Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! I'm spending the week with my parents in Oahu and wanted to share my latest travel adventure. Personally, I can't stand flying—especially in America—because it feels like something always goes wrong.
Just as I shared about my transition of paying 30%–50% more for Economy Plus tickets to Honolulu, Hawaii, my family and I ended up getting downgraded to Economy Class. Not only that, but we were placed in the very last row! Ah, gotta love having a bunch of people constantly hovering over you, sometimes farting, waiting to use the restroom.
So how did we get stuck in the last row of Economy after paying for Economy Plus seats? United Airlines happened, that’s how!
Our Bad Luck Streak With United Airlines Continues
Out of the last five United Airlines flights my extended family and I have taken, there have always been issues.
My poor parents were delayed for 18 hours traveling from Honolulu to San Francisco. My father-in-law was delayed for 7 hours, eventually giving up and paying for an airport hotel. Then my mother-in-law also faced an overnight delay traveling from the East Coast. Meanwhile, our last trip to Honolulu was delayed by three hours.
Why can’t United Airlines get it together? I’m not sure. At least my parents and in-laws got some travel vouchers. This time, United sent us a text message the night before our flight, notifying us that they had to switch planes. Fortunately, our departure time of 11:10 a.m. wasn’t affected. However, for some reason, we had to completely rebook all four seats!
By the time we logged in an hour after receiving the text, the only three seats left together were at the very back of the plane. Sigh. Wanting to stick with our planned departure time, we took them. Then we booked another Economy seat several rows up, as there wasn’t one across the aisle, in the row ahead, or in the row behind. We were in a plane that had a configuration of three seats on each side.
Felt Great Flying Economy Class and Saving Money
Before the seat change, we paid $3,000 for four Economy Plus tickets from San Francisco to Honolulu during Christmas week. It’s a lot of money, but we used some of our stock market returns to cover it. However, since all that was left were Economy seats, we ended up getting $190 × 4 refunded—$760 back in our pockets!
Suddenly, we felt fantastic about saving money again. Economy is plenty of room for a 7.5-year-old and a 5-year-old. Plus, my wife is smaller than average, and I’m of average height and size. For the parent sitting in the row with two kids, being next to our little ones was far better than playing roulette and risking sitting next to an adult who spills over into your seat.
I was the odd parent out, sitting in a window seat next to two strangers. Luckily, the person sitting next to me only spilled over into my space by about a centimeter. Yes, it was annoying to be brushed occasionally while typing, watching a show, or sleeping, but it wasn’t terrible for a 5.5-hour flight. Of course, I gave the woman in the middle seat the armrest.
Truth be told, my wife initially wasn’t thrilled about sitting in the back in Economy with the kids. But as soon as I told her we now had $760 to spend on whatever we wanted during our vacation, she got excited. I also told her I'd happily take turns swapping seats, especially if the kids got unruly. Luckily, they were well-behaved.
Spending Our Saved Money on Excursions and Food
The first thing we earmarked our $760 savings for was the dolphin adventure at Sea Life Park with the kids. It cost $600 for the four of us, and our kids loved it last time. Hooray! A relatively pleasant Economy Class trip bought us a fun afternoon.
The second thing we planned was buying $160 worth of fresh poke from Fresh Catch and Tamura’s Market in Kaimuki. Hawaiian poké blows every other region’s poké out of the water! It’s my number-one food craving every time I return to the islands. We also decided to eat at Da Ono’s Hawaiian Foods because I love lau lau and salt meat watercress soup.
Alternatively, we considered using the savings from flying Economy Class to purchase new Apple iPhones. Our current iPhones are about five years old, and buying them in Hawaii would save us 4% in sales tax—about $48 on a $1,200 purchase. Plus, as a long-time Apple shareholder, it feels great to support the company by using its products.
Every time my Apple shares return at least 10X the cost of a new phone or laptop, I get the green light to buy a new product. This methodology recreates the magic of homeownership, where you get to live for free when your home is appreciating. But I usually wait five years before upgrading any Apple products.
Related: Follow The 10X Investment Consumption Rule To Fix Bad Spending Habits
Saving Money Is Such a Glorious Feeling
After this experience, I may need to downgrade all our family trips to Economy Class from now on. Our first family trip ever in Economy Plus was good, but this second trip in Economy was just as fine. I’d rather save money, especially since at least three family members are guaranteed to sit next to people they know who fit within their seats.
Part of the downside of flying in America is the risk of sitting next to someone who takes up your space. Seat sizes have stayed the same—or gotten smaller—while Americans have gotten larger. But even if I'm being squeezed like a sardine, it's not that bad if the flight is less than six hours. I can always get up and stretch my legs to get a reprieve.
From now on, I’ll calculate the cost difference between flying Economy Plus or First Class and flying Economy, then make a list of things we’ll buy with the money saved by choosing the cheaper option.
But simply making a list of potential purchases isn’t enough—we’ll actually spend the money! That way, every trip feels like a reward for being frugal.
And if you have excess investment gains, then consider taking up to 20% of those gains and paying for a better life as well. Outperforming the stock market or whatever you're investing in should be rewarded! Otherwise, there's no point saving and investing so much money over the years.
Last Point: Hooray for Not Being Tall!
Finally, if you’re small and short, feel blessed! When you travel, sitting in Economy Class may feel similar to how a much larger person feels sitting in First Class. This reality becomes clear when traveling with little kids. If paying for First Class seems like a waste of money for adults, it’s definitely a waste for children!
Just like it’s probably best to delay giving your kids phones for as long as possible to protect their mental health, it’s also a good idea to delay the experience of flying in a class that only the rich can comfortably afford.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it felt flying Economy again, despite having paid for Economy Plus tickets. Usually, it's easy to get disappointed when expectations are not met, but not this time. This time, I realized we're an Economy Class type of family and enjoy it!
