Two words:



FREE LIQUOR!!!!


duh....


just kidding, but not really.

(this post moved to TravelBuzz from Southwest Rapid Rewards)

If your company/government is paying the tab, by all means fly first-class. My point is why fly if you are paying for yourself. The exorbitant costs aren't worth the small luxuries..

The Southwest board may not be the most productive site for answering your question, given that WN is a single class, open seating airline.

For fun, I'll turn this around for you. Why would someone buy a Mercedes or other luxury car when a VW or Chevrolet will get them to their destination at the same time? Maybe the answer is comfort, nice additional features, more attentive service and a feeling of some exclusivity.

Road warriors scramble for free upgrades to first class on legacy carriers so they can enjoy the extra space and comfort of first class at a coach price.

(this post moved to TravelBuzz from Southwest Rapid Rewards)

For the space and comfort. The drinks and meal are nice, but hardly the reason I fly Business or First when I can. And the longer the flight, the more important sitting in the front of the bus becomes.

As for paying for the better class of service that is something that I don't have to pay for personally. If it was coming out of my wallet I'd certainly be spending more flights in coach.

A few reasons, in no particular order:

- First on and First off the plane--first on is good if you'd like to get settled and accomplish a little work or get some sleeep or whatever (alternatively, you can get on last or anywhere in-between if you prefer and you'll have a short walk to your seat and most likely enough room for your bags); first off is good if you take tight connections to minimize travel time or if you are forced into a tight connection by irregular ops

- Power ports--all F/J (first/business class) seats (on AA anyway) have power ports; this is important to a lot of people who need to be productive in flight, especially if the flight time outlasts their battery charge. Note this is also true of many, but not all Y (coach class) seats--in neither case is it a guarantee that the power port will work, but that's another story ...

- Meals/Snacks--are served on flights 2 hours or more within the defined "meal windows" (again, this is the AA rule--others may vary); you'll find a wide variety of opinions about how much this is valued (the food isn't usually that great, domestically speaking; international F/J is another story). That said, if you're pressed for time food is food and it's nice not to have to deal with taking care of that in addition to everything else going on (and it's no additional expense if you're already in F/J). Meals are also served in Y, but the flight has to be significantly longer (3 hours or more, departing within the "meal window")--there aren't a lot of those domestically, so this critique doesn't apply otherwise.

- Complimentary beverages--sometimes you'd like to have a glass or two of your preferred alcoholic beverage; you can pay $5 per drink in Y or get it comp in F/J.

- Greater seat width/pitch--if you're a taller/wider than average person, F/J is much more comfortable than Y. Y may be tolerable for short flights--many frequent fliers will pay for/upgrade only longer flights.

- Better customer service/more flexibility--whether you got there by full fare, discounted/instant-upgrade fare, or elite upgrade airlines generally provide better and more flexible service to premium passengers (there are also widely varying opinions on this ... and widely varying experiences to back up those opinions). The flexibility is also available for full-fare or flexible-fare Y, but the price is near enough to F/J that the service difference is usually worth it.

That's the basics, according to one point of view--I'm sure you'll get many more perspectives.

cheers and welcome to FT!

Because there aren't any pockets in shrouds.


If I fly Coach I Might leave $55 Million to my Estate for them to spend

If I fly First for the next 20 years I will leave $54,700,000, still enough and I get 20 years of comfortable flights.

(this post moved to TravelBuzz from Southwest Rapid Rewards)

I am 5' 11" and dont have these problems. I wouldn't pay $2000 to avoid seeing someone's dandruff...

Maybe to you, it's not. To others, it is. To each, his/her own.

Free booze.

Since I fly internationally, my employer pays for Business Class. The reason? A seat that turns into a bed. My EXP status lets me move up to first on some flights -- a bigger seat that turns into a more comfortable bed.

That way, one arrives bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and sans DVT.

Beyond the great points that have already been mentioned, greater likelihood of overhead storage space really helps. Especially when I'm only traveling with carry-on luggage so that I don't have to deal with baggage claim and can be off the plane and to my hotel/home/office right away.

Granted, I can board early with AA status. But sometimes my connection gets me to the gate after boarding has already begun (especially since, with carry-on only flights, I'll book myself shorter layover times because I'm not worried about the luggage not making it to the next flight in time) or I slither out of the Admirals Club a few minutes too late.

Hate not being able to get overhead bin space, hate having to stow my carry-on further back than I am seating (last person off the plane!).

The same difference as between taking a Yellow Cab home vs. being picked up in a limousine--only thing is, plane rides take longer.

Double post--bad computer!

"UncleDude" would appear to be one of those people with "money to burn" that I spoke of above.

And, there is nothing wrong with that if you've got $55 million!

Dear UncleDude,

Would you consider sending $5 million this way and leaving your estate only $49.7 million? Then I could fly in first all the time too (except on the DEN-LAS run, where WN, UA-Ted and Frontier are the only ones in the non-stop game, and all fly coach only )

UncleDude, I hear that private jets cost only $3,000 to $5,000 per hour! That would be my dream if I had $55 million, earning 5% to 10% per year or more! A class above first! The plane goes when you want and from a small, local airport near you. You don't have to go through TSA security and the pilot gently loads your bags, ensuring no damage and that they don't get lost.

Is there anyone else who saw this thread and thought it was going to be asking for dating advice?

Mike