3 ms·

Sorry, but I fully disagree. There's nothing wrong with economy class. It's a bit tight space wise, sure, but you can easily chill out with movies for the day.

Sorry, but I fully disagree. There's nothing wrong with economy class. It's a bit tight space wise, sure, but you can easily chill out with movies for the day. Non-profits shouldn't be splurging out on things like this.

fiblye 9y ago
Non-profit doesn't mean non-comfortable. I'm not even a tall person, but economy is tight enough that my whole body hurts 1 hour into a ride. It's impossible for me to find a sleep position and watching last year's mediocre movies isn't a plus to me. For a rare trip, I can deal with it to save money. But for frequent trips, I could see myself being quite pissed off if I had to take business trips regularly and sit in economy each time.
- ShinTakuya 9y ago
  I mean it's not like attending conferences and hackathon if critical to the job of a Wikimedia engineer. I'd get it if you were being flown out for some mission critical job that couldn't be accomplished remotely or by someone local, but imo if you're being flown out by a non profit for something like the things I mentioned upgrading to a more comfortable class should be paid for by you, not the organisation.
- ghaff 9y ago
  For non-execs, economy is pretty much the standard at most organizations these days. Not necessarily some "steerage minus" deal but definitely not business unless you can get upgraded on your own. I do travel enough to get a slightly better version of economy but I don't get many upgrades to full business.
synicalx 9y ago
By that same token though, we wouldn't be fitting offices with ergonomic chairs and standing desks - regular furniture is good enough and it's a lot cheaper. Really, if you're spending a lot of time in $place, be it an office, a plane, a house - whatever, you want it to be as comfortable as possible. Business class gets cheaper the more you use it, and even then for a business with revenue well into the tens of millions the price difference on a single airfare is negligible. You might pay a few hundred extra on a ticket, but in return, you get a happier and more comfortable employee.
- davidgh 9y ago
  This was talking about international flights. The difference is much, much more than a few hundred bucks. If you’re buying an international economy ticket from the US for $1500, the business class seat on that same flight will often cost $6,000 - $9,000. The price difference is massive.
  - synicalx 9y ago
    That's true, but it still doesn't offset the other benefits of not spending hundreds of hours each year crammed into economy if you're a regular flyer. Not to mention the discounts and other little benefits you start to get when you rack up more mileage. It's in the same basket as every other 'quality of life' improvement a business could make like nice desks, social events, fancy coffee machines, free food etc. If it fits into their budget, and offers a benefit to their employees that makes them more productive and more inclined to stay - then I'd say it's money well spent.

fiblye 9y ago

Non-profit doesn't mean non-comfortable. I'm not even a tall person, but economy is tight enough that my whole body hurts 1 hour into a ride. It's impossible for me to find a sleep position and watching last year's mediocre movies isn't a plus to me. For a rare trip, I can deal with it to save money. But for frequent trips, I could see myself being quite pissed off if I had to take business trips regularly and sit in economy each time.

ShinTakuya 9y ago
I mean it's not like attending conferences and hackathon if critical to the job of a Wikimedia engineer. I'd get it if you were being flown out for some mission critical job that couldn't be accomplished remotely or by someone local, but imo if you're being flown out by a non profit for something like the things I mentioned upgrading to a more comfortable class should be paid for by you, not the organisation.
ghaff 9y ago
For non-execs, economy is pretty much the standard at most organizations these days. Not necessarily some "steerage minus" deal but definitely not business unless you can get upgraded on your own. I do travel enough to get a slightly better version of economy but I don't get many upgrades to full business.

synicalx 9y ago

By that same token though, we wouldn't be fitting offices with ergonomic chairs and standing desks - regular furniture is good enough and it's a lot cheaper. Really, if you're spending a lot of time in $place, be it an office, a plane, a house - whatever, you want it to be as comfortable as possible. Business class gets cheaper the more you use it, and even then for a business with revenue well into the tens of millions the price difference on a single airfare is negligible. You might pay a few hundred extra on a ticket, but in return, you get a happier and more comfortable employee.

davidgh 9y ago
This was talking about international flights. The difference is much, much more than a few hundred bucks. If you’re buying an international economy ticket from the US for $1500, the business class seat on that same flight will often cost $6,000 - $9,000. The price difference is massive.
- synicalx 9y ago
  That's true, but it still doesn't offset the other benefits of not spending hundreds of hours each year crammed into economy if you're a regular flyer. Not to mention the discounts and other little benefits you start to get when you rack up more mileage. It's in the same basket as every other 'quality of life' improvement a business could make like nice desks, social events, fancy coffee machines, free food etc. If it fits into their budget, and offers a benefit to their employees that makes them more productive and more inclined to stay - then I'd say it's money well spent.