BA back in '96 LAX-LHR. They had just installed the flat beds and 'cause I didn't fancy anything off the menu for breakfast, the flight attendant made me some scrambled eggs on toast - umm, just like being at home... that's what its all about.

Great topic - This is a little sad but my first FC experiance came on SR from BOS-ZRH when I was about 4months old..... been hooked ever since.

My best FC experience was giving my mom a AS/BA Business Class award SAN-LGW in Dec '97. They upgraded her to first, she was totally excited and in 7th heaven. The cabin attendants were very nice to this little 67 yo woman who asked for her picture taken in her little suite. The best part was her friends that picked her up were all concerned she would be exhausted from her journey, but she had slept like a lamb and was ready to hit oxford street to shop that day.
She had the best time showing her friends the menus, her sleeper suit and still uses the amenity kit bag for her travel toiletries.

My father, who I offered the same trip to, and declined and has never turned me down since. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

AHA!!!...somebody else who remembers the lounge! I'm not completely crazy then!
I've been telling friends about this for years, but couldn't find any pictures or diagrams to prove it with so nobody would believe me. I remember sitting in this space flying with rels years ago on one of my very first flights

I'm glad SOMEBODY else out there remembers this.

Anybody know where I could find photos of this? ---I've looked everywhere!

JD

Yes, the " 707 lounge"...a bench all of about 2 seats wide with a table in front of it...quite a luxury.

Those were the days. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Found a great picture of the 707 lounge:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=141368

Enjoy (wink wink)

My first and only 1st class experience was on a business trip to the Middle East. I flew BAH (Bahrain) to RUH (Riyadh) on a Saudi Arabian Airlines MD90. The flight lasted all of 50 minutes, and they still served a meal (I had lamb, I think), but no alcohol!

The most unique experience of that flight was female flight attendant uniforms. Instead of the black abaya worn by women in Saudi Arabia (due to Islamic law), flight attendant wore a blue and yellow robe (similar to the abaya) and had a blue scarf covering her head (her face was not covered). You do not see this type of uniform in the USA.

The FC experience was not really that special, since I just flew business class from IAD to BAH on UA and BA just a couple of days before. I enjoyed that business class experience better.

My first time was back in '90. I was 19 and on my way to Europe for a study term in Italy. My dad figured he'd escort me over there and take care of some business at the same time. Since PanAm was about to go under (for the first time) he decided to blow all his frequent flyer miles on first. Boy, were my eyes as big as saucers! The caviar, the champagne, chocolates, edible food, comfy seats. I was in heaven.

Alas, I was so smitten with the ride that I did not sleep. Upon arrival in Paris, I met up with a friend from school and we were dropped off at the Gare du Nord for our train to Amsterdam. Being somewhat groggy and very tardy, we sprinted for the train and managed to board as it was pulling away. Of course, we had about 1000% more luggage than I carry now. Once settled, we breathed a sigh of relief - until the conductor told us that the car we were seated in only went to Brussels. What a fire drill we had at the next station trying to change cars (for some reason the doors were locked between cars). By the time we reached Amsterdam I felt like death. Slept forever.

But I learned some valuable lessons: First is better http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, sleep on the plane, travel light and mind all signs and placards!

My first time in Business Class was to Europe with my Brother on AA (ATL-ORD-LON). On the way back, we were able to sit in up front. Of course, after a month or so of backpacking around Europe, we did not look like average people that should be up there. We were both so excited, neither of us slept, we watched 3 movies, enjoyed the drinks, and enjoyed a heck of a time. However, the best part of the trip back was that behind us sat none other than the one and only George P. Burdell. Needless to say, it was a great trip.

My first time in First Class was on an Eastern Airlines DC-9 in the mid-70s. My sister and I were traveling alone for the first time from Syracuse, NY to Fort Myers, Florida to visit our grandparents. My parents only bought dirt cheap tickets (in fact they probably sent us alone because they couldn't afford to go along). Nevertheless, after we took off one of the stewardesses (as they were still mostly called then) came back and brought us up to sit in First Class, in seats 1A & 1C. I was sure I was the most excited ten-year-old on the planet, although I think my eight-year-old sister could have cared less.

