The value of first class
 

I am not sure I would appreciate first/business class. It’s comfortable certainly, and the extra room is nice; I am six feet tall, the average height of men in say Holland, but somehow I’m just fine in coach. Being slim, I’m not impacted much sideways or forward.

Free drinks and various other perks surely come in handy too. But when I flew first class once in my twenties, the temptation of keeping the drinks coming may have caused some of my enjoyment to be blacked out.

Going to a good restaurant from time to time is worthwhile, as is in general going somewhere on vacation to unwind and being open to the world around you. Museums, taking a horse and buggy ride through the park, a really nice hotel.

But stepping up from economy on a plane? Is it any better than an airport lounge with the notable exception than alcohol is free? Even if I could lie down and sleep, wouldn’t I want to remember my time here? Is it unreasonable to consider that part of the fun?

You reach the gap in quality quickly; an upgrade tends to revolve around quantity. More legroom, square footage Vegas-style. And does more distance to your neighbor seat make the noise any less irritating when he rattles the entire inside of the bag for every potato chip that he picks up individually?

Like it is never going to stop. Or when he flips through a magazine one page at a time, trying to find something to read on the open page and yet at the same time have the fingers ready for the next. It’s unlikely that there’s a correlation between class and manners, or just that you’re more relaxed when your seating is more comfortable.

Maybe that’s what I'm afraid of now that my wife thinks it could be fun once again trying out first class. I’m sure it could be, hopefully. Stretching out and flushing all those years of cramped economy out of the system. Relaxing your muscles, getting the personal Pan Am experience by some pretty flight attendant. Wow, did I really say that? I must be dreaming!

I have nothing to whine about. We just got a chunk of free points due to some inconvenience that an airline’s delayed flight put us through. Which airline, do you think, should we spend the upgrade on? Air France, British Airways, Air Canada come to mind. Thank you very much.

If you don't see the value in first class, don't use it. I hate coach and it's been a lonnnng time since I was stuck there. Different strokes for different folks. If you don't like First, use the points for economy.

The value depends on the trip.

I have a 30 hour journey tomorrow, SAN-IAD-GRU-GIG...7 hour layover at IAD. I have no useful status on United, I am an American Airlines flier. I ponied up for Economy + on the IAD-GIG segment (10 hours), but only because F was sold out. I also paid out of pocket for F on the SAN-IAD portion. It's 5 hours.

Yes, it's domestic F on United. But consider, looking down the barrel of a 30 hour door to door trip, ANY segment I can make more comfortable is worth the money. I don't even care about the priority lines or bags or drinks. I am thinking about getting as comfortable as possible when I can to make myself resemble a human by the time I get to the end door in Rio.

However, if I were just making a 2 hour run domestically, no way would I pony up the money and buy up. I may chase a miles UG, but I don't care much on a light trip. I can tolerate maybe 3 hours tops in coach. After that, it's got to be at least J.

presumably there were compelling reasons (price, schedule, whatever) for taking that UA routing rather than AA or another OneWorld carrier ... but as far as YOU were concerned for YOUR instant situation, the first sentence says it all

OP: If you're perfectly content in Coach, and you don't see the value in spending significant extra money for Business or First, then fly Coach. It's simple. You don't need to justify it to us with bragsplanation.

The comparison between the cost difference of Y and J/F is always going to be moot point, but I think it is a interesting argument.

50% of my flying is done within Europe so for the hours of flying I don't see the value in paying for J class Europe. Particular when you get to a status when you can use the lounge. However I have done quite a few red eye flights in the states the past two years and have flown F class every time and was glad for it, just the wider seat allowed a better rest.

In my early days of the travelling my expenses only allowed me Y class but within the past 6 years my expense account has allowed me to travel Intercontinental in J class. when you have many years of sitting in back cooped up, sitting with a lot more space is a nice change. I do think that J and F class has to be earned for it to have any meaning.

For me I value it because I'm 6'3 and broad shouldered so for me Y class long haul has always been a problem more width ways than leg room tbh. It's ok when you get a small asian lady but having a large anglo saxon next to you like me for 10 hours+ can be hell on earth.

However I wouldn't pay anything for the privilege. There is limits, my next trip is to Hong Kong September. I've ended up going with Finnair from LHR to HKG via HEL. Each way it cost just over £1250 (GBP) Now I accept that 2.5k is not cheap and you can get you a lot of a holiday for that but for the distance you cover is it actually alot? It's £2.40 per mile, how much does your car cost per mile to run? You can pay more per mile for a train ticket sometimes.

However I also looked at Cathay and they wanted £4400 for a return trip. I couldn't justify that cost. I would never pay the full price for a F class ticket intercontinental ticket, unless I won't the lottery. I've only ever used miles for F class intercontinental. If my expenses allowed me to fly F would I? probably! :D but only because I could as opposed that I wanted too.

