Darien-l

Hi everyone. I started flying in earnest only about a year ago, and now fly about 8 times a year. I had only one flight in first class, and that experience left me wondering why everyone is going to so much trouble (not to mention the $) to get first class tickets. Last October I was flying ORD-SFO on AA, and the plane was overbooked, so I volunteered to be bumped to the next available flight for a $400 voucher and a free upgrade.
I was not very impressed with what the first class had to offer. Sure, the seats were a bit bigger and the food what a bit better, but that about covers it. Oh yes, were also got free headphones and hot towels. I was under 21 at the time, and was a little shy about asking for liquor. (I later found out that people almost never get carded on planes) So I'm a bit mystified why people are willing to pay $1500, or try hard to obtain elite status to get upgrades, or even use their miles to get an upgrade. (I would MUCH rather save those miles for another free ticket) Perhaps my first class experience wasn't representative of the industry in general?

ALW

More legroom, hiproom, and shoulderroom are the biggies (and while you can get legroom in the back, in an exit row, the width is the same). Better food (or food at all) is also important, although I wasn't at all impressed on my YOW-YYZ Rapidair flights.

However, if one is not elite, consider the other benefits (at least, in Business Class on CP and AC in NA) you get: lounge access; priority boarding; priority exiting (by virtue of being in front); priority baggage handling [yeah right].

Oh, you also get a much better flyer:bathroom ratio up front.

But I agree, I don't think I could ever justify the extra ~C$1200 for YOW-LAX-YOW in Business Class (vs. full economy). But I'm happy to spend C$370 worth of stickers [seems a bit foolish when I put it that way].

andrew

Jon Toner

Most of my travel has been in coach, but having tasted FC, I want more.

Wider seats and more legroom are terrific, and if you have work to do on your laptop, you can do it without pulling your elbows into your ribs in order to type.

Getting on and off the plane is easier, especially if you have a tight connecting flight scheduled.

The food in front is suitable for human consumption.

The FAs are friendlier and willing to offer better service (something as generous as an unused bottle of wine, or as simple as a few extra refills of OJ on a hot day).

I don't mind "poor man's first class" (exit row behing the "missing" seat) for the legroom.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

PremEx

First Class...the only way to fly! (A tip 'o the hat to 'ol Western)

And preferably on a complimentary elite upgrade!

Eidetic

For me, the value of FC is readily apparent if the flight time exceeds 5 hours. Over 8 hours flight time on longitudinal segments, FC takes a day off recovery from jet lag. Over 12 hours flight time (e.g., ATL/NRT), FC takes 2 days off recovery from jet lag.

[This message has been edited by Eidetic (edited 08-18-1999).]

shadow

Darien, welcome to F-T!

With all due respect...your youth does have its advantages.

To many of this group (older, experienced, tired 'road warriors'), your 8 flights per year equal some of our monthly segments (look at F-T Itineraries). When you factor that difference in seatwidth, and major difference in legroom, it means a lot to us.
The difference in service levels between front & back are the biggest factor for me personally (a seat number compared to a real person).

Upgrades are the 'holy grail' for most of us, (they sure are for me) but it's only so we can get to our business and back in a decent frame of mind.

Plus, we do have the benefit of this venue to help us massage the systems for our travels.

Read & listen to what everyone is saying here, and you will get something out of it that you can use in your limited travels.

[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 08-18-1999).]

Punki

I hate lines.
I love comfort.
I enjoy my companions in 1st.

That said, I will ask, "With whom did you fly 1st class and where?" After a BIZ class British flight to London with my son, my son and I flew 1st on NWA to NYC. He thereafter commented about the low quality of NWA 1st. The point being--"It's all relative!"

[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 08-18-1999).]

QuietLion

It's all about service for me. I LOVE great service. On UA I get this 95% of the time on international flights in biz class and probably 50% of the time in domestic first class. The other 50% I at least have a right to complain about it!

It's also a fun game to tyr to pay the least and get the "holy grail" upgrade.

I actually felt as you did when I was younger... maybe those hips wave widened just a tad...

DBK

I felt the way that you did at 20, and just a few years later when I was flying across the country 8 times a month draging a laptop and really needed to focus and get some work done on the plane, FC came in handy.

Rudi

more miles (LH 200% bonus that count as status miles too)!

doc

Even as domestic FC has declined somewhat in my view over the last 10-15 years, I seek it out even more! Couch/Economy has become increasingly more unbearable.

Also, were talking largely here of upgrades to the front cabin with purchased fares/tickets in coach class.

International FC is MUCH, MUCH better!

Baze

As a tall person, I relish the extra legroom and hiproom. The extra service makes even better. So if you can't see the benefits by all means stay in the back. That means one less person taking our upgrade. Also we earn the upgrade certificates so we might as well use them. Also the more you fly the faster the miles add up in your ff account so using miles to upgrade is not that big a deal either. At elite levels the bonuses make the miles add up even faster. So with careful mile management you can use miles to upgrade and still get those free tickets for vacations. The biggest thing for me up front is I feel so much better when I get to my destination. Comfort means a lot. Granted some of the shuttle flights in 727/737 don't have great first class but coach is even worse in those planes. I've also found the people up front tend to be more relaxed about talking to strangers. I never felt comfortable talking to someone I don't know that is practically sitting in my lap (in coach) but being up front puts a little space between the people so conversing is easier or sleeping is easier, less chance the person next to you will continually bump you.

Enough rambling, theses are just my opinions.

dgolds

Hi, Darien, and welcome.

For me, the benefit of first class becomes more apparent the more you fly, and the longer the flights are. For a shorter flight (1 1/2 hours or less), I really don't care that much - first class is a nice perk. For the longer flights, first class really helps me stay less hungry (because the food is better), less tired (because it's easier to rest), and more happy (because the annoyances are fewer and the service is better). All this adds up to making it easier to sleep the night of an arrival, and making me fresher for work the next day.

If you took a poll here and asked how many would take a connection in FC that was an hour longer vs. a non-stop in coach, I bet taking the connection would win hands down.

Efrem

For me: service, a better shot at getting the restroom when I want it, enough space to work with a laptop computer, enough distance between rows to put my seat all the way back without feeling anti-social.

At the risk of sounding snobbish, I've met some great people in coach but the ratio of interesting seatmates has generally been higher in first.

The food doesn't do much for me (it's usually not that much better, just arranged more nicely and served on fancier plates), free booze isn't that big a deal (in AA domestic US first I ask the FA to go back for the California chardonnay they serve in coach; I prefer it to the lighter French version they pour up front), headphones don't cost much, and as elite I can board early anyhow and get whatever priority baggage handling there is.

Old Gold

I think that it's primarily status, we all like to think that we are not just one of the crowd.

In the 80's AA introduced all F/C service from NYC to the coast, they were using small 24 seat corporate type jets, the advantage was supposed to be that you didn't have to mingle with the masses at checkin and when boarding and exiting the plane. Other attempts at all F/C services suffered the same fate.

Let's face it, F/C wouldn't be the same without the parade going through the cabin on their way to steerage.