The Truth About First Class
 

My husband and I (late 40's) don't travel much...but we'd like to start traveling more. We're not good travelers - hate to wait in lines, hate to spend a day in route, sensitive to noise and discomfort...yet we long to see more of the world and experience more of its diversity and history. So, we will. Now, to my point: We will be taking our first trip to Europe next Spring. I know most travelers look for the best bargain airfare they can, but since we travel so infrequently and long for comfort, we're thinking about traveling first class, or upper class, or business class, or whatever the classes are that airlines offer where you have more room, quiet, food, etc. Since we're such bumpkins about airline travel in particular, though, we don't know who offers what or what's worth the difference in price. I'm hoping some very experienced overseas travelers can share some experiences with different airlines and the difference in the experience between "regular" airfare and what you get behind the curtain. I can't say money is absolutely no object, but we'd be willing to spend a lot more than you might think for a wonderful flight across the ocean. We'd love to hear from those of you who have been there and done that. Thanks. <BR> <BR>

Well, due to my husbands' business - we have travelled all classes and I can tell you there is a huge difference in food, space, comfort and attitude of staff, depending on whether you are coach, business and first.Equally there is a big differnce in price. If you are flying for over 6 hours and can afford it I would suggest you look at Business Class. First Class is not worth the extra bucks above Business for fancier food. If you are flying at night check out carriers that have beds. By the way, if you really want to push the boat out they say that Concorde will be back in service by this fall.

My wife and I were able to get an upgrade to 1st class on a long flight and it was definitely cushy, but hardly worth it if you have to pay "sticker price" for the service. We flew American and had an excellent crew and service (tailor-made hot fudge sundaes for dessert, real china, limitless drinks, etc). The problem, however, is the cost. Going 1st class is all about the immediate comforts; you don't get to your destination any faster, nor does your luggage come out faster, etc. It's up to you to decide if you are willing to pay 4 or 5 times what the guys at the back of the plane are paying just for a little more leg room and hot towels.

That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. Is it just more leg room and hot towels for the money? If so, it would hardly seem worth 4 or 5 x the cost. Is that others' experiences/opinions? If so, why would anyone do it??

Kris, in the spring you can puchase a round-trip economy class fare from any east coast city in the US to any major hub in Europe for about $600. A business class fare for the same route is roughly $4,000. So, you and your husband can spend $1200 in economy class or $8,000 in business class. <BR> <BR>I have flow across the Atlantic both ways and definitely prefer business class (we'll leave first class out of the picture). Economy class is little more than a cattle car as airlines shoehorn in 300 or more passengers onto a craft. On the way over, business class guarantees a reasonable night's sleep; on the way back, it provides eight-plus hours of good food, room to move around, etc. <BR> <BR>The alternative to that $6800 gap is upgrades. Every airline has an affinity credit card which offers miles for credit card purchases. Depending upon the airline, it takes 40-60,000 miles to upgrade two tickets from economy class to business class. In one sense, it's "free" as you would be running up those credit card bills anyway. Why not do so for a worthy cause? <BR>

I've flown all classes. not because I'm filthy rich but have sometimes been in the right place at the right time. The last few times my wife and I have flown to Europe, it's been coach. We fly the planes (which one is it, the 767?) that are configured 2 seats, aisle, 3 seats, aisle, 2 seats. We get the two seats. We find we have plenty of room, although we could stand a little more legroom. Another consideration is using frequent flier miles to upgrade to First (or business), but I read an article once that calculated what frequent flier miles are actually worth. If I remember correctly, the author's position was that it was a waste to use freq. flier miles for first class. Anyway, I don't find much need for first class for most flights.

Business Class is nice, but I agree it's not worth the huge increase in price. The food is better, but it's still airplane food, you get your own TV screen, and more legroom but I wouldn't pay for it. I would recommend you look into earning frequent flyer miles and then use those to upgrade. Even if you don't travel much they are easy to earn and rack up fast with affiliated credit cards, telephone plans, etc.

In my opinion, people fly first class for one of three reasons <BR>1. They have money to burn. <BR>2. They don't have money to burn but it makes them feel important and superior. <BR>3. They have upgraded with frequent flyer miles, which is probably the case 90% of the time! <BR>All I know is that when we flew to Thailand (22 hours!) I called to find out about upgrading to first class because of the length of the flight. The cost was about $ 4500 more -- EACH! I figured I could go on another whole vacation for $ 9000 so we just bit the bullet and flew coach. It wasn't fun but no way was it worth the extra money! If it's worth so much more to experience minimal discomfort then its certainly up to you how you spend your money. I have flown first class when the company paid or we could get upgraded. While it is very nice, I'd rather spend travel dollars on another trip.