Here's to saving money on travel and using those savings to spend on an even better vacation adventure.
Related posts:
A Vacation Spending Guide To Enjoy Your Time Off Responsibly
Getting Your Kids To Feel Poor May Make Them Rich In Many Ways
Suggestions
If you have children, securing an affordable term life insurance policy is essential. During the pandemic, my wife and I got matching 20-year term policies through Policygenius. The peace of mind we felt afterward was enormous—knowing our children would be financially protected if anything happened to us.
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Surprising that you don’t fly Hawaiian Airlines. Of course, they did delay me by 15 hours once. Haven’t had problems with Alaska Airlines, but their planes are a little small. Do you fly United as part of your points strategy?
I fly Hawaiian on occasion, but they are more expensive. Alaska flies out of Oakland, which is father away and more expensive and get to.
We are suckers for the familiar, so we keep on going with United. But we will diversify more to Hawaiian in the future. Although, your 15-hour delay anecdote is not helpful!
Because we are both fairly large people broad in the beam, we fly premium economy (PE) for international flights. An additional inch of seat width doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a big difference for my “wide childbearing hips” (so glad I did NOT marry THAT guy who used that phrase to comment on my physique while dating me! Regrettably those hips never got any smaller after my childbearing years. *SIGH*). When flying PE, we always get the 2 seats together so as not to invade other passengers’ space. The bad things is, once we land on foreign soil, it usually takes ANOTHER non-PE flight to get to our vacation destination. In that case, we usually fly in the aisle seats, either across from each other or in sequential rows. One year we did get a fairly good deal on business class, which I thought would be nice having a lay flat seat. While roomy, we still couldn’t sleep on the plane. *SIGH* Would first class be any better, with an actual lay flat bed??? I just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money to find out. LOL
Very thoughtful! Your comments always make me smile :)
Didn’t realize those seats were an extra inch thick. I think Economy Plus domestic is just more leg room. We still gotta squeeze!
Sam, happy holidays.
The whole post gives me palpitations. The very thought of sitting at the back for any flight over a few hours is too much to bear. I don’t do it, I won’t do it.
You got a few dollars back and you are happy? Is this in place of your annual April Fool’s post?
I know. It’s just like with all your other “I’m conflicted!” posts in the past where you debate the merits of this-over-that from your hard-earned perch as a decamillionaire and completely financially independent person. It gives you another fun topic to write about, so good on you.
I am so far past this scenario emotionally, financially and practically that I can’t even see it in the rear-view mirror.
Happy 2025!
No April fools day post on Christmas! Only on April 1.
I ended up writing this post, finishing a real estate, love letter, watching one episode of Shrinking on Apple TV on my phone. Eating a beef bowl I bought at the airport, and taking a short nap. Pretty easy trip while saving money!
I wonder why some people are oblivious to occupying more space outside the boundaries of their seats. Some guys think it’s okay to stick their feet into my legroom. America obviously has an obesity problem. The airlines could incentivize people to lose weight by giving lighter than average people an instant rebate if they consent to being weighed prior to boarding.
Thanks Sam for setting a good example. My wife and I are thrift freaks and always travel economy on rare overseas trips. Domestically, we only go to places we can get by car so flying is never an issue. Maybe when I graduate to the UHNWI level (>30M) then I would consider first class. Otherwise an aisle seat with extra legroom works just fine. Merry Christmas to all!
I hope you get to ultra high net worth status! How far away are you in terms of money and years?
Merry Christmas Sam! Enjoy your vacation and family time.
Brave of you to fly domestic carriers. I guess it’s a requirement for HI. I refuse to be a customer of a business who treats their customers like the airlines. We have Scotland on the itinerary, and guess how we’re getting there? By boat! Queen Mary II. Looking forward to it. I’ll do everything I can to avoid flying domestic carriers.
Emirates and Singapore Air – they know how to treat customers.
Here’s to 2025 and making America great (and healthy) again!
Thank you! Not too brave to just sit more cramped for 5.5 hours than possible. It’s almost like roulette or gambling to see if I’m lucky enough to get a seat and not have to share some of it with my neighbor!
Love Sing Air. Traveling in Asia is much more comfortable.
Enjoy your cruise. Sounds wonderful! Love cruising.
If the flight is over 1.5 hours we travel first class living in ATL Delta is our airline of choice. However I buy with cash and miles or buy comfort class and prior to the flight they offer 1st class at a much lower price! It’s worked a lot except one time flying back on a Sunday had to endure a flight from San Fran not one 1st seat available. I did notice every one in 1st class had white hair. There was a big meeting in ATL Monday NFL. Btw the way I avoid flying on Sundays, and Friday’s more 1st class discount seats available. As someone in their late sixties with healthy finances and no kids … my life motto is Life is too short to drink bad wine…
3 stages of retirement 1. Go Go Stage 2. Slow go stage. 3. No Go Stage….
Good philosophies. If I traveled more often and had any miles to use, I would pay out for nicer seats as well.
The thing is, I just can’t get myself to spend on anything beyond economy, plus given we all get there at the same time.
But maybe one day!
Happy holidays! Flying over peak periods takes major patience. So props to you for traveling with small children and staying flexible. Not an easy feat. It makes me very grateful I don’t work in the travel industry. Getting money back always feels great especially after the flight is done and dusted. Enjoy your trip!
I am always looking to get more leg room when flying as I am 6ft 2-3in. On this trip to Asia (from Australia) I’ve paid extra for front row economy seats. Only around $100 extra for the extra leg-room. So, usually I am doing exit row or front row. Occasionally I have done Economy Plus when it wasn’t a big premium.