Airfare upgrade, I just can’t, but would you?

[Midpack]

The 737 was mentioned in an earlier post. Our upcoming first class trip is on an A321. We'll see.

 

[FD1000]

I don't mind boarding first and paying 2x. Travel is for experiences, and anything I can do to make them more enjoyable, the better. I don't go cheap or why go?

Boarding first doesn’t matter much. I’ve never left more than 15–20 minutes after first class anyway.

What we’re discovering is that the value of “experience” has almost no ceiling if people are willing to pay 2× more (which could be thousands more) to save 15 minutes.

That’s why luxury pricing continues to rise faster than average and above-average products as well.

In many ways, this is beneficial because it allows companies to subsidize more competitive pricing for the other 90% of customers.

 

[audreyh1]

Something I haven't seen mentioned, and this may not be true at smaller airports. At Dulles there is a separate check-in for First/Business/Polaris, etc. So we walk past the snaking long lines at the front of the terminal and head to the back where a United employee sees two "old" folks and comes over to help us check our bags. Nice. And relief of yet another stress-point along the way.

Priority check-in is a very appreciated perk for us. Some larger airports even have priority security, above and beyond TSA pre-check.

 

[bonvoyage]

What we’re discovering is that the value of “experience” has almost no ceiling if people are willing to pay 2× more (which could be thousands more) to save 15 minutes.

TSA Pre, Global Entry, lounge access, flat bed seats, ample room for your hand luggage in the overhead bins. All of these things make travel more pleasant. I would still fly if even I had none of these things but since I can easily afford it, I do pay for all of them.
Fundamentally, I still enjoy flying. I took my first flight (to Europe) as a small kid with my family in 1967. Now, almost sixty years later, I still get excited when I get on a plane

 

[audreyh1]

It’s all about a far more comfortable, far less cramped, far lower hassle experience. It’s not about saving 15 minutes.

 

[marko]

The 737 was mentioned in an earlier post. Our upcoming first class trip is on an A321. We'll see.

Do yourself a favor: During the flight, after a few hours, get up and take a stroll to the back of the plane. (Put your shoes on).

Perspective is everything especially if its a night flight. 39 descending rows of Dantes Inferno.

Please let us all know when you get back.

 

[Fermion]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

 

[Chuckanut]

Interestingly, hotel reservations for the Summer World Cup games in my area are about 40% under the estimates made late last year. Given the capacity of the local stadium, I have to wonder what the missing 40% would do if they suddenly showed up. It’s not like they can increase seats in the venues by trucking in some folding chairs.

 

[chemEguy]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

That’s a fine pinball…

 

[Chuckanut]

That makes no sense. If they raise it ridiculously high, the obvious result will be only the truly wealthy will utilize it. If I have to pay $28000 to fly first class, I will not do it. Those much wealthier than I perhaps will not blink. I’ll be out.

$28,000 for a seat in first class. Could you get a group, together and charter your own luxury jet for that price?

 

[marko]

$28,000 for a seat in first class. Could you get a group, together and charter your own luxury jet for that price?

Yes. I noted upthread that my neighbor did Palm Beach to Boston for himself and his wife for $25k.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

Or you can do both.

 

[Fermion]

Or you can do both.

It is hard make yourself buy everything. Case in point, did your husband ever get the Flying Spur he wanted?

 

[RetiredHappy]

It is hard make yourself buy everything. Case in point, did your husband ever get the Flying Spur he wanted?

No.

 

[audreyh1]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

Hey, if there is something you’d rather buy instead, go for it.

 

[6miths]

Before COVID, I used to fly back and forth to Africa frequently and the last few times I bid on upgrades to Business class on the the 15h return flight. The organization flying me paid for economy. After two to four weeks of working full out the money seemed well spent. That said it was only $800. I am among those who see better value elsewhere for the money that it would cost to book lay flats up front.

 

[Music Lover]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

We spent a little over $8000 for flights and 3 months rent in a private house in Mazatlán. For both of us.

To think of spending that on flights alone for a more comfortable seat is too silly to even consider, regardless of how much money we have.

 

[ut2sua]

For us the "experience" of traveling begins when the car service pulls into the driveway to take us to the airport. It's the entire journey and not just the arrival.
Pamper me.

Its really simple: I don't tolerate being uncomfortable, cramped or crowded at home, why would I put up with it when traveling?

You rich, spoiled people
For me, it has always been a fantastical, emotional, straight-to-the-heart connection at the deepest level with the international business lay flat seat. It is true because I can look away from the domestic 1st class seat as well as the international first class seat (which will save me $15K no less over business lay flat) with no regrets. It is the international business lay flat that has always been my first and only true love.
Kidding aside, it is really the complaints from my back bones after 8hrs+ flight that forces me into this love.

