Flying first class

[MrsExpo]

We have go on a long haul flight later in the year and have been looking at options for flight times, departure airports, fares etc. Having done the research we're more or less decided what we're booking, but just for fun, DH looked at how much it would cost to upgrade to first class. The difference was between just under a thousand pounds for economy to around £6k (each!) for first class .... to get on the same plane, at the same airport and arrive at the same time as everyone else at the same destination.

So .... has anyone done it? Is it really worth the difference in price? What are the advantages? What do you get for the extra ££££ ?

Anyone care to share experiences?

I didn't realise you could keep the PJs though so was sad I left them

After watching the YouTube video, I can now confirm that I am doing life wrong . I was once cheeky enough to snaffle a free upgrade to business class on Korean Airlines when flying to NZ during change at Seoul many years ago and I thought that was amazing.

True whoatemynuts . I guess that’s one of the reasons why the rich friend is rich . Again it’s not always about how much money you earn but how much you keep .

I can see all the benefits are lovely, but - are they really worth £5K per person????

Depends how long the flight is. Generally can't justify first for myself for a NYC to London flight, eg. It's not about affordability, it's about the length of flight. Business does the trick. Long long flights, it can be heaven not to feel miserable at the other end.

FWIW, even if you're in economy you can usually buy a pass to a waiting room for about £50. You can have a shower, lunch, a couple of drinks, and a decent seat without screaming children for not that much more than the cost of a lunch in the main terminal. I highly recommend if you're spending at least 2 hours in the airport.

Purpletigers definitely the reason why they are far richer than me . They value possessions over anything else whereas I value experiences far more than owning 'things'.

I have for work/ business. They sent a car to pick me up for each flight, fast track security, lounge and then decent beds to let me sleep and arrive feeling vaguely human for meetings.
For a holiday I wouldn’t pay for it though. Business class with a flat bed is enough!

I've only done first class once, and loved it, on Singapore Airlines. But for me it wasn't quite worth it over business class. I am quite happy with the endless champagne in business.

Never paid but have been upgraded to first a few times. Best coming back from east coast of India. Heaven -
Flat beds = sleep and comfort.
Own cubical = ability to work on comfort.
Fewer people in cabin = quieter and less claustrophobic.
Better food and service (more per passenger) from cabin crew = all round less stressful experience.
Better lighting and privacy - massively more restful.
Bags first on carousel - can be disadvantage if passport control will be lengthy for you.
Cons - if you love looking out of the window it Can be impossible from cubicle - real drawback.
not worth it for lounges unless you want/need shower on arrival etc and frankly many airports don’t have first class lounges or they are tiny or shared between airlines and crowded shut early etc etc. Really not a fan of lounges.
I can’t afford first class but do pay for eg premium economy or business when I can for long haul as elements of the above make it more bearable.

Some interesting insights here. I've shown some of the replies to DH and he's not convinced ........

Maybe we'll get upgraded when we get to the airport: fingers crossed.

I would only fly B class long haul as my back gets too sore after 4 hours in economy seats.
But as I only travel with my dc I haven't ever experienced first. DH has been upgraded and says it it nicer but not the leap that economy to business is.
I like all the little extras but the flatter seats are what I truly value.

The benefits of first class are probably not worth £5k pp but it is probably used mostly by people to whom £5k is a small amount of their disposable income, so they can easily afford it without thinking about how long it takes to earn it or what else it could have paid for instead.

Business class can be a good compromise for long haul flights and a lot closer in price to economy than first.

We fly first class everywhere because we literally have more air miles through work than we can realistically ‘spend’. No fucking way would I spend cold, hard cash of my own. Put the money towards upgrading your hotel or extending your holiday.

Oh yes, I forgot about air miles, but that's probably because my employer doesn't allow them to be used for personal flights.

They probably aren't collected and hence wasted, because they'd rather that happens than anyone get a freebie.

I realise this is an obnoxious conversation, but BA First - which inexplicably seems to be getting a lot of love on this thread - is well known as the worst carrier in the air. BA flies more routes and has the biggest loyalty programme but its service is bobbins and its planes are old and in dire need of upgrading.

Amazed that some of you are able to put air miles accrued through work towards personal holidays! If we were allowed to do that I'd fly business too haha

I'm seeing everyone saying they upgrade with air miles (implying that there isn't a cash cost) but my experience is that the extra tax you pay for the upper cabins is not inconsiderate? So for example, I have 4 airmiles tickets going out to the States next week which I used points for, and used the 'free' premium upgrade vouchers that I get. But that added a whole heap of tax and 'carrier imposed surcharges' at the premium economy rate. So as well as spending 150000 points, I also had to spend £1.5k in taxes etc for the outbound flight alone. (Only £500 on return leg in tax as I could only get tickets in economy)

And this is of you are lucky enough to get 'reward' seats as they are very hard to get (I was up at 3am the day they were released; still no reward seats on the direct flight but they have got me where I want to go indirectly).

I'm having doubts as to whether points are worth it but very happy to be corrected!

For long haul, business/first is wonderful. A completely different experience.

@CoolcoolcoolcoolcoolNoDoubt We are allowed to do it, it is a bit unfair as you have to use your airmiles for work travel first, so people like me who no longer fly due to work get to use all of them on personal travel, where as people flying for work often have none left over for personal travel.

@mumdom I definitely agree about BA, I would never pay for anything above economy in BA as it’s really poor.

Has anyone here flown private charter? Now, that can be really good, obviously unless you have a whole airbus etc the facilities aren’t as good. But having your own schedule, and only people you know (bar staff of course) on the flight is really good. I did it a few times with an exs career and it was so much better than going on a standard airliner, you can get driven to the plane too.

Yes, the taxes can be considerable. Still much cheaper than the economy flight cost, however.

I had absolutely no idea airmiles were not a universal perk. It’s part of our compensation package because business travel is utterly shit no matter which class when you have to it every week.

MaterMetella I also find I need to search carefully for reward flights but as we tend to fly out of the main uk holiday season it isn't impossible as long I am flexible with dates.

I view the taxes as what I would probably pay for an economy ticket so it's paying for a cheap but nicer flight.

When I have to pay all cash I typically watch the flight costs at the time of the airlines sales and again being flexible on dates can usually get slightly cheaper tickets.

SimonJT - the big bosses have private charters but I’m not senior enough to be asked to join them yet .

There are a lot of people citing "rack rate" for premium cabins.

I think many of us who do fly these classes might agree that we don't actually pay that!

My "usual" business class seats are officially priced at around £3-3.5k. I've never paid more than £1900. And my first class ticket is about £6-7k, but this fare came in at a shade over £3k.

I am child free so able to jump on special promotions as soon as they are announced (I am on mailing lists and their sm feeds); and always fly off peak. Others have mentioned using miles to part-pay too.

So even thought it is more than economy, it's not as much as headlines would have you believe.

Oh and if you happen to be approached by a random woman in a far flung airport around Christmas time, it may well be me giving out business lounge vouchers because I have miles expiring before I can use them so this my "waste not want not" solution!

I have flown long-haul business class for work loads of times, and have been upgraded to first several times. The biggest benefit on overnight flights is undoubtedly the opportunity to get a proper night’s sleep in a flat bed. That’s what you, or you employer, is paying for.

The quality of first class cabins varies. The Gulf carriers are generally very impressive, European & N American carriers less so. BA First is ok, but lacks ‘wow factor’.

If I were paying for first class out of my own pocket, I would expect a proper private cabin as no queues for that amount of money.