The hidden costs of discounted business class

Scenario: you, your secretary or your travel agent managed to book a great business class fare, saving perhaps $1,000 off the cost of higher-priced tickets on the same flight.

But arriving at the airport, you’re turned away from the business class check-in desk and have to line up with economy passengers.

You then discover checked luggage isn’t included in your ticket – you’ll have to pay for each bag.

You’re also denied entry to the airport lounge, because it seems your discounted business class ticket doesn’t come with lounge access.

And after the flight it seems you’ve earned fewer points and status credits than on a regular business class ticket.

You’ve just encountered some of the downsides of a new type of discounted business class fare – one known in the travel industry as ‘unbundled’ business class.

Unbundled business class keeps the very core of the business class experience – that spacious, comfortable business class seat and premium meals – but removes several perks, which may catch you by surprise.

Emirates, Qatar Airways, Finnair and Air France all sell these stripped-down versions of business class, with Delta Air Lines expected to join them in early 2025.

So how much money do you save buying these cut-price business class tickets, what benefits do you sacrifice, and what are your options to regain some of those perks?

Entry-level business class fares give you the comfort of business class but remove many of the perks.

Which airlines sell unbundled business class?

Airlines have different names for their ‘unbundled business class’ fares, and the branding is not always obvious, so here’s our cheat sheet.

• Air France and KLM call them Business Light
• Emirates calls them Business Class Special
• Finnair calls them Business Light
• Qatar Airways called them Business Class Lite

However, not all ‘Business Light’ fares are ‘unbundled’: for example, Cathay Pacific’s Business Light and Singapore Airlines’ Business Lite tickets include checked bags and lounge access (although there can be restrictions on other aspects such seat selection in advance, changing or  cancelling your flight). 

What don’t you get with unbundled business class?

Each airline has a slightly different approach to what it removes from these business class fares.

No airport lounge access (Air France, Emirates, Finnair, KLM, Qatar Airways): this, more than anything else, catches travellers by surprise.

And it’s a bruising omission, especially if the flight involves a stopover where you’d really love to freshen up with a shower, grab a bite to eat, catch up on email or just relax away from the crowd.

Lounge access is typical excluded from 'unbundled' business class tickets.

No checked luggage (Finnair): While all Finnair business class tickets include two carry-on items to a total of 10kg, its Business Light fare doesn’t permit any checked luggage.

You’ll have to pay extra for that, and even then they won’t even be tagged as a priority to get them first out on the luggage belt.

Finnair's Business Light fare permits only carry-on luggage.

Fewer frequent flyer points (Emirates, Qatar Airways, Finnair): While the exact amount of points or miles earned varies between airlines, you might earn only the same number of points as somebody booked on a premium economy or even an economy ticket.

No priority check-in, security and boarding (Finnair): These are three things which business class passengers take for granted, but you’re not eligible for any of them on Finnair’s Business Light tickets.

No advance seat selection (Air France, Emirates, Finnair, KLM, Qatar Airways): Business class travellers can usually pick their favourite seat as soon as they book.

But on an unbundled business class ticket you typically won’t be able to select your seat until online check-in opens (typically 24-48 hours before the flight departs).

Want to avoid the middle seat? You'll need advance seat selection, which is usually missing from Business Light fares.

While advance seat selection is becoming less important in modern business class cabins where all seats have direct aisle access, it’s still useful for travellers who want to be seated away from lavatories and kitchen galleys, for example.

No free WiFi (Finnair): complimentary in-flight Internet is available to all business class travellers on Finnish flights, except those who purchased a Business Light ticket.

Chauffeur drive (Emirates): Having a hire car with a private driver pick you up from home, office or hotel, whisk you to the airport, and then repeat this process at the other end of your flight, has long been a signature element of Emirates’ business class.

But on an Emirates Business Class Special ticket, you’ll forgo that VIP treatment.

There's no complimentary chauffeur drive on an Emirates Business Class Special ticket.

No upgrades to first class (Emirates): Passengers on an Emirates Business Special fare can’t use their Skywards Miles to upgrade to first class.

While we’d agree this is a ‘first world problem’, there are many business class travellers who rely on those frequent flyer miles for an upgrade into the first class suites of the Emirates Airbus A380 or Boeing 777.

How much do you save on unbundled business class?

Given everything that airlines remove from these cheaper business class fares, just how much cheaper are they – and is the saving worth sacrificing those perks?

In most cases the difference is just a few hundred dollars, at which point you might decide to pay a little more and get the full business class experience.

For example, looking ahead to Helsinki-Singapore flights in May 2025, Finnair shows only a €136 (AU$217) difference between the seriously pared-back Business Light offering and a regular Business Classic ticket.

Finnair's discounted and 'unbundled' Business Light fare only saves you a meagre €136.

Likewise, Emirates’ Business Class Special and Air France’s Business Light fares on flights between Asia and London cost around $350 less than a regular fare.

Qatar Airways regularly clocks the most substantial Business Class Lite discounts: spot-checks of QR fares from Sydney and Melbourne to Europe in May 2025 show savings up to $1,500 one-way against a Business Class Classic fare.

Qatar Airways' Business Class Lite fares can deliver substantial savings.

Is unbundled business class worth it?

Obviously, the greater the saving the more you might lean towards one of these Business Light fares – especially if you can live without the fare’s omissions, or can rely on your Frequent flyer status to work around them (see below).

But if there’s only a few hundred dollars’ difference, especially on a fare that’s could already be costing upwards of $5,000, you may as well buy a business class ticket that comes with everything included and give yourself one less thing to be concerned about.

Frequent flyer status brings back the ‘business light’ perks

The good news for frequent flyers is that your status benefits overrides most restrictions imposed by an unbundled business class ticket – including lounge access and checked luggage.

Whatever your status entitles you to on a regular business class ticket also applies on a ‘business light’ fare.

This incudes Oneworld status when travelling with Finnair and Qatar Airways, Emirates Skywards and Qantas Frequent Flyer status on Emirates, and SkyTeam status for Air France and KLM flights.

Frequent flyer status bring back most of the perks missing from an unbundled Business Light fare,

To lock those benefits in, have your frequent flyer number listed against your booking; failing that, showing your frequent flyer card (physical or digital) at the check-in counter and airport lounge will do the trick.

The middle- and top-tiers – let’s generally call them Gold and Platinum, for ease of reference – still enjoy lounge access, complimentary checked luggage, advance seat selection, priority check-in and boarding.

In the case of checked luggage on a Finnair Business Light ticket, for example, Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire status entitles you to “one additional bag for free in addition to your ticketed baggage allowance” – so even though Finnair’s ticketed baggage allowance is zero, you’re still able to have one piece of luggage checked through.

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