I always wondered why an airline hasn't decided to offer a no frills business product. Cut out all lounges, booze and baggage allowances etc and just offer a J class seat at around the premium economy level price wise, you make the food a pay extra as well. A lot of my friends and acquaintances (myself included) would lap it up. However they price J class flights to keep out the undesirables. That's not to say that all people who travel in J and F are discreet travellers but there is a pattern.... Let's say you get less of them, perhaps less so on the holiday destinations but definitely to the business destinations, the crowd are usually regulars and know the score, is that worth paying extra... for me yes.

When someones as me how much a flight cost, often the very cheapskates say "that much you could buy......" or something along those lines. I always say you take too much of a materialistc view on money. People pay millions for a stone that sparkles a bit and even more for a bit of canvas which has some paint lashed on by a drunk man who was that doped up when he painted it. He also cant remember its meaning if it ever had any. So is spending money on more room on a plane really that strange!?;)

In regards to your question on which It's depends where you are, from reading assuming your North American based. Ive only one F class trans-Atlantic. I hear Air France new first class is very good. I would recommend AA new J class, which is now better than BA's product. The Middle East carriers do the most over the top F class services. I also like Lufthansa product as well.

some of us spend (similar amounts) on accommodations instead of J/F

J/F sometimes have great fares, or good deal via buying miles from airline
(sometimes Y prices for same itinerary are so expensive, J premium is tiny)

when flying commercial (even in Y) airport VIP/VVIP services can allow one to avoid commercial airport terminals, while just flying J/F sometimes still means you have to wait in long queues and hang around in airports especially before flights

i think the bean is flying mainly in F domestic. my experience on ua and us has been that they are a small step up, and have little value. they do well as an award for the loyal frequent flyers. but to pay 3 x Y class is ubsurd.

now, biz class, and first on tatl and tatp is(are) a different world, particularly for flat seats. on a 7-17 hour trip, we save a day in recovery on each end. the food is a bit better, the wine a bit better but it is still crap(ok word?), but the flat beds make all the difference in the world. we could not reserve se ats on BA until 24 hrs in advance(with 6K of ticket), and then NO advance reserve. "you must come to the check in desk" god bless you, ba, and all your ba wishers.

I recently flew first class between Dallas and Seattle on a A320 and I wouldn't consider it worth the money. However, I flew from Hong Kong to Dallas in business class on a 77W and that was definitely worth it. For me, it depends on duration and the plane.

For me, if I miss a night's sleep because I 'm in Y, then I need an extra day's recovery at the other end. That puts a clear price on the value of J.

Depends on what I have to do once I land. If I'm taking an overnight flight and am expected to be functional on arrival then sleep is the only thing that matters about being up front. The booze and the food and the lounge are relatively nothing compared to that.

That said, it also depends on what the cost differential is and who shoulders that cost. I've flown across oceans in Y many times (even in a middle seat occasionally) and lived to tell the tale. Not as comfortable as the premium cabin but it worked out fine. When I can get a bargain to fly up front I will; being flexible on routes and destinations helps on that front.

Like anything else in life, first class is worth what you're willing to pay for it. If you think in terms of a long haul (10 hour or so) flight and have to pay $2k more for a business class as opposed to coach R/T then you're renting a bigger seat for $100/hour. Does that make sense to you? I guess it depends on how big of a deal that $2k is to you. If it means you're not going to eat for a week, it's probably not worth it. If it's a rounding error in your investment account it's a different calculation.

as Tchiowa says, some of us spent that difference on other things, possibly (all) on same trip.

My two cents...

I cannot sleep in an economy seat, and so the most important part of the F/J product is the opportunity to sleep, and so to make the most of the following day. If you are going to India for six months then perhaps that is not important, but if you have a seven-day vacation then losing nearly 15 per cent of that to catching up on sleep on the day after arrival is a serious matter, and so getting that day back is worth some serious money.

Next comes the fine dining experience, and here Air France wins hands down. I was once upgraded between Paris and Beijing, and the food service was as good as an upscale Paris restaurant. Other airlines were relatively disappointing: I have used British Airways (Club, as they call their business class product) a fair amount recently, and the catering was 'fine' but forgettable.

Alcohol is of course abundant in the premium cabins, but should be treated with caution since it can make you feel a good deal more ill in the environment of an aeroplane than on the ground. And since you lose much of your ability to taste subtle flavours when airborne, it is a criminal waste of good wine to consume it during the flight. So for me the main aspect of the drinks service is the provision of enough champagne to make me sleepy and so refresh me for the day after arrival (champagne generally does not give one a hangover).

Since all these benefits are offered in J, I don't really see the point of F.

i have been fine getting fairly short naps after arrival
so sleep aspect of choice depends on many variables
including things like arrival time and time zone change

high value business travel might pay for best/fastest F