KDS777

I don't look down on people in the back, I was one of them for years.

I do feel sorry for them however, because 90% of them will never sit up front their entire lives. Sitting in J or F is not magical, nor amazing, it's just better. The whole experience from start to finish is what flying used to be like half a century ago.

Cattle class today is hell, but, the people got what they asked for, and were prepared to pay for, didn't they ?

MaxBuck

Neither, of course. The spork is properly served in a plastic bag along with a flimsy and inadequate paper napkin.

Vegas Vegan

I work with one person who is definately on the stingy side.

When they hear I fly up front, they give me a 20 minute lecture on "how they'd rather spend the money on something else", asks what the cost works out to per hour (vs the back I presume) and so on.

When they ask "why do you waste your money like that", my response is either

• My grandparents came to this country in steerage class so I can fly first class or
• None of your [ fill in your own word ] business

Artpen100

When I have had similar discussions, I have usually upgraded with miles or certificate, and having purchased far in advance watching for a discount fare, so that they may well be the ones who paid more to sit in the back. This is often the case with a colleague, a procrastinator who invariably waits till the last minute to buy economy. On the US airlines, at least, I suspect more than half the people up front will have paid very little for it.

KDS777

Instead of defending yourself, turn the tables. Ask them if "they" have ever flown up front, since they are saying it is "a waste of money", so, they must be making that judgement from first hand experience.......no ?

I had a co-worker who always whined at me and another colleague because we upgraded our company supplied tickets to J almost all the time (on our own dime). I asked him what is the longest flight he had been on during holidays, and he said 11 hours. Asked him if he had ever flown up front, and he said not once in his life. Asked him why he had an issue with it, if he had never done it himself, since he had no valid basis of comparison. Explained every little thing that makes the difference between a J ticket and BE (to use one example) on a long haul/short haul flight with connections.

The complaining stopped.

rbwpi

My response would be, "To eliminate the possibility of having to sit next to you.".

USHPNWDLUA

I actually feel as if those in steerage look down on me! This is because I board the plane first, and as steerage passengers board, they are standing whilst I am sitting. All they can do is look down at my drink and me...

Fabo.sk

Well to be fair, it's cheap to fly around in Y nowadays, at least. Fair enough to those who paid extra price to get extra service.

Low Roller

I usually fly economy because I can't justify the price difference. An extra $1000 on a 4 hour flight works out to $250/hour and I've done worse jobs than sitting in a crowded plane, for a lot less money. Plus it helps pay for the 5-star hotel at my destination. Of course, waiting at the Centurion lounge before the flight and having priority boarding help ease the pain.

When I do fly business class (usually on points), I'll admit that I do enjoy the look of envy as the economy passengers walk by, but only because I know that feeling myself.

darthbimmer

While there are certainly some silver-spoon types in upper class looking down upon the hoi polloi walking back to their seats in Economy I believe it's more common to see the reverse-snob, the person who sneers at the upper class passengers as if to say, "What makes YOU think YOU'RE so much better than ME?"

On occasion when I get to respond (because the thought is said aloud) I answer, "I'm not better than you, I just chose to pay more money for my seat."

spades097

I have never understood the people who act as if they are royalty and should be treated as such because their employer pays for them to fly a lot. If some of them were as important as they think they are then they would be flying privately.

Bear4Asian

Look down? No. Feel grateful. Yes.

LtKernelPanic

There will always be those in the premium cabins who will always view those in coach as the "unwashed masses" and those in coach that view those in the front as "rich/elitist jerks." Personally I'm just grateful that sometimes I don't have to sit in the back of the bus.

However there was one time I was the smug jerk in first and enjoyed every second of it. One year I decided to take a two week vacation for my birthday instead of my usual one week and found some first class tickets that weren't much more expensive than coach and decided to splurge a little on them. They called for FC to board but there was a couple minute delay before they actually let us down the jetway (I think they were still assisting a wheel chair pax or something). Anyhow Mr. DYKWIA in his fancy suit and tie went up to the GA behind the counter and pretty much demanded to know why his upgrade wasn't processed while looking over at me several times. The GA said FC was fully checked in and there were no upgrades available. When he finally boarded with the rest of the main cabin I got daggers from him. Guess he figured I was a non-rev since I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Sorry buddy I was on a paid first ticket. What's that old saying? Oh yeah. Want first, buy first. Which is what I did.

RustyC

Being much more experienced as a traveler and also childless can be a curse, as you notice all this kind of stuff and more. I've dropped out of the loyalty game on the legacies after 25 years but still have status on Frontier, which is about as marginal a boost as you can get there. But you do get to upgrade to the "stretch" seats most of the time (rows 1-3 and the exit row), and that reduces but doesn't eliminate the possibility of being near the badly-behaved. With exit rows you don't sit next to babies or kids, but there's a heightened risk that someone bought it or tries to move there because of thinking the seat is better for width when it's only helpful for height.

Where all this really comes to a head is taking 1-2 day trips on rock-bottom fares. Maybe the deal is eye-poppingly exceptional (air, car AND hotel at less than $100?), but there's still a big hassle factor these days and lots of vulnerable points where things can go wrong. Even when it's nothing obvious like IRROPS it can be "death by a thousand cuts" if you're tired (e.g. from a circadian jolt) and the small annoyances pile up.

Badenoch

I'm a coach class traveller often enough that I don't look down on them when flying up front. The only time I'm grateful for clients who pay business class is flying JFK-JNB. Watching the economy passengers stagger off after 15+ hours aloft makes me glad I'm not them.

Going to the front of the line is nice despite the hot angry stares and the occasional smart remark from resentful economy passengers. Minor pleasures but certainly not worth the price. Flying business class isn't that big a deal for most flights. It's great if someone else is paying but it isn't good value for money. If on my own dime I'd rather spend more on my accommodation upon arrival.