[mikeash]

For me, it would come down to this:

If you're making me fly roundtrip to China in economy once a month, I quit.

I make that trip once every year or two and I hate hate hate the travel part of it. Being there is good, getting there and back is absolutely awful.

So I would say, either pay for business class, give me a raise large enough to cover paying for it myself, or find somebody else.

If you choose the last option, then you'll either have to get astonishingly lucky to find someone who doesn't mind being crammed into an Economy seat so much (does any such person exist?) or you'll eventually find someone desperate enough to put up with it, and what are the odds that such a person is also good at what they do?

[myrandomcomment]

I have done just 90K miles this year to Asia. 57 times just to Tokyo in the last 4 years! There is no way I would even think about doing this in economy. I am not effective at my job for a day after a flight like this in economy. And lets not forget the time away from the family. If you have to be in Asia for a Monday meeting you have to leave Saturday as you lose a day.

[mikeash]

You have my sympathy. Even in the better classes that can't be fun after the first few times.