+1.. would like to see a stopover breaking up a 14 hour trip. Unless its like a red eye to my system.. then I can sleep through most of it, and not miss a heart beat.

Business Class on Ryan Air may be worth the extra $
 

Here's a link with an interview with the CEO of Ryan Air. Sounds like the extra money you pay for Business Class may be worth it with this airline if what he says in the interview is correct. (Warning, "R" rated)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIY24BErBE

I was op-upped on a Thai Air flight from Asia to Greece in true first. That was some experience. There were only two other people in the entire cabin, so we had at least one attendant per person.
I still wear the pajamas they gave me. Caviar (and top shelf caviar) and Foie Gras in the same meal, yum.

When i was looking at the drink menu, I decided to order Johnnie Walker Green on the rocks. After a minute, the apologetic FA came back sheepishly and told me all they had was Johnnie Blue. For those of you not familiar with this brand name, that is moving up from a $70 bottle to a $160. :D


Edit: But to answer the original question...I could never justify the cost no matter who is paying for it.

Truer words have rarely been spoken.

When I am in J on the outbound I find myself dreading the return flight.
When I am Y on the outbound I eagerly look forward to the return flight.

Thai admitted that their First service is mostly loss making, can't find the link atm. If any airline can actually sell F it be SQ.

To the OP: 10K wouldn't be worth it to me, if I have a flat bed that's more than enough for me (IE Biz service). Save the remainder for another Biz fare. Also you don't say where your from, but if your American likely there's some good credit card sign up bonuses you could get that you could save towards a flight in First or Biz.

You can break it down into groups
 

You can break it down. There are different groups who sit in F.

The first group is those who pay for F.

1) Somebody else pays (company, client, etc)
2) People who cannot afford it, but do it anyway (those who live beyond their means, or the once in a lifetime splurge)
3) People who can afford it and do it (they have money and they spend it without a dent into their lifestyle)

The 2nd group in F is upgraders, mileage redeemers

1) Company pays for C, they upgrade to F with instrument or miles
2) They pay for C, they upgrade to F with instrument or miles
3) Redeem miles for free C ticket

I have flown in F twice in my life on long-haul. Both times, it is company pays for C, I upgrade with instrument to F.

Personally, no matter how rich I were, I would never pay for F. I'd easily pay for C if I were rich, but F can easily be $18,000 for a long-haul flight when C is only $5600. Totally not worth the money.

People always say that they would not do it, even if they were rich..but I think they may find it very different actually being rich.

It's not a matter of dollars, but of % of income. If you had 10,000 dollars to your name, you would not spend 3500 on an F ticket..however, if you had 10 million to your name, 3500 would be .035% of your income..the equivalent of the 10,000 dollar owner spending about $3.50. So, would you spend $3.50 on an F ticket? Sure you would..so why wouldn't you spend 3500 if you had 10 million? Same thing.

Joe Six Pack down the street may not have bought a 35,000 dollar car like I did..but that doesn't mean I am going to buy an 8000 dollar one like he did.

Your perspective of money would be different than it is now, you would not think of it in terms of how grossly offensive 3500 for an airline ticket is to the majority of people.

+1

Most people start off with,"If I were rich..."

Good analogy with the car. Most people look at mine and say they'd never buy it if they were buying in my range. I tell them to tell what they'd buy when they actually have a car worth talking about.

Interesting point of view: everyone secretly craves the same expensive status symbols, and uses a sort of reverse snobbery to cover for their inability to buy them. While it may be true for some people, it's certainly not universal. Back in high school when I earned a part-time fast food salary, I thought it was ridiculous that anyone paid $5000 or more for a Rolex. Now that I could technically afford such a thing, I still think it's a waste, and if my salary were 10 times higher I'd still wear watches priced in the two-digits. Sure, I know one or two people who dreamed of the day that they could afford a Rolex and bought one as soon as they could, but most of my friends and family hold the opposite view.

As for a $20,000 international F seat, no way would I ever pay for it. No, not even if I had $10 million. Being rich doesn't mean imply a willingness to throw money down the drain (in fact I'd argue the opposite; the wealthiest people I know are also the most miserly).

edited to add: if someone tells you directly that YOU paid too much for your car and they'd never buy it, I agree that that's clearly sour grapes. To each his/her own.

My dad used to say "Rich people don't stay rich by wasting their money."

I fly between Los Angeles and London at least once, maybe twice a year, and have been doing so for 20 years. Every single trip has been in Coach.

I am self-employed. Every dime of my travel comes out of my own pocket, and out of the profits of my business. I am my own bean-counter, accounts payable and chancellor of the exchequer. The miles I get traveling go to more travel, as that puts more money in my pocket if I pay less for travel. I am paid for the entire contract, not for bits and pieces. Thus it's simple: Contract payment minus expenses equals my profit.

I am fine in Coach. I am 5'4", so legroom is no problem. I bring my own iPod, Kindle and Sudoku book, so have my own entertainment. I don't care about the food, as I can buy many great dinners on the ground with what I save by flying Coach. I detest alcoholic beverages, so the attraction of free booze means nothing to me.

AA gives me 500-mile upgrade "stickers", and I sometimes use those to upgrade on a domestic flight. Sure, why not. The "stickers" are free to me. Other than a sticker upgrade, you'll find me back in Coach, flying for a small fraction of what it would cost to fly up front.

I think no matter how much money I ever make in life, I would never be willing to fork over the typical prices for long haul C and F. Once we start talking north of $500 extra for a premium cabin, I lose interest. So, it's pretty much just mileage upgrades/awards and some close-to-departure type upgrade deals for me.

C and F can be nice, but there is a limit to how nice you can make being stuck in an arid aluminum tube for 12+ hours.

There are plenty of gazillionaires who find a $3500 airline ticket equally offensive.

Yes, the rich can be skin flints...but they are also numbers runners, and having 10 million bucks to your name makes a 10,000 plane ride 0.1% of your money. If you had a mere 10,000 dollars to your name, that would be a 10 dollar plane ticket..for F!

As I said, the meaning of money changes, but the ratios do not. Some may not want to spend 10 grand on a ticket, but it IS cheaper than chartering a jet in most cases and is, compared to their total wealth, a pittance.

I think it's worth the 62.5 K each way (depending upon your destination) if you have the miles in your account. @:-)

If I were better at accumulating miles...:)

But since I have to redeem for two, the extra 80K roundtrip for F is beyond my means (120 each for J, 160 for F, transpac on *A).

I do agree that "value" and "worth it-ness" depend largely on the % of resources that one has (except for cars*).


*Certain AMG models will fit within my budget but I get the benefit of 20-30% savings since each one of my Bavarian mechanical wonders are purer and more passionate driving machines. ;)