What do you remember from your very Travel First ?? This thread was to get as your Impression on your First anything - flight, business, first Class, lounge experience .


Here are what I recall from my Travel First:

- Use "Premier" Line : I became the traveler that I was envy of.
- Enter Airline Lounge (US) : How come no one is eating the free snacks ?
- In Business Class: So this is what happens behind the Curtain.
- Enter International Lounge: The food was much better, free liquor and why know one was eating the snacks from the US lounge.
- Fly Singapore Air: How much better the service and attractive the FA looks.




What are some memories that stay with you ??

In front of the curtain in your case.

I remember the first time I flew First was on an Emirates flight HKG-DXB-LHR when I was 14, coming back from a visit to my grand-parents. I was actually meant to be traveling economy, but I managed to get myself a seat by the emergency exit (this was just after online check-in had been released on Emirates).
When I got on the flight I was told that there must have been a mistake and that I wasn't actually allowed to sit by the exits as a minor. I was then asked if I would mind coming up to the front of the plane so the cabin crew could keep an eye on me. I was happy to oblige - to make their lives easier - the service and the seat of course had nothing to do with it.

What made things even better for me was the fact that it was typhoon season in Hong Kong and so my flight had been delayed by three hours, meaning I missed my LHR connection. I was hooked up in the airport hotel and got a whole load of miles to boot.

I think that is the most memorable part of the whole vacation. You know your life is sad when you remember more about getting to the country than the country itself...

My first self upgrade was a DFW-STL flight when I was 17. This is back in 2003 when I had my first status (AA Gold earned on a challenge the year before). I was taking my first mileage run (LGA-DCA-DFW-STL-LGW-RDU-LGA for $394 a/i) and I had expected to drive my own car and park at LGA. When my Dad offered to drive me I invested the money I'd saved for parking on a sticker and purchased an upgrade. I remember the whole way to Dallas I kept staring my boarding pass with "First - 4F" on it.

When we were boarding my heart was beating so fast and I thought flying in the crappy old ex-TWA seats and getting a Sprite in a real glass with a pack of almonds was the end all be all. Sometimes I miss that kind of wide eyed naivety.

Well first and first. I self upgraded with cash LAX-HNL on Delta after coming in with Air France from CDG.I loved it, even well you know US domestic first is not really first, but the service was nothing to complain about. Now I am considering doing OSL-DOH-MEL in paid business... The rates were not too bad so I am thinking of just doing it... Hehe. But well I am young so I should really save that money.

Remember most about being unable to control my excitement!

I was somewhat new to this game but had a lot of Starwood points. I read here that you could arrange BA tickets thru Cathay Pacific and that since they have a different redemption scheme, it would cost less.

We wanted to go from NYC to Paris. Continental had no standard rewards so Coach was going to cost us 100,000 miles for Coach! BA wanted 150,000 for First but we transferred our points to CX instead. At the time, First Class NY to Paris was 90,000 miles or 180,000 total - 10,000 miles each less than coach! We transferred 145,000 Starwood points and had our first First! It was extraordinary and a memory we will never forget. Since that time, we've done it once again and done First on Air France and on Swiss (AMAZING!). And we're off to Israel on BA in First next week thanks to the 100,000 free miles for the Visa for both me and my wife and the free companion ticket with $30,000 spend. God bless em!

People look at points in different ways based on their available miles and their choices. For me and my wife, it is a chance to experience the high life that we could or would never do but for miles. It's been a great ride and FT has taught me what I need to know to make it happen.

I was very young (2) and can't remember much, when my mother whisked my younger brother and I to Singapore.

I do remember we flew on Singapore Airlines.

when I was in high school (1983), we took a family vacation from LAX to AMS (with a fuel stop in MSP) on MartinAir on an all-coach DC-10. That seemed glamorous. Now I know better.

for "First", I'll assume 3-class First. My first time was Flight 851 ORD-PEK on United on N218UA, the Star Alliance livery 777 in seat 3J. So nice to finally experience a flat bed seat in the sky. The IFL at ORD was nice, it was the first time I had accessed a lounge based on my ticket, nice to have all the free food. Dinner on the plane was quite nice, though I skipped the IFE as I had a laptop full of movies for me to watch. The entire day of flying was quite peaceful, no lines to deal with, it sure felt like I was George Clooney in Up in the Air where everyone waits on me rather than me having to hustle to catch up to them.

I remember that it was possible to get (buy) an upgrade from Y to F within Asia for about US$ 80.00 one-way. Treated myself ones and unfortunately the experience was really good, traveling became a lot more expensive after that...

I got upgrades from Y to C(?) = US Envoy for that kind of money for my first TATL in 2005. Great experience, I didn't really know what it was worth back then.

...and horrible experience too because on the return I got sick, must have spent an hour throwing up in the front lavatory and when I got out, had one of the Pilots standing in front of me, asking if I was alright. - I'd much rather get to know Pilots on different terms.

Since then Flightmemory reveals that I did more than 190 further flights. 8 in European Business, none in First. I am getting close to being able to afford TATL First on miles but can't make up my mind whether it's worth 3x Economy.

As much as I enjoy flying, I do enjoy it in Coach also and still care more for the destination than the way of getting there...

Well, since you seem to enjoy it in Y as well, I guess it's not worth it. Since seating in C these days is as good as F was 10 or 15 years ago (or sometimes better, actually), I usually settle for C. Except, of course, I need a "treat".

I think my first flight was in the late 60s as a young mom. My husband was also flying that day, but he was going EAST and I was going WEST. I had our toddler child with me. We started our adventure on a very small local commuter plane (it was called BRIT Airlines, or it could have been Ozark Airlines) and it took us to Chicago, where we got on a bigger plane bound for LAX. Hubby went to somewhere in Ohio.

I've flown a lot since that first time, and am now 1K with UA. I fly in F once in a while (via upgrades on domestic flts) and an ocassional longhaul with miles, from ORD to BKK and back. With (old) age comes the requirement for more comfort when flying!

I recall that seatbacks really DID recline back in the day. I flew just last week on a very old Thai Airways 747 BKK-CNX and had a seat that really went waaaay back. Nice memories of days gone by. (oh, there was no one sitting behind me, so nobody's knees suffered

My first UG to F happened at my first "real" travel job. I was on my first trip (PHL-TPA) by myself. I heard my name called at the gate and I was given an UG (as a lowly Silver on US) because of my fare class. At that time I didn't understand, but I was excited. True, F on US is not a big deal to most, but it was soooo cool at the time. I was shocked that there were free drinks and snacks. Coming home on that trip with a colleague I learned all about status and the lovely things that can come with it. I haven't looked back since and I consider myself obligated to pass on what I know about travel to friends and family.

You've never really been in F until you've been in TATL or TPAC F. 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep... amazing! Don't make me go back to the peasants