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?

Does anyone ever really get upgraded from economy to first? Really?

I've only done it via Air Miles, but I have to say it's the one thing I'd like to be seriously loaded for. That's for long flights, esp. night flights, though. I wouldn't bother for short haul..
Nice civilised airport lounges
Priority boarding
Nicer food, served when you want it.
Much bigger seats, more room
Flat beds! With a duvet and pyjamas.

Mind you you get many of these advantages, inc. flat beds (the most important IMO) with Business class too,

I’m fortunate enough to fly business and first for long haul flights. If it is my money I would always stick to business. The uplift is good, but I would rather have the £££.

When I win euromillions (!) I want to try the Emirates Residence, a mini apartment in the front of the plane. I think it’s about £32,000 London to Abu Dhabi

MyFokMarelize I have never been upgraded.

I have been downgraded on one leg due to a plane swop which was awful but I did get a free return first class flight because of it (no taxes to pay).

First is great but business is just as good in my opinion. Nice choice of wines, better quality food generally and a million times better service.
Always try and go business but have been first a handful and biggest difference is the private dining and your own Demi cabin to yourself which is fine but not worth the extra £££ in my opinion.

So nice to be able to walk around and have tons of space around you with drawers to tidy away your crap and have endless cocktails made for you.

I have always said others would spend spare cash on expensive boots or coats and I'd rather spend on a flight any day. Just a different approach to money.

I got upgraded to first class flying Aeroflot London to Moscow. The main difference was that you get as much good vodka as you can drink before being rendered paralytic. The vodka drinking capacity of the Russian businessman is nothing short of extraordinary.

This will be a long post, but my husband and I are experienced flyers and I promise it'll have loads of hopefully helpful info!

First, you have to factor in what airline you're flying on and what the route is. For example, I'm from the US and within the United States most "First Class" routes are simply in the front of the plane with wider seats that recline more, the food is better (and free) and you get extra perks like more bags checked free and often lounge access (which I typically already get since I'm BA Gold and United Gold). A handful of premium routes, such as NYC to LA will have some planes with the lie flat big seats that you usually see on international business class. This would also apply for the difference between BA economy and Club Europe on most routes as well.

My recommendation is to research premium economy, especially if you're travelling with children. Sometimes it's just a couple hundred more than economy and you get a wider seat, better food, a more private mini cabin, a good 6-8 inches more legroom. I recommend looking on SeatGuru.com to check the layout of the seats and see if you can request more favourable ones.

First and Business Class aren't the same, but again, it depends on the airline. For example, as others have mentioned Singapore and Emirates have a mindblowingly luxurious First product. For some other airlines, such as Qatar, their new Q suites business product is better than many international First cabins.

My husband and I will often use points from credit cards to upgrade. There are some excellent blogs dedicated to this for future reference, but if you haven't started collecting points and miles it might not work for this upcoming flight, plus not all economy fares (typically the cheapest) will be upgradeable to Premium Economy or Business.

My recommendation (especially if you're flying with BA) is to look into Premium Economy if you're flying on a route that offers it, especially if it's a newer plane. It might only cost a bit more for the upgrade. You will definitely get more comfort for a longer flight.

I'm happy to answer more questions if I'm able to.

WhoAteMyNuts - yes, I think if I was subject to any kind of 'grading' it'd be straight into the cargo hold for me!

MariEDI If, like me, you're realistically only ever going to be able to afford economy which would you say are the best seats for long haul? I fly long haul two or three times a year and I've developed a bit of a liking for 51C but could I do better? I am not a sociable creature and I hate climbing over people to go to the loo!

Does anyone ever really get upgraded from economy to first? Really?

DH flies a lot within the US, and he's almost always upgraded to Business because he has status with several airlines. Not many of the flights he takes have a First Class, so Business is the best he's likely to get.

He also flies on his boss's private jet a fair bit.

MyFok I tend to find the back of the plane usually has most room (if any) in economy.

There may be rows where there is no seat in front (due to the narrowing of the fuselage) or just more chance of spare seats as everyone tries to sit up front. There are drawbacks - last row may not recline, near the loos, last on the food service - but you can prioritise your criteria accordingly.

