4 ms·

Are you saying you can fly coach from SF to Berlin and actually still engage in a "retreat"?

jpna66dd 10y ago
I am trying to learn about the business habits in the Valley. I wish someone could inform me. To answer your question, obviously I am not from the valley, i run my own business, it is quite profitable, i don't do retreats, and i fly quite a bit, always coach. So if i ever organised a retreat, i would expect everyone to fly coach. Hence my question.
- tokensimian 10y ago
  FWIW, the US Government's regulations for civil service workers (civilians working for the federal gov't) are pretty strict, and are often used as a basis for private companies. (EG, mileage reimbursement is usually a rate set by the feds.) Their policy is business class for international flights over 8 hours. Given that, I think it would be seen as common/acceptable to mimic.
  - ma2rten 10y ago
    Interesting, ... that would basically mean that all flights from San Francisco to outside of the Americas should be business class.
  - lmeyerov 10y ago
    Keep in mind: government employees who travel international are often diplomats. Gov rates for diplomats are, overall, luxurious. (I'm not sure of the bleedover here, but would not be surprised.) Above comment about business class / direct for long trips, and at least direct/convenient economy for ~startups (not 2 guys & a laptop) sounds right.
  - falsestprophet 10y ago
    That is surprising and disappointing. I know we didn't send our guys over to Iraq and Afghanistan in business class. It's shameful that a rando in USAID or something would be afforded better accommodations for a conference in Tokyo.
baby 10y ago
considering coach tickets are more than half the price, I don't see why anyone would not buy them.
- jsprogrammer 10y ago
  Some people are too large to comfortably sit in coach seats for fourteen hours. Torturing an employee before a retreat is not very nice.
  - aianus 10y ago
    You'd be welcome to literally burn me with cigarettes during the flight if you paid me that $5,000 difference in fares.
    - jsprogrammer 10y ago
      Isn't that a felony?
SeoxyS 10y ago
It's incredibly rare for startups to fly people around the world in business class. And I say this as someone who flies long-haul exclusively in Business and First—I still would never expect my employer to put me up in business. As a personal decision, it can make sense. I'll buy the fare outright when it's $3,000 or less for an international round-trip, and I make sure of credit card points and frequent flyer miles. If I worked for a big public company, I'd expect them to put me up in business for anything longer than 6h. For a young small startup, I'd expect them to put me in a reasonably convenient economy ticket (e.g. not flying out of OAK instead of SFO, and not forcing me to take long connections, or really ultra-low-cost carriers like WOW Air).

I am trying to learn about the business habits in the Valley. I wish someone could inform me. To answer your question, obviously I am not from the valley, i run my own business, it is quite profitable, i don't do retreats, and i fly quite a bit, always coach. So if i ever organised a retreat, i would expect everyone to fly coach. Hence my question.

tokensimian 10y ago
FWIW, the US Government's regulations for civil service workers (civilians working for the federal gov't) are pretty strict, and are often used as a basis for private companies. (EG, mileage reimbursement is usually a rate set by the feds.) Their policy is business class for international flights over 8 hours. Given that, I think it would be seen as common/acceptable to mimic.
- ma2rten 10y ago
  Interesting, ... that would basically mean that all flights from San Francisco to outside of the Americas should be business class.
- lmeyerov 10y ago
  Keep in mind: government employees who travel international are often diplomats. Gov rates for diplomats are, overall, luxurious. (I'm not sure of the bleedover here, but would not be surprised.) Above comment about business class / direct for long trips, and at least direct/convenient economy for ~startups (not 2 guys & a laptop) sounds right.
- falsestprophet 10y ago
  That is surprising and disappointing. I know we didn't send our guys over to Iraq and Afghanistan in business class. It's shameful that a rando in USAID or something would be afforded better accommodations for a conference in Tokyo.

baby 10y ago

considering coach tickets are more than half the price, I don't see why anyone would not buy them.

jsprogrammer 10y ago
Some people are too large to comfortably sit in coach seats for fourteen hours. Torturing an employee before a retreat is not very nice.
- aianus 10y ago
  You'd be welcome to literally burn me with cigarettes during the flight if you paid me that $5,000 difference in fares.
  - jsprogrammer 10y ago
    Isn't that a felony?

SeoxyS 10y ago

It's incredibly rare for startups to fly people around the world in business class. And I say this as someone who flies long-haul exclusively in Business and First—I still would never expect my employer to put me up in business. As a personal decision, it can make sense. I'll buy the fare outright when it's $3,000 or less for an international round-trip, and I make sure of credit card points and frequent flyer miles. If I worked for a big public company, I'd expect them to put me up in business for anything longer than 6h. For a young small startup, I'd expect them to put me in a reasonably convenient economy ticket (e.g. not flying out of OAK instead of SFO, and not forcing me to take long connections, or really ultra-low-cost carriers like WOW Air).