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?

Oh here’s a tip for people thinking of dabbling in business! Heathrow is I think THE most expensive airport to fly from. This thread got me thinking about Qatar air again and I am flying to Japan in December. I just checked and a return business class from Heathrow on the dates I want is £2400, from Paris (so I’ll just get the Eurostar, as I live in London) it’s £1600. That’s also why KLM are cheapish as they use a city hopper from a smaller airport to get you to Amsterdam and the main flight goes from there.

Never flown first class but upgraded to business class with Air France when we flew to Buenos Aires for our honeymoon (14.5hr flight). We upgraded days before our flight and paid £550 per seat (on top of original flight cost). Out of interest, I checked how much it would have been to book business class straight off the bat and it was £6.5k per person. So, by booking economy and then upgrading, we saved over £10k (BTW, we would NEVER have paid the original price).

We got:

Lounge access at CDG (amazing)
Priority boarding through a separate gate
Champagne/orange juice upon boarding
Extra luggage allowance
Clarins toiletries
Slippers
Socks
Proper blanket and pillow
Lie flat bed within a cocoon which provided privacy
Coat hanger for jacket
Very large overhead locker
16" TV
Noise cancelling headphones
Proper cutlery and tablecloth for meals
Fancy food
Unlimited drinks and snacks

I'd say it was definitely worth it for what we paid given the length of our flight but there is no way I would have paid the asking price (even if I had the money).

So .... has anyone done it?

Yes. Quite a few times.

Is it worth the difference in price?

From economy to business is well worth the price and I hope to never have to go economy again.

My 1st Class experiences have almost always been upgrades from Business due to being a gold frequent flyer and the flight being overbooked. The one time I did pay for first class though I didn’t regret it and being driven up to and from the steps of the aircraft in a limousine was worth it just for the experience.

Everything else it comes with is just a case of it is what it is.

Those who are saying it’s worth it have a very strange idea about the value of things. Fair enough if your company pays I suppose, but unless you’re a euro millionaire, how on earth can you justify £6000 just to lie in a bed and drink Champagne? I suffer from horrendous jet lag, I never sleep in economy (I recommend a long lay over and a sleep in the transit hotel to help on the very long flights) but a few days after the flight, you’re several thousand pounds richer by flying economy and the same person that you would have been had you gone FC.

That’s not to say I don’t fantasise about flying in luxury, but I would never say it was worth it at the end of the day.

I don't travel business or first but I have access to lounges, pay for fast track security and immigration- it costs very little relatively and improves the experience.

Trips away are my main hobby I'd say so I'd rather save on flights so that I can have more frequent trips.

We flew home first class last year from America. I couldn't sleep despite the flat bed because I felt that the plane might fall out of the sky. It was most odd

I don't travel business or first but I have access to lounges, pay for fast track security and immigration- it costs very little relatively and improves the experience. Trips away are my main hobby I'd say so I'd rather save on flights so that I can have more frequent trips.

Yes same here - worth every penny.

We also use our air miles and points to pay for lots of cheap flights for the whole family to interesting places, rather than for upgrades on just a few flights.

We flew first class to the Maldives on emeriates. It was only an extra £4K for both. Worth every single penny! Will do it again for sure.

how on earth can you justify £6000 just to lie in a bed and drink Champagne

First class is that much, yes. But in business you also get a bed and a glass of champagne when you board (and other drinks through the flight) and I have never (and would never) pay 6k! My average business class flight cost is £1600-£1800, no air miles or concessions. That’s London to Tokyo return. I actually did all the research on getting economy flights and having an overnight stopover somewhere instead and it wasn’t any cheaper and it would be a lot more hassle.

For numerous reasons I won’t bore you with, I end up in extreme pain in an economy seat at around the 7 to 8 hour mark. At that point, 4 or 5 more hours in actual pain is not pleasant. It took me a good week to get over the flight the last time I did it in economy. Whereas in business i’m relaxed and free of pain and can enjoy my trip from day 1. I would rather pay less on accommodation once I’m there because I literally just use it to sleep in as I’m out all day. Your generic business hotel in Tokyo is around £50 a night and that’s far from luxurious. You’re talking £100 plus a night for anything decent. But I get an apartment (which I prefer anyway) for £30 a night. This makes up for the extra I spend on business class. Different people have different priorities. Because I really only sleep at any hotel I don’t see the point in spending £150 a night on one but plenty would! We all spend our money where it benefits us personally the most.

how on earth can you justify £6000 just to lie in a bed and drink Champagne

But I don't need to justify how I spend my money. It's worth it to me and that is all that matters. I never get off a flight and think I should have saved the money and gone economy.