As Mari says, make seatguru your best friend. You can research the exact plane you're scheduled for.

@MariEDI Would you be willing to share links to some of these blogs please?

@Winenotttea There is no Emirates Residence, you're thinking of Etihad :-)

@MyFokMarelize Again, it depends on the airline and route.

Emirates usually has reliably decent and comfortable Economy.

For BA, it can be a real crapshoot. We flew Economy to Seoul a few years ago and it was on a very new plane, surprising amount of legroom and comfort. And then that same year we flew to the Bahamas in an old, busted plane. I fly from the UK to NYC a few times a year and even that premium route can be a crapshoot, but they're improving their planes.

It would be helpful in giving a more specific answer if you told me where you wanted to go and if you have a preferred airline.

@MyFokMarelize It's easy to get domestic First upgrades if you're a frequent flyer. Sometimes on a 3-4 hour flight that can be nice especially given the extra legroom and free food, but not much else.

I've gotten a few upgrades on BA from economy to Premium or Club World (business, you still get the better food and flat bed!) but never to First. But I'm also a BA Gold status member so already fly with them often. Last year I also flew American Airlines (BA partner) from LAX to LHR and was upgraded from PE to Business, which was a very nice surprise.

It pretty much never happens that someone just rocks up to check in and gets an upgrade to international First from Economy.

@BuzzShitbagBobbly Really one of the best parts of flying Business or First (or having frequent flyer status) is the check in experience is so much faster and smoother. Virtually no queues for check in or security is fantastic. Fast track queues for immigration sometimes as well.

It's SO much better than having to queue for an hour or more if flying EasyJet or whatever.

Yes - I should have mentioned that I usually choose to fly Virgin Atlantic and 2nd choice Emirates. I like both. BA is another option for my routes but they're getting some really shit reviews lately.

I don’t travel for work, so I pay my own flights. My first trip into business class was about 10 years ago, a special promotion for Qatar air (I was flying to Japan). It was heavenly! But it ruined me. Now if I go long haul (which I class as 8 hours +) I have to go business. Sadly I couldn’t afford Qatar after that so have gone with KLM a few times. Their business class is quite reasonable. Not as nice as Qatar, food isn’t as good, no nice pjs but the bed goes fully flat so that’s all I care about. I don’t see the difference between first and business as warranting the cost. And I agree with others, depends very much on the airline. If I was going to spend more, I’d go back to business on Qatar rather than first on KLM.

It simply comes down to money, if £15k means nothing to you then 1st class is great, but for most people it's simply not an option. The good news is that those expensive tickets cross subsidise is in economy!

@MariEDI oops yes, I meant Etihad! We flew business class with them a few years ago to Australia and I was really impressed.

I’ve been lucky enough that all our annual BA long hauls for the last 4 years have been first class, all through a BA Amex 241 voucher, avios and very flexible travel plans. Our avios are now drying up and so future flights will be paid for business class flat beds. We’ve been thoroughly spoiled by flying up front and I couldn’t go back to sitting in a seat for the entirety of a long haul flight.

It's not something I would fork out for unless I was absolutely minted. I always think the plane would land and I would just think 'right so that's 5k I have just spunked away in a matter of hours'!

DH has flown first class a few times with work and it does look amazing, but I imagine it feels more luxurious when you are not paying for it!

A very good blog for U.K. points earning is Head for Points, I subscribe and get daily emails with clicky links to the blog posts.

Seatguru is crap imo. For Accurate BA and Emirates seat maps use The BA Source and The EK Source respectively.

As Asta19 says, it will ruin you if you try it! We did business for the first time about 10 years ago and have never flown long haul economy since. For me the big things are lie flat seats, extra luggage, lounge and lack of queueing. I don't really care about the food and wine, it's nice, but it would never be enough to sway me if I wasn't already there. In fact I'm sure I half read an article recently that suggested one carrier was looking into offering business seats but without all the associated perks and that's something I'd be interested in.

I've never flown first so can't be certain but I can't imagine there is anything there which would make me pay the difference, given the budget I have.