I forgot reason number 4! They aren't paying, their company or client is!

I wanted to pass along a word of advice about flying first or business class - make sure you really check out the aircraft that you are flying on. I have travelled maybe 5 roundtrip flights to Europe in business class (all due to FF upgrades). Recently, my husband and I cashed in more miles to fly first class to Hawaii on American. Boy were we disappointed with what we got, especially with the seating. Once everyone was settled in to sleep with the seats reclined, you could not get out of your seat to use the restroom. I sat by the window, and my husband had to get up every time, and I had to disturb those in front of us b/c their seat backs were in the way. And, then watching the movie was very difficult b/c the screen was at the front of the plane. I suppose I figured that flying such a long flight (Dallas - Maui), the "accomodations" would be the same as from the east coast to Europe. But, we figured wrong, and if I had to do it all over again, we would have either 1) just buy coach tickets or 2) fly another airline. <BR> <BR>My most favorite flight was on the new USAirways Airbus 330's b/w Pitt and Frankfurt. First class comfort in business. The seats reclined really far and you could get out without disturbing anyone else. The seats had lumbar support, leg rests, etc. that you could move to where you preferred. The movie screens came up out of the arm rests to be directly in front of you and you had a control to watch what you wanted (over 200 hours of movies, tv shows, music programs that you could stop & start on your own). We have also enjoyed the United 777 (?) b/w Paris and Dulles (VA) and British Airways 777 to Heathrow (both b/w Boston and Dulles). <BR> <BR>My advice: look carefully before you spend that much money. And happy travels.

As a frequent flyer, I have traveled in all classes. Most of the people traveling in Business Class/First Class have not paid the full fare price..which as other post have mentioned is at least 4-5 times and more the cost of an Economy/Coach ticket.. Many of the seats in Business/ FC are from the redemption of FF miles either thru flying miles or the redemption of Credit Card loyalty points that have been transferred to a frequent flyer program. also...for those that travel on certain airlines, it is possible to purchase what is an upgradable ticket, which is more than Economy but much less than Business and then redeem what are called System-wide upgrades. These are certificates that are sent to consumers who belong to a FF program and have reached a certain mileage for the years..although seating availablitly for this class is not always guaranteed..in most cases it has been no problem. In all aircrafts there are a certain # of seats in all classes that are designated as FF seats, as System Upgrade seats, and as PAID seats..If a the seats that have been allocated for FF redemption are full, the purchase of a paid ticket will not bump these seats if the airplane is full. Is First Class/ Business Class superiour..absolutely.!!! Is it worth the additional price...rarely...I believe that the only people who pay the <BR>Full Business fare..are business people who either have to be somewhere and have no choice...or are people who have so much money that price is not a consideration even at these prices.

If you are going to fly business class, pick an international carrier v. a domestic carrier. Although there are exceptions, I think the business class service on Swissair, Air France, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc., beats the biz class service on domestic airlines any day. At least, that's been our experience. <BR>Are you flying from the East or West Coast? If you're flying from the East Coast, you'll probably be leaving at night. If you can only afford to splurge for biz class over or back, I would opt for the trip back, which is during daylight hours the whole way and you're more likely to be awake. On the way over, you're probably going to be sleeping (or trying to)--so it doesn't seem worth it to spend the extra $$$ for a more comfortable snooze. <BR>If you decide to bite the bullet and go economy, pick a plane that has a 2-3-2 config if you can, so that you and your husband will have one of the 2 seat sections to yourselves. Ask your doctor to give you each a short-acting prescription sleeping pill. Take the pills right after you board, put some foam earplugs in after departure, and wake up the next morning in Europe! Makes the trip a lot less painful in economy class. <BR>Finally, see if you can catch a flight on Singapore Airlines. Some friends were able to do that a few months back and said it was the nicest economy class trip they ever made. People don't usually think of Singapore Airlines for flights to Europe, but if it's possible to get one, that's the airline I'd choose. <BR>BTilke

Kris, <BR> <BR>Just to add a little to kwl's point about the Airbus 330 . . . My wife & I flew coach in that aircraft from Charlotte to London (USAirways). First point: it was noticeably more quiet than say a 767. Also, we glimpsed the business class seats on our way in and out of the plane, and there is definitely a lot more space. However, we were very pleased with coach. <BR> <BR>In coach there is a 2-4-2 general seat configuration, and we had a 2 seat section. The seats had good lumbar support and a head-rest that folds outward into a U shape. Also, you have a tv/movie screen built into the seatback in front of you, with individual earphones. We had the choice of approx. 5-7 movies and several tv shows (as well as music selections). The best feature is that each screen operates individually, so you have your own personal vcr, which you can pause, rewind, etc. And of course you can watch as many movies or shows as you can stand. <BR> <BR>Finally, all drinks are free, even in coach. The food in coach was fairly typical--not great, not terrible. <BR> <BR>Overall, I would say flying coach on the Airbus 330 is somewhere between business class and coach on a non-330 aircraft. <BR> <BR>Have a great time however you get there!

