direct flight or change planes for business class?

Which airlines? What's the flight time from Miami to CDG and Miami to Madrid?

You'd go thru Immigration in Madrid which would be the first Schengen country you arrive in. You'd do Customs in Paris but that is just a walk thru a green door so no extra time.

I don't really sleep on international flights but going from the Intermountain West we're looking at 9-10 hours vs maybe 6 for you? I'd probably still opt for a non-stop flight.

Personally, I'd go for the non-stop flight for sure. Then again, I wouldn't pay even for premium economy let alone business class. (I"m tall and tried Premium Economy once and found it a waste of money.) One extra connection always introduces another chance for a delay plus makes your travel day even longer.

I would take direct flight. I would take direct flight even if there was no cost difference for the business class.

If you lived farther west I would go for business class so you could sleep in flat bed seats. But from the east coast you don’t have enough flight time to justify the extra expense.

Do your homework when researching exactly what seats you would be buying - every one is different, and some are very different from others with the same name. I assume the business class seat you're eyeing is on Iberia? Be sure to check out exactly what kind of seat is on the specific flight you're considering (and be sure the details you're looking at are current - lots of airlines have updated many, but not all, their business class cabins and the differences may be dramatic).

One other factor to weigh: what time is your flight? If it's an overnight flight, yeah, you probably want to optimize your sleep environment. But if your flight is during the day, you may not be able to sleep even with a comfy lie-flat bed, due to your body clock. Consider this for both the outbound and return legs.

I've only flown business class back and forth from Europe on Delta, Air France, and KLM. Do compare the seats like suggested above, but after seeing my sister's premium econ./comfort class seat I would have been happy with that and would opt for the direct flight. Double check the seats to make your choice. Good advice above about the less connections the less trouble you might possibly have.

Business Class also gives you Priority Lines for checking luggage, usually no charge for checked luggage, priority lines for security [many non-US airlines don't honor our TSA-PreCheck, even in the USA, ] more carry-on space, Business class Lounges with free alcohol and snacks, and better/faster service once on the plane. [ I love being offered a drink BEFORE we take off!] And USUALLY, [no guarantees] less chance of crying kids.

I recommend Business class nonstop, and a red-eye, if possible, to encourage the best sleep prospects. If the price seems reasonable, I think you owe it to yourself to try Business Class at least once!

Take the flight which provides the most comfort if the price is right. For me I would take the non-stop option in Economy. I'm in the same age bracket, ie late 60s, non-stop offers me the longest duration to sleep, which I know I'll do. The question is how long will I sleep going over.

On some flights/airlines(especially Virgin), premium economy is definitely worth the extra cost. I was faced with this decision this year and opted for the extra connections so I could have the business class seat going over the pond. However my business class seat was a free frequent flier ticket-I don't think I would spend $1000 extra for a flight with a connection vs premium economy nonstop. I have more time to sleep in business because I get the express meal option which lets me go to sleep way sooner than a meal in coach.

From the east coast, I would not spend the extra $$ for biz. Too short of a flight to really make use of the lie flat seat.

My $0.02

As you've seen, this is really up to you. Some would take the biz class seat, some wouldn't.

Use Seatguru to see what the difference is between the seats.

Then ask yourself what is important to YOU and what would make YOU happy.

thank you all for the advise. when ready to book, i always check seat guru too. i'll probably do premium economy unless the price drops enough to make biz the same price (since i won't have enough points for upgrade).

also, fyi, mia to cdg direct is 9 hours over & 10 back.

thanks again

We just returned from a trip to London this July and flew Virgin Atlantic from Orlando. We purchased economy seats and the flight to London was a bit of a challenge due to lack of space. On the return we were assigned premium economy and enjoyed a noticeable difference in space. Would I pay the $1k for business class? No.

Note that the second leg Business Class won't be the same level of comfort. As another noted, all long-distance Business Class is not identical. I find Lufthansa's better than United's new Polaris product. I have not had bad experiences with two-segment flights to Europe. As you've found, they can save you money. And referring to NYC departure times, neither your hotel room nor a museum is available at 8 AM in Paris. What is the MIA lounge like? Can you get a shower in Madrid or CDG if you want it?

I am assuming the flight through Madrid would be on Iberia or american? One item that may interest you...if you fly business class through Madrid, you are allowed access to the business class lounges during your layover. If you have a couple of hours to kill, this would be a good place to go. The lounges have showers and all of the food and beverages you could ask for.

Another option to consider is flying business class outbound and premium economy return. That way, you get a really nice lie flat seat to sleep on the way over and extra legroom on the daytime return trip.

You will go through immigration in Madrid. The airport is fairly easy to navigate but I would allow two hours between flights.

A 9 hour flight is worth business class to me, but money is not as much of an issue as it is for others. Even if I don't sleep soundly, it is far more relaxing to lie back and have more space. Plus as others have noted, you get priority screening and access to the lounges.

Also note that Madrid has a nice, modern airport and passing through immigration will be more pleasant there than at CDG. You do run a risk of delayed flights and missed connections, but if you are not locked into anything critical in Paris, you can hang out in the Madrid lounge if that happens.

Agree with Stephen-we only fly business on the flight over when we are hoping to sleep-always do premium economy for flights during the day. Virgin's premium economy has bigger seats, a better meal than regular economy and pillow and blanket;
in some of the US legacy carriers, premium economy "only" has extra leg room. We had to connect at Heathrow because there were no available direct flights to Edinburgh. Being in business class on Delta on the way over the pond got us free access to a lounge with showers so we could be clean while we waited for our next flight. I really liked that perk.

For a lot less than a thousand dollars, I would book an extra hotel night in Paris and "waste" it by sleeping as much as I wanted. Then I could also more comfortably watch movies on the flight without the frustration of trying to sleep. That's not the standard recommendation for avoiding jet lag, but it makes sense to me.

Fly nonstop from Miami. Changing planes is an extra stressor so if you can avoid it, then avoid it. If you are flying a European airline that has a TRUE premium economy product like Air France, I know I would be very pleased with that.

I could do a lot of really cool things with a $1000, so staying up all night on a plane is worth it. I can lay down and sleep when I get to my destination.