I fly mostly for business, but my own business so it all comes out of my pocket. I always book the best possible seat (regardless of whether its business or leisure) and I avoid long haul international flights that don't have F. I fly about 400k miles a years. If I flew less I'd probably fly Y.

If its tax-deductable as a business expense, you cant really say it ALL comes out of your pocket...

Oh cmon, that's like saying a small-biz owner who buys any item needed for their work isn't paying for all of it out of their pocket because it's tax-deductible.

A legit business expense is simply a loss that's subtracted from revenues (ignoring capital costs yadda yadda)

Beside the fact that it's a ridiculous argument, because of a high level of investment the deduction has no impact on my taxes.

Most people aren't going to reveal their income. I will pay a little extra for first class, but usually it costs substantially more. I can't imagine having an income of $75,000 and paying a lot of extra money for first class tickets. For the purchase of first class tickets on one's own dime to be reasonable you need an income of five to 10 times that.

While this is true, people do fly paid F without paying for it personally. My wife is one example -- fresh out of college, she got a job as personal assistant and interpreter for a notable Japanese architect and accompanied him in F on a business trip from NRT to KUL. Her salary at the time was well below $75k.

Thats OPM (other peoples money) - and those pax make up most of the front cabin - and some dont make much money at all - which is how this thread started - in no way does salary relate to flying business class. You can sales people that not only dont make a lot of money, but also work 6 days a week for 51 weeks a year sitting in business class, not that uncommon.

I dont agree that you need to make $375,000 (75*5) a year to afford to fly business class. You can certainly do it on 75k (especially if after tax), provided you budget your money well, dont pay retail, and are not head over heals in other debt, etc.
Is it wise/advisable or is there value in it? Thats a personal decision. I dont see any value in J, but I can sleep/be comfortable in Y, even longhaul. If I was taller/larger/older - maybe I'd see more value in J (And I have over a million miles in J/F under my belt, all out of pocket, all before age 40)

Generally agreed, but I fly mostly domestic short-haul flights. First class is often about $120 more, vs. using E-upgrades that would cost $90 for the trip if I paid for them. It's an easy choice to just book first class in that situation.

For international flights, I usually just use miles and pay the cash co-pay. I don't think that I've ever paid cash-only for an international business or first class trip. A few thousand dollars, invested wisely, could certainly help with retirement planning.

I love how people can decide what I can afford or not, if Its worth 5000 to buy a ticket I will, obviously I look around but if that fare suits for a myriad of possible reasons, it paid, and only the accuser is a fool as he is making judgements without knowledge, may you should run for US President !

RTW in business class, perhaps with nested mileage tickets, can be a rather good deal for some who aren't even making $150k/year in AGI as on their 1040.

I don't know the poster. Is this serious or in jest? Either way, kudos!

I agree. The few times I have paid for business were because I needed to get somewhere and there wasn't good timing with points. Hated it though (paying full price for business)