Searching for first class tickets
 

A few years ago I traveled a lot for business and was entitled to fly FC on 2500+ mile routes. Since many of my flights were across the country (US) this meant most tickets were FC. We had a company travel agent that I dealt with directly and she routinely got me first class flights for 20-50% over the coach fare.

Now when I search for myself I find that FC is usually double or more what coach is.

Is there a good way to look for discounted FC tickets? I'm not talking about award tickets or upgrades. That is another possible option. I would just like to try to find first class tickets for purchase that are less than what I am finding.

Any suggestions? Would I be better off talking to a real travel agent?

Look for "Y-up" or instant upgrade fares. They're coach tickets that book into first class.

Thanks. I'd never heard of that. But my search at FareCompare only found Y-up tickets that were about the same as first class. Maybe the days of the cheap tickets are gone like everything else. But thanks for the help. I'll keep searching that way.