I'm imagine the stewardess upgraded us so she could keep an eye on us, and she ended up chatting with us while squatting in the aisle on many occassions throughout the trip. I still remember that she had braces!

One of the highlights was having that linen placemat laid down on my tray table and having food served to us on china! We were not by nature unruly children anyway, but I can tell you that we were certainly on our best behavior throughout that flight!

Now, as for my kids, we were all bumped up two years ago on a widebody dinner flight from ORD-MIA.

My kids were 3 and 5 at the time.

Even thought we got sundaes, they couldn't have cared less. In fact, we were given middle seats, and one of my kids was crying because she couldn't see out the window, and none of the people with window seats would trade, so I spent much of the flight at a window seat in coach. Oh well.

Again, last eyar, we were all bumped up to F on our MIA-BOS return...no crying this time, but at 5 and 7, they still didn't care.

I wonder at what age it starts to make a difference?

My first time? On board a TWA 747 flight (TW 760) between LAX and LHR. The service was out of this world. I remember that we had soup course as one of the meal courses. The Chateaubriand was actually carved in front of you and the amount of space was tremendous.

My first US domestic F flight was on a TWA 727 between LAX and SAN. They zipped the drinks out and because of the flying time of about 10 minutes we poured them all into plastic so we could go one drinking during landing!!

My first time, and it did make an impression and a difference, was when I was 9 years old on a trasantlantic flight.

For my daughter it started to make a difference when she was 7. She started to say that flying with Dad was better than flying with Mom (Mon and Dad are divorced - Mom goes coach, she normally flies business with Dad). She started to get curious about first class -always asked about the beds, so I dediced to treat her, and flew with her when she was 9 (last year) on Swissair beds accross the pond. Boy she loved it! This year (now she is 10) she was flying from MAD to SIN with her Grandma. She was resigned to fly on coach with her. She jumped of joy when she found that their seats were on business class. She is becoming a bit too used to flying in front with me and is thus becoming demanding. I am making an effort to make her understand that she should be happy and feel lucky for being able to fly business and/or first from time to time and that the norm is to fly coach and should not feel bad about it. I do not want her to grow up taking things for granted and becoming too pretentious.


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The trouble with resisting temptation is..... that you may not get another chance.

My first time in first was on UA HKG-SFO (or somewhere in the U.S.) over 15 years ago. I was around 12 years old and we had booked three award business seats and my dad was on a business trip. We had pre-assigned seats to sit together on the upper deck of the 747 and when we checked-in they offered to upgrade two of us to first. My dad first said no because he wanted us to sit together but I was so excited that he gave in and took the seats. I remember he wasn't too happy with the seats because it was second to last row and last row was smoking (back in the days when you still had smoking rows). My mum and younger sister were happy in their seats upstairs. I think our seats were just behind the 1L door. All I remember was that it was the first time I tried caviar and loved it! A few years after that I took Virgin's upper class and then a few years after that I started traveling first more regularly on international trips! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Once the beds came out I got hooked and after that I have traveled on first over 70% of my international trips.

Although this is not really a "First" experience I would argue that international "Business Class" on a 2-class airline would work also?!

My first experience of that was with SK in December last year. I was doing a weekend trip to Las Vegas from Denmark and had had almost zero sleep the night before. I started in CPH but my flight to the states would leave from ARN going to ORD. Even though sleeping through the entire 1-hour flight CPH-ARN I was close to dead when arriving in ARN and just wanted to sleep and get out of my misery. I arrived at a crowded gate where boarding had already begun. Somehow I managed to get upgraded with only 3 (15.000) coupons inspite of the rules stating 4 i.e. "20.000." My plan had been to argue that they had failed mailing me all four coupons (truth was I only had enough miles for 3). This is what I did and appearently I looked so wasted that the gate agent took pity on my at once.

It was just pure heaven. I had a free seat next to me. Would I like some juice? Sure, yes. Also, because I was so wasted I really did not mind what I would otherwise (and now with more experience pick up on). I asked a male FA to take my coat and he first asked where I was seated - then when he found I was seated in Business his changed totally. Really all the crew on this flight were so nice to me. A very nice flight.