Flying in business class is amazing. I only did it 3 times this year, compared to 8 in 2024, and my flights actually were not quite as aspirational as they usually are. But they were obviously still great experiences, and it’s always much better than the back of the plane. I want to share them to continue our nice streak of creating more content about our own trips.
Flytrippers’ other co-founder, Andrew, explained exactly how you can experience this yourself and the basics (like CPPs and CPHs) when he shared his 9 business class flights of 2025, so I won’t repeat all of that.
I’ll only repeat that you should really take advantage of the increased welcome bonus on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card right now! Because the limited-time increased welcome bonus has been around for a while… so we recommend getting this deal very quickly.
It’ll give you 57,000 Aeroplan points, which is enough to get both of my first 2 business class flights below! That gives you almost 15h of lie-flat seats, worth $2000+, with just a single welcome bonus (even more than in Andrew’s examples)! Pretty nice, right?
Here are my 3 business class flights of 2025. Have questions? Please do ask them in the comments at the end of this post!
Reflections on my 3 business class flights in 2025
We’re starting our few personal retrospective articles of 2025 with our business class experiences, given this great Aeroplan deal you really shouldn’t miss (our conservative Flytrippers Valuation of ≈ $716 is for economy class; it’s worth $2000+ for business class).
The other articles will follow very soon, with our 2025 favorites in terms of economy class airlines, airport lounges, hotels, and of course destinations.
The main reason I flew a bit less often in business class this year is just that my girlfriend and I haven’t taken as many long flights as we did last year.
And when we did have flights that would have been close to long enough (like going back to Europe from Montreal or to Thailand from the Middle East), the price in economy was just much better, and those flights aren’t thaaaaat long. Business class is much more worthwhile on long flights.
As digital nomads, we try to spend more time in each place and aren’t always going from one side of the world to the other.
And not being based in North America also means that we don’t take as many specific routes that you might take as a non-digital nomad, but an airline’s business class is often the same on many routes, so knowing about them is still useful for you.
I’m also lucky that my girlfriend is American, so she currently has 50+ active credit cards, and we have plenty of points. I now have 8 US-issued credit cards myself.
(In January, we’ll send you our new step-by-step guide so you can get more points while avoiding the major and common mistakes!)
So, another thing to note about my business class flights is that I sometimes redeem points that are not among the 7 airline rewards currencies easily accessible to Canadians.
But thanks to airline alliances and partnerships, there’s almost always a way to get the same flights with currencies like Aeroplan points, and I’ll indicate that, of course.
Let’s look at my 3 business class flights, in the approximate order of how I think the specific flight will interest you.
#1: Copa Airlines Dreams (B737 MAX 9): Buenos Aires (EZE) – Panama City (PTY)
Here’s the summary of this points redemption (which also includes flight #2 below):
- Itinerary: Buenos Aires–Panama City–Los Angeles–Aspen
- Price paid (United States): 80,000 United miles + 101 USD
- Price available (Canada): 60,000 Aeroplan points + 141 CAD
- Price in cash: 2125 CAD
- CPP: 3.3 ¢/pt
- Duration: 14h44 (7h29 & 7h15)
- CPH: 4072 pts/hr + 10 CAD/hr
We were flying back from Argentina to the US to visit my girlfriend’s family, and this was a pretty long flight worth the business class splurge! It was also the first time I’d ever flown business class with my dad (on this segment only).
I could’ve redeemed my Aeroplan points, at the guaranteed fixed price for the longest North America–South America flights. However, we booked the Copa Airlines Dreams business class, which has lie-flat seats but no direct aisle access for all, with United miles for 2 reasons.
The first is that it was the only way to add the LA-Aspen United flight to save overall (as with all airlines, United’s own program has more seat availability). The second is that we needed flexibility at the time of booking, and United, like most US airlines, offers free cancellation (unlike Air Canada, which only offers it for the first 24 hours).
It’s relatively rare for narrowbody planes to have a good lie-flat seat, but Copa Airlines has some on some of their routes, including the 2 we flew. That’s why we chose these flights. I want to mention that their Toronto and Montreal routes do not have lie-flat seats, so beware.
The experience was great. The seats were pretty good, it was very comfortable for this not-so-long flight. However, as I said, this business class doesn’t have direct aisle access for every seat, but that didn’t really matter in our case because we were traveling together (I wouldn’t want that if traveling solo).
The onboard service was great. The amenity kit was basic, but fine. The food was pretty good too, even if the presentation wasn’t as over the top as on some other airlines. To me, as long as it tastes good, it doesn’t really matter how it looks.
I certainly recommend this Copa Airlines option for a South America trip, if you want a part of it to be in business class.
#2: Copa Airlines Dreams (B737 MAX 9): Panama City (PTY) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Here’s the summary of this points redemption (same as flight #1 above):
- Itinerary: Buenos Aires–Panama City–Los Angeles–Aspen
- Price paid (United States): 80,000 United miles + 101 USD
- Price available (Canada): 60,000 Aeroplan points + 141 CAD
- Price in cash: 2125 CAD
- CPP: 3.3 ¢/pt
- Duration: 14h44 (7h29 & 7h15)
- CPH: 4072 pts/hr + 10 CAD/hr
Los Angeles was just a convenient connection to get to Aspen, in Colorado, and so we can get all the way to the US in business class (there aren’t many routes with lie-flat seats to South America compared to Asia and Europe, sadly).
Again, you could redeem Aeroplan points, but this particular route is mostly useful for those in Western Canada who want a nice way to get to Central and South America.
Flying business class is always special, even after a couple of flights.
We haven’t done as much as we’d like because we always still want to get the best possible redemption out of our precious points (no matter how many we have).
The experience was very good too, so I have a sample size of 2 flights to recommend this business class.
#3: British Airways Club World (A350): Buenos Aires (EZE) – Rio de Janeiro (GIG)
Here’s the summary of this points redemption:
- Itinerary: Buenos Aires–Rio de Janeiro
- Price paid: 25,000 Avios points + 25 CAD
- Price in cash: 1012 CAD
- CPP: 3.9 ¢/pt
- Duration: 3h20
- CPH: 7500 pts/hr + 8 CAD/hr
I had to go to Rio for our 2 weeks in a nice Hyatt hotel up the coast in Macaé (for our Hyatt elite status; with US cards, Hyatt beats Marriott). I would’ve usually flown in economy class for such a short flight, but I was very last-minute, waiting to see if I would have to fly back to Paraguay. By the time I booked it, cash prices were extremely high, so I splurged.
I redeemed Avios points, which are the 2nd-best currency for Canadians. It’s not the best redemption example (Andrew told you about his Qsuite flight), but British Airways’ A350 Club World business class suite with sliding doors is amazing (and I do have a lot of points; the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card bonus can always be obtained even when you already have the card).
British Airways operates this flight between 2 non-British countries because it’s a 5th freedom flight. One of the benefits of 5th freedom flights we listed is precisely this: experiencing nice business class products for fewer points! Usually, short flights don’t have lie-flats.
The seats were great, and the door is always a great add-on for privacy. The flight was short, but we still got some nice food served, even if a lot more basic than on longer flights.
I recommend this business class, and I’d try to book it for longer than this very short flight.
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Summary
Traveling in business class for less than in economy class is easy if you invest a little time. I took only 3 business class flights in 2025, but they were all obviously quite a bit more enjoyable than if I had been sitting in the back.
What would you like to know about my 3 business class flights in 2025? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: British Airways and Copa Airlines business class (photo credit: Kevin Gagnon/Flytrippers)
