There's something I really think the FAs should make clear in their safety presentations.

If a plane needs to be evacuated, I'm assuming they have a special life raft for First Class pax, but how do FAs make sure that First Class pax leave the plane first? Do they actually hold the other pax back until the forward cabin is empty? Otherwise, how could you really be sure you were getting the special treatment you paid for? Also, what would they do if someone auto-upgraded himself to the First Class raft? Do they check boarding cards before you go down the shute?

Another thing I wonder is, say I happened to be travelling in Y but had a gold card. Would this entitle me to use the First Class raft? And while the plane was being evacuated, who would I show my card to and when? This bothers me because I can imagine some Kettles being irritated by my trying to walk to the front of the plane to find a FA, while they were trying to file out the emergency exit. I would show them my gold card and try to explain, but you know how some Kettles are. They might not even know what it was.

+1

Lol great story

I thought it was Thanksgiving not April fools day...

And since we're on the topic. I've always wondered, will there be beverage services on board the raft? They're not going to expect us to paddle or anything are they?

When you travel in F, you've paid handsomely for that seat. Accordingly, standard operating procedure is to allow guests in F to continue relaxing in comfort while the rest of the aircraft is evacuated. This has the effect of lightening the load and making the aircraft more bouyant thus allowing the F pax relax even more in their seats while the airplane (or what's left of it) continues to float gently.

Also, if you find that the economy passengers are making too much noise while exiting the plane, simply press the flight attendant light above you and notify them of the annoyance.

I remember having to set up the protocol for a senior member of a Royal Family who flew on one of our flights a few years ago. One of the toadies assigned to liaise with the airline actually asked whether in the case of an emergency we would require HRH to share a life raft with other passengers. Also, in the case of depressurisation, he wanted to ensure that proper protocol was followed and that other pax refrained from donning their masks until HRH had done so. I laughed initially but then realised he was completely serious. He was gently told to sod off.

HRH himself was absolutely charming and unpretentious. If it wasn't for the red carpets and valets and fussing about around him, you wouldnt have been able to tell him apart from anyone else in the Business Class cabin.

Moral of the story : sometimes "First Class" is dictated by the way you conduct yourself and not by your seat assignment.

It's my understanding that FA's aren't allowed to do onboard upgrades so I think you might be left to the Y life rafts. But these days, you should really do yourself a favor and as with all things related to Y-class air travel -> bring your own.

Somewhere in Afghanistan there's a group of terrorists in a cave huddled around a laptop reading this thread reinforcing their beliefs on why they want to kill us.

Interesting you bring this up. I was going to start a new (serious) post about emergency evacuation today. Have you ever noticed the inconsistency about the life vest, whether you inflate them before or after you leave the plane? Some airlines specifically say before you leave, some specifically say after, and some are purposely vague. These are for US carriers -- so you'd assume someone is leaving themselves open to a lawsuit if there is some sort of lifevest issue -- you would think they'd leave the safety warning to federal regulators - -hell they regulate everything else in the industry -- to have a uniform safety demonstration. All the videos are on youtube, take a listen, they all have inconsistent instructions from airline to airline.

As for the plane crash, i always joke with my buddy that first class always survives in a plane crash, so not to worry if he's sitting up there. It's one of the benefits of the more expensive ticket.

Also, did anyone see that Southwest emergency landing with sparks about 6 months ago? I wasn't sure what was more puzzling-- that the guy had the nerve to throw his briefcase down the chute and wait while other passengers were behind them - -or that 50 people lined up about 25 feet on the edge of the runway while thousands of gallons of jetfuel were close to a potential fire. Oh yeah, you're outside of the plane, and the jetfuel is contained in that metal, don't worry about a massive explosion -- stay on the runway, and remain calm and certainly don't run for your life.

There was this picture going around after US flight 1549 had to ditch in the Hudson. Or this one.

I thought it was standardised - never inflate your life jacket until you get off the plane. If it's sinking you'd get stuck to the roof of the plane and be unable to get out. People have died as a result of doing this - for example in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961

"mr. pillows" would be first