Are coach-class travelers looked down on by premium-class ones?
Nov 28, 2017, 8:16 pm
#31
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: MEL
Programs: QF CL
Posts: 689
I fly business or first whenever possible, because I like the overall smoothing of the airport process, the lounge access, the priority luggage and boarding, the better seats and space, the better sleep I'll have during the flight and the better wine I'll drink before I have that sleep. I don't care where anyone else is flying or why they chose that class of travel, unless they know about a points or cash offer I've missed.... 
Nov 28, 2017, 11:29 pm
#33
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
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Posts: 8,720
On most flights, the vast majority of first class passengers paid coach then upgraded for free or are non-revs (airline employees, their families and/or friends). The few folks who paid for first class (usually by their companies) would have to naive to think it is a "high class" cabin.
Most flights are actually not in the US at all
Nov 29, 2017, 5:56 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London & Sonoma CA
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I take perverse pleasure on BA in referring to economy (where I invariably am) as fourth class, which it is. The staff don’t like that.
Nov 29, 2017, 7:21 am
#36
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Key West
Programs: DL Silver, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 401
We're fortunate to fly up front about 99% of the time. It's not exclusivity, its a matter of making the entire process of public air transport less stressful and relatively more comfortable. I don't look down on anyone but I often feel sorry for those in the back.
Nov 29, 2017, 7:22 am
#37
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: on the path to perdition
Programs: Delta, United
Posts: 4,785
"Have you ever noticed that when you are sitting coach anybody in first class is a snob, and when you are sitting in first class anybody sitting in coach is a peon ?" - with apologizes to George Carlin
Nov 29, 2017, 7:46 am
#38
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: SEA/YVR/BLI
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Posts: 9,490
When we're seated in any kind of premium seating, we consider ourselves fortunate. We judge others solely by their behavior, not where they're sitting or what they're wearing (with a few exceptions).
Nov 29, 2017, 7:59 am
#39
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,051
Turning left on the bigger planes is much better in this regard, even if the left should just be front economy cabin.
I don't look down on coach pax, particularly because, these days, that's what I am 99.9% of the time. However, stupidity annoys me, particularly willful stupidity. I have no patience with seat poachers, people with young children who they let drag their own mini-rollaboards down the aisle thereby holding everyone up, people who think "no metal" at security doesn't include their 30-pound pot metal costume jewelry necklace, people who abuse FAs (and call them "stewardess"), once-a-year flyers who, when they don't get their way, tell some poor GA, "I'm never flying YOUR airline again!", people who think they can bring steamer trunks on board as their carry-on, people who use DVD players and the like without headphones, people who don't understand that the middle seat gets both armrests, people who try to pass off 4-year-olds as under-2-year-olds ("he's big for his age"), people who leave a mess at their seats, people who change diapers at their seats, etc. I most definitely DO look down on them.
That is the bit I don't get.
If you can afford to pay for yourself, or got your company to buy you, a superior product, cool, I get why you'd be smug about it. But paying extra for an objectively inferior solution?
Nov 29, 2017, 10:33 am
#40
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,808
Because their job requires travel, as opposed to working a hot grill flipping horse meat or some other manual labor, serving-others-like-a-serf kind of work.
Nov 29, 2017, 2:01 pm
#42
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 335
Very interesting thread!
I don't really think so, maybe more likely to occur with people whom are new to flying a premium class, whilst they feel "special". For anyone whom does it regularly... who cares about the others? The whole "royalty" feeling has, if anything, diminished with the A380, as the commoners don't even walk past you in your premium seat...
I don't really think so, maybe more likely to occur with people whom are new to flying a premium class, whilst they feel "special". For anyone whom does it regularly... who cares about the others? The whole "royalty" feeling has, if anything, diminished with the A380, as the commoners don't even walk past you in your premium seat...
Nov 29, 2017, 3:44 pm
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
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<br /><br />One could argue that a lot of jobs that require "travel" are also serving-others-like-a-serf. Gotta meet that sales quota for the boss! Better leave Sunday night to get to work Monday!<br />I fail to see how flying for work = good job
Nov 29, 2017, 11:38 pm
#45
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Melbourne MEL Calgary YYC
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I travel mostly for work on a budget we set every year. Once we figure out where I need to be for 90% of the year we look at the typical economy plus fares for those travel dates
if I can fly to those places on those dates for that amount of money , I can hunt and peck for low business tickets and use upgrades
I just need to keep the numbers between the lines, for every mile of road there are 2 miles of ditch so it becomes a game
the information from here FT is a powerful tool to be the guy in the front with the budget from the back ( back +)
if I can fly to those places on those dates for that amount of money , I can hunt and peck for low business tickets and use upgrades
I just need to keep the numbers between the lines, for every mile of road there are 2 miles of ditch so it becomes a game
the information from here FT is a powerful tool to be the guy in the front with the budget from the back ( back +)