My wife and I are planning a late December trip to France and US First Class is the only Dividend Miles award that seems to be available. The last time we upgraded, F had the same Envoy menus, wine, etc. Is this still essentially Envoy service with the sleeper seats? Where's the Star Alliance when you really need it!

[This message has been edited by TPA us ff (edited 09-10-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TPA us ff:
Is this still essentially Envoy service with the sleeper seats? </font>

When I flew to LGW in Aug in Envoy, I spoke with some folks in the arrival lounge that could only get the first class awards too, despite many empty seats in Envoy. I asked them about their meal selection, and it was exactly the same as the Envoy meal selection... so in answer to your question... it seems to me that yes, first class is still essentially Envoy service with the sleeper seats

Yes, FC has been downgraded. After 9-11, no more soup and wines were not as special as before, by now food is entirely Envoy. They still have a few sleeper suits and slippers.

Nuts by the way are now the packs that used to be given out back.

My wife and I flew PHL-FRA-PHL in First in July, it was a quite disappointing experience. The food and wines are exactly the same as Envoy, the only difference is you get a small food item with your pre-departure drink. No pyjamas, no slippers, Envoy amenity kit. The only benefit of First over Envoy really is the sleeper seat, which I found less than great. It's flat, yes, but kinda narrow. I like the intimate feel of the cabin, however, since there's nobody in front of you and nobody behind you. The service was very nice outbound, but downright horrible coming back. The flight attendant was totally overwhelmed, I have had much better service every time I flew Envoy. As an added bonus, our entertainment systems were out, and even my wife's reading light could not be turned off. The attendant and the purser were less than apologetic about it, never once did I hear them say "Sorry". That's my experience with International First on US Airways. Never again, it's ridiculous that they want 45,000 miles over an Envoy award for that. Don't do it!!