, which helps me fall asleep quickly and not wake up in a daze a few hours later. By the time the flight attendants start their inflight service, I’m getting drowsy but not quite at sleep-level tired yet. By the time the movie is over, I’ll already be sleeping or just about there.

I’ve perfected this routine on hundreds of long-haul economy flights over the years. The consistency helps me get into the right headspace for the flight, no matter how long it is. I usually don’t wake up like a zombie upon landing, which, to me, is a sign it works!

Of course, different routines work right for different people; this is just an illustration of what works for me.

Final Thoughts

Flying economy doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience. For frequent travelers, it often makes the most sense, as resources are limited and flying in coach enables more travel — which is really what we all love at the end of the day.

Plus, if you strategize properly, you don’t have to dread every economy flight. In fact, you might just enjoy it.