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Comment by gaius | Hacker News Reader

If a company is flying someone from A to B to negotiate a hundred million dollar deal, $10,000 for an airline ticket that ensures they can work on the flight and arrive fully refreshed and prepared is absolutely worth it. And that fare also to a certain extent subsidizes the people in Economy. I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.

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It's only worth it if it makes a difference in performance. That's far from established fact.

You point is analogous to the idea of sales and marketing in start-up culture. Essentially how do you prove that this multimillion dollar deal was the result of the person being "fresh" rather than the product itself etc. As far as I know if you're being flown out as a sales rep already, you have to be an utter asshole for the customer to change his mind. The product/engineering teams are the ones that actually have to impress them. In all honesty when a company through a rep wine and dines a client, the rep wine and dines themselves.

Conversation like this are not unknown:

"We need you to fly to <FarFarAway>, urgently!"

"Business class?"

"No"

"OK I'm not going then"

"Business class it is then!"

It's fine to suffer in coach during international flights if you're a vacationer who only takes one or two long trips per year - totally different if you're a frequent flyer. I'd be extremely reluctant to take any job that required me to fly international coach regularly.

That demonstrates a sense of entitlement. I'm looking for some evidence that flying business class improves performance on arrival compared to economy. Totally different things.

On an overnight flight? Huge difference in performance, at least if you're me. I can't sleep at all in economy, which if you're flying 20+ hours is a really big problem.

I've never tried first class, but I'm sure it'd be much easier to sleep up there, what with the lie-flat beds and all.

It's the whole business class package. Fast track through security, a quiet lounge where you can work, enough carry-on that you never need to check a bag, etc etc. Plus you get to only be around frequent flyers, so no hassle with people who don't know that they should take their keys out of their pockets BEFORE reaching security...

Several airlines now are doing flat beds in Business and private cabins in First.

earplugs, sleep mask, ambien.

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