 

[FD1000]

It’s all about a far more comfortable, far less cramped, far lower hassle experience. It’s not about saving 15 minutes.

It’s about 15 minutes. If you’ve already paid big bucks for first class and want to save another 15 minutes, that’s just being spoiled. Is it an experience?

After landing, the hotel can send a limo instead of you catching a taxi, just another $1,000.

The next day, instead of taking a taxi to a concert, a special service can pick you up, saving 10 more minutes—for another $1,000.

A day later, a three-star Michelin restaurant will arrange for you to dine alone for another $2,000.

When you return home, the local dealership might offer to replace your one-year-old, super-expensive car with a new one, for the usual $20,000. But wait, they’ll save you an hour by bringing two options directly to your house for a mere $2,000.

I don’t see anything wrong with any of this if you have the money. Just be honest, don’t disguise it as an “experience.”

 

[bonvoyage]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

Its a matter of selective spending:
- We have lived in the same house for thirty years and never wanted to move to a bigger place.
- I drive past a Mercedes Benz dealership near my house almost every day. I could buy an S class for cash but I don't feel even the slightest desire to buy a car fancier than my Honda.

But I have no problem putting down $13k for a couple of business class seats. Give me a comfy seat with aisle access and welcome drink and I'm a happy man

 

[marko]

It’s about 15 minutes. If you’ve already paid big bucks for first class and want to save another 15 minutes, that’s just being spoiled. Is it an experience?

Just be honest, don’t disguise it as an “experience.”

A bit harsh imo. One man's pleasant experience is another man's exorbitant expense.

People put different value on different things and allocate their spending accordingly.

While I tend to "buy" time for myself by hiring out everything possible around the house, my seat in 2B (all 4 million miles of them) has never been about saving time. Rather, it IS about the experience, being more comfortable, less crowded and being treated like a human being. These are things that I value highly whether on a plane or just walking down the street.

Conversely, if one finds eight hours in a center seat in row 29 and a bag of peanuts meets one's value criteria, who am I to judge. Welcome aboard!

 

[ncbill]

I keep looking at these $8,000 tickets and think "for that money, I could buy a dual axle Big Tex hydraulic tilting dump trailer, maybe 16 feet long, 14k rating". I could then park it next to the excavator and have more toys to play in the yard. It would be years of fun vs a 8 hour flight. It is hard to balance out in my mind.

For $12k I could buy a Medieval Madness remake pinball machine, built to Williams standards but with new electronics and a double protected playfield. Also fun and beautiful for the game room. Again, hard to balance....pinball machine or 8 hour flight.

oooh...do they offer a remake of Eight Ball Deluxe?

"Quit talking and start chalking..."

 

[CO-guy]

I don't understand the insistence that somehow people that prefer to pay more to fly in comfort are being dishonest about their reasons.

Sometimes I fly in comfort. Sometimes I fly in economy. Our current budget lets us upgrade opportunistically. Maybe in the future it will be all the time.

Frankly, what makes more sense are that people without the budget to easily fly in comfort are making excuses about why they chose to sit in economy (i.e. the "I could afford first class but don't want to waste money" bologna).

 

[RetiredHappy]

Flying is unpleasant enough, spending thousands more on a business class ticket to make the experience less pleasant is worth every dime of it. We both like our private space, away from other passengers and noise. Value means differently to different people. We find value in spending money on business class seats.

 

[junkanoo]

I don't understand the insistence that somehow people that prefer to pay more to fly in comfort are being dishonest about their reasons.

Sometimes I fly in comfort. Sometimes I fly in economy. Our current budget lets us upgrade opportunistically. Maybe in the future it will be all the time.

Frankly, what makes more sense are that people without the budget to easily fly in comfort are making excuses about why they chose to sit in economy (i.e. the "I could afford first class but don't want to waste money" bologna).

You want to talk about baloney ... I wonder how many people on this thread contributed posts to that 11+ page thread (which basically got down to) 'how to save 20 bucks on TurboTax.'

I was at a cocktail party where a woman was 'sharing' that ... 'if you're in Paris, you need to stay at the renovated blah-blah-blah hotel as its lobby is to die for.' I said, "well if it's so great, you could just waltz in from the street and enjoy the lobby for free.' Needless to say, she wasn't pleased.

Btw, isn't it a bit telling that we get a 13-page thread on Travel Upgrades yet the Travel Subforum's thread on travel plans for 2026 is only 10 pages?