Traveling with Senior Citizens: A Small Upgrade, Perhaps?

We're such a frugal family: In my years of air traveling, I've never flown anything other than coach. My parents who are champion world travelers, also fly coach. I take it back. I've flown first class to Japan when TV Asahi paid for my trip to attend my high school classmate, Masako Owada's wedding to the Crown Prince of Japan. My dad and husband have flown business class when employers paid for it. Other than that, I've always purchased the least expensive tickets I can find. The thinking has always been why spend so much more on the means of transportation when the destination is what matters? After all, I pretty much sleep through the entire flight, and I'm small enough to not feel too uncomfortable in tight seats.  A business class ticket costs so much more and we're not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

Flying Coach: (Credit to Piraro)

I think I'm about to change my way of thinking. This trip to Paris with my 75 years old mom and 84 years old dad would not have occurred if my dad had to fly coach from Los Angeles to Paris for 11 hours. He didn't think he could travel long distance anymore. However, while economy class tickets were $1000 each, business class were $6000! I looked around some more and found that with Air France's premium economy class, for $2000, i can get wider seats with better recline. There is also more leg room. I splurged and purchased three Premier Economy class tickets for myself and my parents. The cost was still steep for me, but affordable, considering the fact that this might be my last leisurely trip with my aging parents. I convinced my parents to go with me for a rare family trip with just our original family: mom, dad, and middle aged me, and two sisters.

To my pleasant surprise, at the airport, premier economy ticket holders got priority check in and boarding as with the business travelers. On board, we were served champagne, red and white wine. The menu selection was quite delicious, although the food on our way back from Paris to Los Angeles was much better than the food going out. My mom says that might be due to the fact that French airline chefs in Paris cook better than those in the States. Who knows.

A small bottle of good wine in Premier Economy

 As I get older, I notice that traveling economy class does get more uncomfortable with my back and legs aching more, and I can't fall sleep at will as I used to anymore. A slightly better arrangement such as Air France's Premier Economy is definitely a good alternative for the aging crowd.

Now, traveling with senior citizens who act like kids, needing to eat non stop, go to the bathroom, complain about insomnia, constipation, etc, is entirely another story.