Totally agree with that. First class travel is a nice experience, no doubt about it. But the price/value proposition is usually horrible.
So if you're 16 and have to do work all summer to afford the fare, don't do it. Either relax the summer or if you wanna work anyway, take the money and get yourself something which will last longer than a transatlantic trip.
Take the trip in first some years down the road when you do not have to work all summer but just a few days for the fare difference.
And who knows, you might always get lucky. When I was 17 or so and was flying SFO-CVG-FRA I was OPUP'd to First on the SFO-CVG leg.
I meant to write that I would do weekend jobs during the school year, to pay for Affaires. The job in Italy is separate.