Is it too much to want business class when traveling overseas with my papa on a 12-hour flight?

If you want to go on an overseas trip, then I suppose it could be considered a luxury. But if you don’t actually want to go and are only going because your papa (a male supporter) wants to, then I don’t think it’s a luxury. It doesn’t sound like you’re in a relationship where you can discuss your preferences and decide together what kind of date to have. (If you’re genuinely struggling but can’t say anything, you must be putting up with a lot for the money.) Try not to let the stress build up too much.

Are we just two people being swept up by the power of money??? Wouldn’t you call this a relationship???

To be honest, it’s pretty extravagant. I see it as a kind of social education—getting a glimpse of how wealthy papas (male supporters) live, haha.

It’s simple. Just tell him, “I’m fine with lowering my allowance, so I’d like you to book business class.” Wanting business class while keeping the allowance unchanged is simply being extravagant. You’re a woman, right? Maybe you’re over 180 cm tall with a 90 cm inseam? For an average Japanese build, feeling cramped in economy class is nothing more than luxury. I’m larger than the average Japanese man, but I’ve traveled in a reserved seat on the Shinkansen fewer than five times in my entire life. I always take non-reserved seats, and I’ve never once ridden in the Green Car. I fly economy overseas as a matter of course, too. I’m sure the allowances I give women are clearly higher than the average at Universe Club. Just yesterday, I gave my monthly partner ¥800,000 in cash as a Christmas present. But when I travel with her, we fly economy. I once happened to be on the same flight as the massive golfer Ernie Els, and he was in economy, too. He was about 191 cm tall and weighed around 100 kg, and at the time he was the world’s top golfer, earning a tremendous amount of money. The only time I’ve ever flown business class was on a trip to Hokkaido with a celebrity, which I wrote about in one of my columns. I wanted her to become a top celebrity, so I wanted her to experience business class. That’s the only reason I did it. If I were going to Hokkaido alone, it would be economy—one million percent. The reason is the same as Bill Gates’: I don’t want to spend money on things that have no value. On the other hand, if something is valuable, I’m willing to spend as much as it takes.

It’s perfectly fine to prefer business class. Sure, business class is probably less tiring, and if someone is wealthy, you’d normally expect them to choose it. But perhaps that papa (a male supporter) isn’t actually that rich, or maybe he was simply frugal to begin with. If that bothers you, I think you should have made it clear from the start that you wouldn’t go unless it was business class. Then again, maybe it’s humble of him not to ask for first class? Personally, I’d want him to go as far as asking for a private suite on an A380, but the routes served by A380s are limited, so that might be difficult. Back in the B747 era, larger planes were popular. But once the A380 came along, people started saying that smaller planes were more fuel-efficient. You can only conclude that the A380 appeared at the worst possible time. And if we’re talking about something like the Concorde, it flew twice as fast, so a journey that would take 12 hours on a regular plane could be completed in under six hours. So I’d be tempted to ask, “Couldn’t you put up with six hours?” But it never served Japan, and it’s a shame that it was retired without a successor ever appearing. Incidentally, Bill Gates is famous for flying economy despite being wealthy. When he previously visited Japan, he took care of several business matters in Osaka and was about to fly from Itami to Seoul, South Korea. Apparently, the moment Bill Gates saw the first-class boarding pass, he lost his temper. He reportedly said, “Is the Microsoft Japan you’re in charge of really the kind of company that wastes money like this? What is this first-class boarding pass? Why are you wasting company money like that on a flight lasting just over an hour?” In reality, it seems the ticket was a regular, non-discounted fare, and when he looked at the boarding pass, he discovered that he had been upgraded to first class for free. Still, even wealthy people may only fly economy if they’re frugal. According to Bill Gates: “Whether it’s company money or my own money, I can’t understand spending money on something so wasteful. If my body were so large that it didn’t fit in an economy-class seat, I might want to sit in a slightly roomier seat, but I’m not that big. Even if you pay several times more for first class, everyone arrives at the same time anyway.”

Actually, there’s an official way to book ANA or JAL business class for 30% less. But I have nothing to do with the person asking, so I’m not going to tell them. Yep, I’m stingy—just like your papa.

People who become wealthy, for example, generally invest while being extremely frugal. The wealthier someone is, the more stingy they tend to be. I’d say people can spend money without considering it a luxury only up to around 0.5% of their annual income. When I was a university student earning less than ¥2 million a year, I thought even a few thousand yen for a night out was expensive. In that sense, the kind of person who wouldn’t consider spending ¥600,000 on travel a luxury would probably have an annual income of over ¥100 million. Once you consider how few people earn that much, it should be clear how difficult that is. That said, if he were your boyfriend, it would only be an occasional expense, and he’d try to pay the ¥600,000 for you even if it meant stretching himself. That’s what showing off is. I’m sorry to say this, but I think the questioner simply isn’t the kind of woman a papa would want to spend that much on, even for the sake of appearances.

I don’t know if you’d call it extravagant, but why not use the allowance you’ve received so far to book yourself a business-class ticket? If enduring 12 hours is too difficult, you may have no choice but to decline the trip. It’s probably impossible to change that papa’s mindset. He became wealthy by considering the situation and flying economy when appropriate. Just my two cents.

It depends on how much allowance I’m getting. If he gives me plenty of cash, I can put up with it. Apparently, even major leaguers mostly fly economy. If they tried to schedule flights around every game, they’d never be able to get everyone into business or first class because the seats would be full. P.S. Honestly, I think even Makeo-san can afford to fly business class. You can’t take your money with you when you’re in the coffin. I switch between business and economy.

Luxury means having more than what suits your circumstances. Since the questioner can only connect with that kind of papa, I suppose it is “luxurious” in that sense. If it used to be a business arrangement, then perhaps it means the questioner’s value has been declining. It would be good to calmly acknowledge that. Acknowledging it means waking up to reality.