Originally Posted by FrustratedTraveler

Hello, and I apologize in advance if I am posting this in the wrong location.

Recently, I left my job behind a desk to begin consulting, and have gone from traveling once per year, to every 3 to 4 weeks. The majority of my flights are MCO <> ORD on United, and MCO <> DCA on USAirways/American. Almost every flight has been horrible. Despite being in the "first class cabin", I frequently encounter no working power outlets (or no outlets at all), flight attendants who are too busy chatting with passengers or reading magazines to run cabin service, horrible or nonexistent food when they finally do, crying children, and of course delayed flights and lost baggage which plagues everyone on the flight. Every once in a blue moon I'll actually get a decent experience (typically on United) where I sit down, have power and can work for an hour or two, am not distracted by crying children, and have a "there when you need them, gone when you don't" flight crew. But it happens so rarely.

I guess I am ranting / venting a bit, but I'm curious if there's any "fix" to this. Right now I'm paying around $700 per trip, and getting what I consider "coach" level service. I could justify triple that cost for actual "first class", but I can't seem to find anything between a "domestic first" and chartering a private jet at ~$40k per trip which exceeds my budget considerably. Does anyone know of any "tricks" to get better service from the airlines (even basics like working power outlets), or any alternatives to a regular commercial airline that are cheaper than chartering a jet for just myself (something like uber for jets perhaps?)? Google has led me to this site, but hasn't offered any specific answers to my question.

Thanks!