I am also 6' 3" and 255 lbs plus I had back surgery 9 yrs ago. Sitting upright in coach even for an hour is painful. I flew LAX-AKL in business class that was 12 hours 40 min and the flight seemed to end sooner than previous 6 hour flights to Hawaii in coach.

I recently did a three week trip to Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York and Cyprus in September which included business and pleasure, suits and non-suits - all with a 20in rollaboard and a suit bag.

Back OT though - I just want comfort and decent food - most of my travel is long haul Int'l and often airline food is all I will eat for a couple of days so eating in coach is not an option.

I am heartily grateful to the anonymous shareholders who pay for my travel - they don't though seem to feel obliged to thank me for doing the work I do to increase their dividends so I don't feel so guilty about their paying high fees for me to fly. Frankly if J/F wasnt an option for longer flights I would not take the job.

For me, comfort is the #1. I can hardly imagine ORD-HKG non-stop in coach.

For me, it's all about 1.personal space, 2. first on, first off, 3. personal space (really important). A 1 hour flight that turns into 4 hours with delays after boarding is an inconvenience in first, but it's torture in coach.

one word for your post: pithy

Damn. you beat me to it. But ^ I agree

Thank you all for your replies.

Because this is a cross-posted thread in several Fora and not coordinated via Administration, consultation with other Moderators has resulted in the thread being moved to the TravelBuzz Forum, as it really is about flying First, not Flying American Airlines.

Please feel free to continue the conversation there. - American AAdvantage Moderator

When I travelled a lot as a tourist, I travelled coach to Europe, Asia, South America, etc. This was fine for pleasure travel, as you are going on vacation and so what if you show up tired? I stayed in youth hostels, and often lived on a few dollars a day. I didn't have hot water or a decent mattress for months at a time, and it was all ok. I was having a great time traveling. Once I actually spent 12 hours on a train in India BETWEEN TRAIN CARS, right between the bathrooms, with a book wedged between the metal lip and my hip to keep the 2 cars from pinching my hip when they bounced. Time of my life!

Now I travel internationally for business every week or two. I stay at 4 star hotels and I always fly in business class. And you know what? If they were putting me up in a 2 star hotel, and making me sit in coach... I wouldn't have this job. I would quit.

Whats the difference? They call it business class for a reason. It is for people who travel as a lifestyle, who essentially maintain an extra home away from home on airplanes and at hotels, and who would be miserable if they spent large amounts of time in coach and in basic accomodations. The pampering seems excessive to the pleasure traveller, and indeed it is.

But things change once you're logging 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels 50+ nights a year. Then its not about pleasure: business travel is GRUELING. You miss your familiy and you are tired all the time from permanent jet lag. The pampering is the only thing that makes it bearable, and believe me its still exhausting. My employer pays to pamper me because when I fly 12 hours in coach I show up and need a day to rest to be ok, before my back feels ok. If they pay for business class I sleep like a baby and show up ready to work. They pay for a nice hotel with a nice bed because it is comparable to the mattress and comfort I have at home.

That answer your question?

Also, most of my tickets are last minute, refundable international business class fares. I travel at the last minute, and change my itineraries often, sometimes a half a dozen times. You can walk up the day of a flight and pay the same fare for a business class ticket that you would have a month before, but try that with a coach fare and you'll be paying almost as much as the business fare. And if you don't pay the extra cash for refundable tickets, you get hit with like $100 per change of itinerary.

So its not exactly apples to apples comparing deeply discounted coach fares with business fares - lots of business travel never qualifies for those fares anyway.

I love when sipping Krug in F I can see the self loading cargo slowly moving to the back of the plane.

My exact experience as well in that regards. Just amazes me how time flies by much quicker when you enjoy something and how it seems like the clock will never expire when you are on the other side of the coin.

I have only flown (and paid) for European business on the heavily discounted BA I fares. The difference is around �100/$200 for a 2-2.5hr each way.

I can have a go at drinking �100 of champagne in 5hrs.. but really it is about the experience of flying in a premium class and being made to feel special - one is on holiday after all...

Paid $50 for a one way upgrade to Alaska First between Los Cabos and LAX in 05 - that was a no-brainer really..

Baylorgirl,

I have been in the financial industry for 30 years and, one of the reasons people pay more to fly in first, is because of the unbelievable wealth that they have. You would be shocked to see how much money some people have. Of course, then money becomes meaningless and the comfort of first class is a benefit.

Wow! Thank you all for your replies! This is really helpful. I guess now I see why it's important to collect miles - even though it seems like I'll never get enough to fly for free somewhere, maybe I can get an upgrade and see for myself about all this extra room and comfort! When I actually have a job and enough money to go somewhere fun, that is.

Thanks for your help and sorry again about the mistake with the original posting in several places!

Well... If you fly domestic US route, don't expect much even in F.
Try long haul, international F product in quality airlines, like Singapore Airlines(SQ), Cathay Pacific Airways(CX), Emirates (EK) or Lufthansa (LH) departing Frankfurt.
You will see why we fly first if we have miles/upgrade certificates or if someone can afford it.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford international F yet.