I travel quite a lot, much of it long-haul, and I have travelled both in ecomomy and in business. Frankly, I feel that for any individual who pays the fare (whether out of an allowance or not), anything other than the cheapest ticket is a waste of resources which could be spent on anything else of choice. There is a lot of hype about "the best" airline, etc. but my experience shows that things can go wrong on any of them and leave a bitter taste. If someone else is paying and you can't pocket any saving then by all means go as expensive as they will tolerate - I would and have done. But in that case just look at the cost of the ticket and compare with the cheapest available and you will (after the event) be able to judge whether the "exclusivity" was really worth it. I will never pay more than I have to - we all land at exactly the same moment and all of us stand at the very same conveyor hoping to see our baggage. The meals are better in the dearer classes but, frankly, stuffing yourself with food and drink is not why you are there and it actually reduces comfort at the end of the day. All airlines but the budget ones give you all the water you want, take some with you when on budgets - that is what gets you there as fresh as possible.