We flew to Ireland last summer, coach, on a British Air 777. It was by far the best overseas flight I have taken. The service was pleasant and we had more leg room than you have on other economy flights.

This is how my husband and I approach the same topic. First we ask question: Do we want to go on one trip and pay for a ticket $3,800 business class or travel a few times in a coach. We could certainly aford to pay first class but why not go more often and have some of the greatest experiences a few more times. Another question: How long it takes you to make $3,800-4000 that you will spend in such a short time. It is your choice Kris. Get over. A real life includes dealing with noise and waiting in the line once a while. If nothing works for you remeber that Concord should be back very soon.

Kris - <BR> <BR>I have one word for you; Zolpidem. <BR> <BR>It's a sleeping aid. The brand name is Ambien. No side effects or grogginess. I've been telling everyone I talk to about plane flights about this stuff because it works great. <BR> <BR>Like BTilke said, take a pill, get some earphones, and wake up at your destination. Actually, we take half a pill and usually wake up about 5 hours into the flight. We use the potty, have a drink of water and then we're out again. And if not, we take the other half. Most the flight goes by and we don't even know it. <BR> <BR>We've been flying mostly to Asia lately and that's a really long trip. Zolpidem has been a blessing! <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR>:-)

I would recommend an American Airlines 777 if you decide to go with coach seating. While it's probably nothing compared to First Class, you get more leg room than the other carriers, and each seat has it's own TV screen that you control yourself (you get to pick the movie from a list of choices). We flew to London from Chicago on this plane and I found it to be much more plesant than other European flights I've had. Good luck! <BR>

It depends on the carrier and sometimes the plane as to what you get for business/first service. You wil definitely get a wider seat. The food is better (but if it's an east coast flight to the UK or Ireland, it will cut into your sleep time on the way over). It's almost always quieter. Some of the carriers actually manage to get your luggage at the front of the baggage claim, and you can take a little more carry on luggage into business/first than coach. The degree to which you will get a greater recline varies by carrier and can be significant. Continental, US Air and Delta offer BusinessFirst service, which means many fewer seats, much more legroom and a deeper recline on the seats. BritAir is offering sleeper seats, and Virgin is working to upgrade to sleeper seats in business class. The 747-400 and airbus flights on Virgin have the better business class seats but the 747-100 plane does not have the better seating. IMHO, if you only fly business one way, I'd take it on the flight over so I could get a much more restful night's sleep. AirFrance's 747's have the old business seating, as do American and some of the older United, Northwest, KLM, Singapore Air, Thai Air and other carriers. Many carriers are upgrading to the BusinessFirst standard. The good news is the flight is a whole lot better with the deeper reclining seats. The bad news is fewer seats, fewer chances of upgrade. I've done the math, and for my purposes, the best use of frequent flyer miles is upgrades on international flights. You can average 8-10 cents/mile on an upgrade, while miles typically in at 2-4 cents/mile for a free coach domestic or international ticket. If you do purchase a coach upgradeable fare for overseas, you cannot book the lowest fare class. It will typically cost about double the lowest class fare. Even so, it may be worth it to you. You are the only ones who can make this decision. You've got plenty of time to plan. There are a few travel agents and internet sites that advertise lower cost business class fares. I don't know if they are worth it or not. Hope this helps and enjoy your trip, no matter what you decide.

One other point worth mentioning. <BR>We have an American Express Platinum card for only one reason: two-for-one international first class and business class fares. That is, all high end seats are half price if you're going as a couple. It's pretty easy to justify the $300 per year fee for the card when you can save thousands per year on air fares and you get free upgrades to suites at all hotels in the AmEx program (assuming they're not sold out). <BR>

Just want to chime in - in agreement! <BR>Delta's first class is not as nice as British Air's business class. <BR>The ride home from Europe always seems unbearably long, and it is about an hour longer due to headwinds. <BR>Although FC is not worth the ridiculous prices, BC is so much nicer than coach - if you can use frequent flier miles to upgrade. <BR>Pick one airlines that goes to most of the places you plan on visiting, and start charging as many of your daily expenses that you can - just be sure to pay them all off monthly! Use those points as "upgrade purchases" on your travel. Enjoy! <BR>