Flying First Class

[Nightcap]

The Unindicted Co-Conspirator hates to fly. So we almost never do. Three years ago, we were invited to the wedding of a nephew across the country. Our doctor prescribed a little Xanax, and I sprung for First Class. It was definitely worth it.

This is how the hedonic treadmill works. We’ll never fly coach again.

 

[barak]

Yes!

We just flew first class from east coast US to Hawaii. I probably would not have taken the trip without flying first class. The check-in was streamlined, luggage got priority, meals were great and on real china with real silverware. The 737 first class seating was okay, but the 787 seating was private pods with reclining lay flat seats. What a difference from being crammed in coach!

Yes, you will be spoiled for the future and never want to fly coach again.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Murph]

Do you fly first class? I never have, but for our trip in February to Savannah, first class was only $300 more for dh and myself round trip and included 2 free bags. Since dh has to ship through golf clubs and then we will each have a bag, the differential was even less.

We typically fly Southwest, but the flight times didn’t work for us (we are meeting friends).

Will I be spoiled for the future? Is it really not that big of a deal? I didn’t tell dh (typically I book all our travel) because I thought it would be a fun surprise. I’m excited and hope I won’t be disappointed.

We’re flying Delta, if that makes any difference.

Might depend on the size of plane and how far you're traveling. If its a short flight, on a small plane, first class might only mean "front of the plane". On a 737 or larger, and more than 2 hours, I highly recommend it.

 

[JoeLevyMD]

First Class /Business class

I try to fly business class internationally. I have found the best use of my points is to buy an economy ticket and upgrade to business. I will transfer points from chase or Amex to the airline once I have secured the tickets.
This works great except if I fly British Air through Heathrow. British air charges flight taxes, most other carriers do not.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

I flew over 2 million miles for work. Use to have top status. Many rides in a Porsche between gates. Just flew for first time in 2 years. Nothing glamorous about it for me anymore. If I ever go int'l, I will look at paying for upgrade to make it more tolerable but not sure if the cheapskate in me can do that for hours of "better" enjoyment in a place I don't enjoy.

 

[anothercog]

More than first-class seats on international flights, how much are you willing to pay for a suite like this? With your own toilet?

The Emirates A380 even has a shower. No, it's not personal and you have to reserve it. They clean it out meticulously after each use though.

I got to experience Emirates first class and it was pretty amazing. Megacorp paid for business class and I used miles to upgrade the experience. A roomy suite, top shelf food service and booze. A massive bathroom. I think I polished off a bottle of Dom Perignon and Opus One. On the 16 hour flight I still had time to sleep it off and take a shower. The flight itself was a mini vacation. The lounges were also absurdly luxurious.

I can’t imagine paying cash for this but I am hoping to fly business on my own dime when I retire and possibly upgrade to first class with miles when I can.

 

[luckydude]

The first time I flew international business was for work. I was being served champagne and warmed nuts, while a woman with a young child was being herded past, on their way into coach. "Is this where we're sitting Mummy?" he asked.. No, she said as they kept going.

I felt horrible and wonderful at the same time.

Here is an interesting pre-Covid 2016 study that finds higher probability of air rage by economy passengers if they had to walk past the first/business class section to get to their seats:

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/walking-past-first-class-fuels-passenger-air-rage-says-study

 

[sengsational]

I'm all about the lay flat capabilities and less about the fancy stuff. But as mentioned, the ratios are often insane. I found a short hop to Toronto, coach, would get me lay flat across the pond for 1/3 the price of the same thing out of my home airport. A bit of a pain because it had to be booked as 2 tickets, but I imagined sleeping, and waking up refreshed. The plan started falling apart early, when my request to my doc for Xanax fell on deaf ears. Then it was too early (9:30PM) to sleep. It was comfortable to lay down, but I didn't sleep a wink. But I've gone from not even looking at business/first to checking the ratio.

 

[luckydude]

Up to a few years ago, I was still too cheap to fly business class internationally all the time. If flight time was > 8 hours I would spring for business class, but on shorter flights, I just slummed in premium economy if it was available.

A funny story. In 2015 I visited Iceland on Icelandair and booked a premium economy seat (not a great product but still better than economy for a couple of hundred more). I was the only one passenger in the premium econ section. After the plane reached cruising altitude, a man seated toward the front of the economy section decided to upgrade himself to one of the empty premium economy seats. He got his carryon from the overhead compartment, walked up to the premium econ section, stowed his carryon away and sat down on an empty seat.

He had barely settled in when a flight attendant walked up to him and said, in a voice loud enough for others to overhear, that he couldn't have that seat because he didn't pay for it. Red-faced, he had to retrieve his carryon once again and scamper back to his old seat in full view of other passengers. That was embarrassing.

 

[Paulz]

For domestic flights its not really that big of a deal. Don't get me wrong-definitely a step up from coach but the experience has been diluted over the years. For international, its worth it!

 

[DrRoy]

I don't think I'll ever pay to get first class - I sleep most of the flight anyway.

We (especially DW) find it difficult to sleep in coach on the overnight flights to Europe. We will book those first class for that reason.

 

[athena53]

The plan started falling apart early, when my request to my doc for Xanax fell on deaf ears. Then it was too early (9:30PM) to sleep. It was comfortable to lay down, but I didn't sleep a wink. But I've gone from not even looking at business/first to checking the ratio.

I haven't been able to sleep on long hauls, even in Business, for ages. On the way there I think it's just adrenaline. Sometimes I take a few short naps on the way home. I've still decided I'd rather be comfortable if I'm going to be wide awake! And I'll never forget flying over the Palm Islands off Dubai (on the way from London to Bangalore) in the middle of the night, seeing them all lit up, from my seat "upstairs" on a 747.

A former boss used to fall asleep while we were still on the runway waiting to take off and he didn't use medications. It always made me jealous.

 

[PandaBear]

Well, we took our flight to Savannah, flying from the West Coast. Dh said to me on the first flight, “I guess I know how we’re traveling from now on”. I laughed, but it’s true.

Dh hates to carry on luggage, so he appreciated not paying extra. And I have spinal stenosis and also get terrible leg cramps, and the extra space was great for me to stretch my legs and twist my back. Dh loved the space as well.

I certainly won’t pay for first class when it’s $1500 one way and coach is $300. Or when I’m just flying for an hour to LA. But when it’s $500 instead of $300, I’m going for it.