Considering buying extra seat(s) for international flight to Asia

My family has been spoiled the last two years with lie-flat business class seats to and from Europe, booked with miles and points from credit card welcome bonuses. We’re going to Europe twice more next year in a combination of Economy, Premium Economy and Business class seats. But after those trips, I’ve set my sights on visiting some destinations in Asia.

Reading through our guest post yesterday about Harmony’s experience on a 19-hour flight to Singapore, it made me realize that our 8- to 10-hour flights to/from Europe are a piece of cake, comparatively. Even if we fly directly from the West Coast, we’re looking at 12- to 16- hour flights to Asia. Oof.

And, despite what you might read on blogs, it’s not always easy to find affordable award availability in Business class to/from Asia, especially when you have a large family.But, I have to remind myself that even if we must fly to Asia in Economy, our experience in a new country will be worth any discomfort we may feel on the flights.

I still have a few more months of earning miles and points before I’m going to actually try to book a trip to Asia, and I’m contemplating a new strategy.

Buying an extra “comfort” seat in Economy

If I can’t find the award seats for the schedule and price we need for flights to Asia in Business or Premium Economy, I’m considering using additional miles to buy one or two extra seats in regular Economy. Most airlines let you buy an extra seat with the same currency you’re using to buy your own seat (whether it’s miles or points). This extra seat can be used for a musical instrument, a person of size or just extra space.

For example, American Airlines has a nonstop flight from DFW to Seoul. I see many dates with plentiful award space in Economy for 35k miles. However, the Premium Economy and Business Class award seats are much more expensive.

For less than the price of one Premium Economy seat, I could buy 3 Economy seats to split across two people. I realize the seats are not comparable. But, we would have an entire extra seat in between us. We could raise the arm rests and create a bench. We could put our onboard “stuff” under the middle seat and have more legroom in front of our own seats. We’d still be in Economy, but we’d just have a bit more breathing room.

I doubt there would be enough award space for all of my family members to have our own row. But, if the 4 of us could divide into two rows of three, it could be a tolerable set-up.

Is it worth the extra cost to buy an empty seat? I’m not sure, I’ve never actually done it. But, it sure seems like it beats bumping elbows with a stranger or even our closest family member for 15+ hours.

Have you ever purchased an extra seat for a long-haul flight?