Work Travel

So I'm looking at some hectic travel again and we're back to discussing the travel policy with the company.  The policy is simple - Economy Class at all times for all people.  I, on the other hand, suffer from a chronic problem with Economy Class travel in that I am about 4-5 inches too long for sitting in aircraft.  So over recent years the company have tended to agree that I can fly premium economy.

I find myself needing to visit China, Japan, probably Taipei, London and probably a.n.other European destination.  So I've been trucking around the web looking for options.  The problem is the travel sites aren't actually all that good when it comes to multiple city stops.  Until I found this.  Actually a really well thought out tool.  I'm already qualified for Gold level on One World through to September 2008, so I'm now looking at my Star Alliance cred and this could suit nicely.  The challenge is the RTW fare for Economy is $4000 and Business Class is $7500.  Frankly the Business Class fare is a pretty good deal, but not cheap.  The argument I am making is there's no way on Earth I am doing all that travel at one time in Economy.  So the alternatives are fly me on multiple trips which will still probably cost less than $7000 (but not a lot less) or live with a one-off higher fare but have a happier me who can get a lot more done.

We'll see.