I don't understand why anyone would pay out of their pocket for first class service? The biggest discomforts of airline travel for me are the engine noise and dry/stale air. Both these problems exist in all classes of the plane . Also all flights between developed countries have a very respectable and well mannered clientèle.

This is not the 18'th century where avoiding the 'uncivilized riff-raff' would be something pleasurable. I know the food is better on first, but is that fillet mignon really $2000 better than your meatloaf ? And with regards to sleeping, the biggest factor is how tired you are , not how much your seat reclines..

I think people just have this romantic fantasy that first-class travel is the solution to everything wrong with plane travel . Kind of like that recent wine-study, where people perceive anything more expensive as inherently better. I have traveled a good deal of first class, but would never pay out of my pocket for it!