That's it right there! I live in Sacramento (the capital of CA for those of you who still think it's LA or S.F.) and United has a daily flight to D.C. I have NEVER seen one of our local Reps walk past me in FC into Coach. Considering it's 5000 miles R/T, they're all 100K mile fliers. It's also fairly easy to get comped, even on UA, 100K status with an airline if you're an elected official.

They are also very well known with the staff. I had a flight where there was 1 FC pax that had not checked in, I overheard the CSR tell a guy waitlisted to go ahead and board because he could GUARANTEE that this pax would not miss the flight. Sure enough at about 20 minutes before takeoff - my congressman showed up - he takes the flight almost every week.

Anyway, I have no problem with Senators or Reps flying FC on an upgraded ticket or Int'l on a paid 'C' ticket.

JayBrian: Not exactly true! Check out the Congressional Accountability Act. Like most civil servents these days, Reps and Sens can use miles gained out of flights taken paid out of their congressional accounts only to fly on official business or to upgrade when on official business.

Of course, like federal civil servents there is no accounting for these miles once the individual retires from public service...

And Roadrunner: dmjaffe is exactly correct. Reps and Sens have to account for every penny spent out of their office budgets and that accounting is printed every year. Sunshine, baby. Sunshine!!!

Shareholder:

While I do not mean to single you out, I feel compelled to respond to your statement about not being able to afford it if you have to ask yourself whether to buy F.

Eh... to make a long story short (condensed from a much longer post),,.

... In others words, "I don't... in fact because I can, but I choose not to."

[This message has been edited by ETOPS (edited 04-02-2001).]

In my previous employment, there was a policy in place for some period of time (a year or so) that we could fly FC if we were flying to the Left Coast, but that was changed, I personally only took advantage of it on one trip. I also was able to once change from a transcon to a redeye, and the difference in fare was only $80 or so to FC which I paid for out of my own pocket.

Also, I believe employees of Anheiser-Busch on flights longer than two hours get paid FC tickets.

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[This message has been edited by ETOPS (edited 04-02-2001).]

In answer to the original question, the travel agency I deal with handles travel for many Silicon Valley companies, and the CEOs of some of them routinely travel on paid F class tickets, not only for themselves but for their entire family when traveling on personal business.

"As for Greenspan specifically, he is Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. As an employee of an "Independent Federal Agency" he is still subject to the strict rules place on all federal employees every bit as much as the administrator of the General Services administration or say the National Archives is."

Are you sure? Since the Federal Reserve is fiscally independent of the federal government, I would not think that such 'rules' apply.

Once in a while, I buy an F ticket -- normally not for myself (unless the price is right), but sometimes my wife's back is bothering her, so I buy her an F ticket so I don't have to beg a seat for her, or have to have her fight with higher status flyers for the seat.

Nobody's mentioned yet the baseball umps who have 1st class tickets written into their contract. I agree with celebs being in first. A USAIR flight I was on I couldn't get upgraded, no matter what I tried...it seems Jerry Lewis booked the entire 1st class for himself and entourage. OK with me if celebs need that kind of privacy. Another time I've given up my 1st class seat for Dan Quayle so he could sit next to his wife. I guess they were comped by USAIR. I've also heard from a very large person that their company OK'd first class on all flights due to their size.

And don't forget that lots of people are authorized to fly in business class internationally. And this gets you into first (PAID F) on the domestic leg of those itineraries (on 2-class planes). That is why it is difficult to get into F on certain flights with lots of international connecting passengers.

One thing that a lot of us in this group
probably do not account for is as follows -

People who pay for full fare F, or somesuch
in B/E do *not* hang out on this group :-)
and many of them do not even use a computer :-)

I worked for a large record company for 10 years or so. You'd be amazed at the contracts of a touring act. The promoter just gets TOLD by agent the following will require full first tickets and this is to OZ btw, at $10,000 r/t, not just domestic.

All Band members and spouses/girlfriends, Personal manager, tour manager, Accountant, tour co-ordinator. Thats usually about FIFTEEN paid firsts, and depending on size of act, another 5 or 10 weasel their way onto that list. Do the math. no wonder concepttickets cost what they do, as the promoter just passes all this on to ticket buyers.

------------------
~ Glen ~

My company (a really big international media company) has a policy all VP's fly FC on transcon flights only, Senior VP's and above fly FC on all flights and they get a car at each point to take and pick up from the airport. I get coach and no car (except in NY), but all employees fly business class on international flights.