I could spend it on other things but then it wouldn't give me as much pleasure and I have only one life to enjoy.

Would do it if I could afford it.

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!

Au contraire. I find the fact I have paid for a fantastic experience off my own back very satisfying indeed. I feel proud I can do that.

I also see this thread is also taking a mean-spirited turn with lots of sly jibes about referring to travel more and not waste money etc.
Maybe some people prefer to go lots of places cheaply, while others prefer to do fewer trips more expensively. Yet nobody who does the latter is slagging the former off with snidey little digs.

But I don't need to justify how I spend my money. It's worth it to me and that is all that matters. I never get off a flight and think I should have saved the money and gone economy.

Totally agree with this. It's like people who say "I can't believe you spent £200 on a pair of shoes when mine were only £10 from Asda". It's the same answer: because I can and because it gives me pleasure.

how on earth can you justify £6000 just to lie in a bed and drink Champagne

Sounds like absolute fucking heaven to me. Endless champagne, flat comfy bed, sigh. Would if I could

Never been in 1st butalways fly Biz longhaul - smoother faster calmer passage through the airport including the calm of a lounge ( although I get many people pay for the lounge as extre ) . Longhaul lying flat makes all he difference to arriving fresh to me . Problem is I now have a habit of booking Biz on shorthaul , obviously without the need to go flat . I like the vacant seat next to me and extra legroom .

For the space, the stretching out, and the privacy, of I had no worries about money I would spend it on long haul.

For everything else it is a ridiculous price for some champagne and good food.

“Honestly, I felt like a real life VIP, it's crazy. “

This is what people pay for as much as the comfort. I’m not bothered by it and feel no need to pay to be treated like a VIP,

Business class usually gives you flat beds, nice bedding and toiletries plus decent wine and food, plus lounge access, however it's still usually a big cabin so not always as quiet as you'd hope. Plus there always seems to be a dreadful farter and a loud snorer in business!! The other difference is the food is served at set times (although they're working on à la Carte in business too).

First class is that bit more peaceful and feels more exclusive. Passengers can eat whenever they want whenever they want. Plus you get the odd celebrity there. People seem to be calmer generally.

That said, I'd never pay full fare for first class unless I had so much money that I'd not notice it being spent (never gonna happen!).

The other difference is the food is served at set times

Depends on the airline. In Qatar's Business you can eat whenever you want.

how on earth can you justify £6000 just to lie in a bed

I don’t have to justify it to anyone.

Drink the Champagne?

I don’t like Champagne.

the other difference is the food is served at set times

In my experience you do have a choice of when you’ll eat

For those of you who have flown FC or BC [I wish!!!} Do you find you get many children travelling in these classes because I find being next to other people's small children in a confined space does not always enhance the travel experience Also have any of you ever flown FC or BC while leaving the children in economy with a nanny or your partner.

I always have DC with me in bc although this Autumn they will be by themselves. There are quite a few DC on bc class in my experience although I sometimes see people look surprised when DC arrive.

I haven’t seen children in business class. I’m sure it happens sometimes but I don’t think it’s thats often. My DC are grown up but I keep my business class travel a secret from them As if I go away with them it’s usually economy. My DS lives in Japan now, hence why I go there regularly but I know he cannot afford business and I’d feel I was rubbing his face in it by telling him I fly there that way.

Different people place different values on different things. Why is that so hard to understand? I don't want to stop overnight in a transit hotel, I'd rather have more time on my holiday. And I can't sleep in economy but can get enough in business that I don't spend the first day of my holiday and the first day at home feeling like shit. I'm also not bothered about fancy hotels, like a poster above, I'm happy somewhere decent but nothing more. Other people can sleep in economy and/or prefer a really nice hotel. That's cool.

There's so many things I wouldn't spend money on that others would. I don't get why we have to sneer endlessly at people's choices.

shiningstar2 have only ever seen a child a couple of times in first. Generally wouldn't know they were there because they have been very well behaved and hardly made any noise. I think the fact that it isn't a cramped space and you have your own pod makes all the difference no kicking of the back of your seat or the** need to run down the aisle