Note: Due to WiFi issues, we are unable to format the paragraphs in today’s post properly.

We are often asked why we don’t fly Business Class when flying to and from South Africa. Below, I’ve posted the best price I could find for the itinerary, per person, one way from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Nelspruit, South Africa. These prices were obtained from Expedia.com, representing today’s prices for a date further into the future, as short-notice flights can be higher priced.

Cheapest, Select and show fare information for multiple Airlines flight, departing at 4:00pm from Minneapolis, arriving at 4:50pm in Mbombela, Priced at $7,745 One way per traveler. Arrives 2 days later. 41 hours 50 minutes total travel time, Two stops, Layover for 14 hours 15 minutes in Frankfurt • Layover for 7 hours 20 minutes in Johannesburg. Multiple airlines operated by Discover Airlines, Lufthansa and Airlink

If we’d opted for business class, the price might not have doubled, but it’d typically be around US $11,000 per person, totaling US $22,000 for this one round-trip from South Africa to the USA and back.

 

We decided, long ago in our world travels, that flying Business Class would not be an option when we’d much rather spend money on quality accommodations, adventures, dining out, high-quality groceries, and rental cars. 

Moments ago, Tom calculated that the total cost for our upcoming four cruises is $21,273.80, including deposits but excluding WiFi on the ships, always booking a balcony cabin. Neither of us has ever been interested in booking a lower-priced interior cabin when we enjoy having the sliding doors open to a veranda so much. 

Additionally, interior cabins lack windows, and although we don’t spend much time in the cabin, we appreciate the extra space and the exterior views. 

Thus, if we’d opted for Business Class for this one round trip from South Africa to the US and back, we’d have incurred an additional cost of about $18,000 over and above what we paid for our coach round-trip flights. 

Without question, flying Business Class makes the flying time much more comfortable when we can lie down to sleep. However, twice when we secured deals on Business Class, we were able to fly in Business Class, and even then, neither of us was able to sleep for more than three hours while lying down. When doing the math, it’s just not worth it.

On most coach flights, Tom can doze for a total of three hours sitting straight up, while I am lucky to get two hours of sleep, nodding off now and then while watching movies. Considering that our upcoming layover times are almost as long as flight times, it makes no sense. There’s no sleep expected during the nine-hour layover in London on the first leg. 

Upgrading to Business Class can often allow unlimited cocktails, beer, and wine for passengers. But, they are included on our upcoming flights with Virgin Atlantic. Besides, neither of us cares to drink alcohol when flying since it can have an impact on one’s ability to sleep.

One more day and tomorrow, we’ll head to the airport for our 11:00 pm start to the long journey. Leaving on Sunday, we’ll arrive in Marloth Park on Tuesday. Our hotel here in Minnesota, the Residence Inn by Marriott, provided us with a late check-out, as late as we needed for our 11:00 pm flight.

Most likely, we’ll leave the hotel tomorrow by 7:30 pm, as most international flights require arriving at the airport three hours before the scheduled flight. We’ll have to go through immigration, which may result in a long wait at times. 

Tonight, we’ll dine on the last of our Costco meats, along with egg salad I made this morning. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. 

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, June 14, 2015: