Matt Bunnell

Business Class used to be relatively simple. Pay the premium fare and you could expect lounge access, seat selection, generous luggage allowances, flexibility and plenty of frequent-flyer miles alongside the better seat and onboard service.

That is no longer always the case.

A growing number of airlines now sell cheaper, unbundled Business Class fares – often called Business Light – which give you the same seat, food and onboard experience but remove some of the benefits traditionally associated with flying Business Class.

I recently faced exactly this decision when booking Etihad Business Class from Heathrow to Phuket. The cheapest Value fare gave me the same Business Class seat and onboard experience, but paying an additional £153 each way for Comfort would add benefits including lounge access, seat selection, extra luggage, greater flexibility, more miles, Wi-Fi and Etihad Chauffeur.
At first I dismissed the upgrade. But was I actually saving £153, or would buying the missing benefits separately end up costing me more?

I went back through each benefit, put a value on what I would actually use and worked out whether I had made the right decision.