Who on earth pays for 1st class flight tickets

[Gregoravitch]

Just got home from a lovely holiday from the US.

We splurged out for Premium Economy tickets and it was bliss, as you enter the aircraft we had to walk through first class and my word it was so bloody extravagant and packed, their didn't seem to be an empty seat.

Out of curiousity I had a look at the prices for the very same flight journey that we took for a first class ticket and the cheapest I could find was around 3 grand and the most expensive was 7 grand

3 bloody grand, if I could afford it I probably would but it seems horribly expensive. A return ticket would be 6 grand and that's more then our entire holiday for 4 for a fortnight cost.

Who are all these people paying these prices?

I'm also very envious, those first class seats looked very comfy

and then drove us out across the Tarmac to the plane in a Porsche

This is the kind of thing I really don't understand about flying first/business.

Of course I see the appeal of more legroom and a flat bed; comfort while actually on the plane, especially for a long-haul flight.

But personal assistants and fancy cars are well beyond that and into the realms of the ludicrous, aren't they?

who can afford it and think they are better than the rest

Why do you have to be so rude about ordinary people who pay for their tickets? Better to be rude about those who do it on business expenses - because we pay for their fares in the long run.

I travel business and sometime first class for business. Basically work paid for it. But they also wanted me to travel for 36 hr door to door and go to a meeting 4 hours after getting to the hotel. Believe me, it is not a privledge in these cases. it is a necessity. I have been completely at shattered on some of these flights and the kindness of the BA flight attendants have been greatly appreciated.

I also had a enough mileage travel to be able to upgrade to business and sometime first class. They generally don't want these seat empty so if you show up at the airport and they aren't oversold and you flight a lot you can get into them.

BTW - I describe having status on an airline as a complete failure of work-life balance.

People who work for the airline are often bumped up as a perk of the job. With BA, I believe staff with X number of years service are automatically entitled to an upgrade if there is availability.

We flew Emirates Business Class to Singapore - fabulous. It was a special anniversary trip. We went through First Class go get off and I couldn't spot much difference (saw bigger TV, better slippers!). I couldn't think of anything Business Class lacked - and definitely noticed the improvement on Economy - our usual means of travel.
If I could afford it, I'd definitely travel Business Class for long flights - wouldn't bother with First unless it was a free upgrade.
Good luck to those who can afford it or manage to treat themselves to it.

I've been upgraded once from business to first and paid for first class once, it's fabulous but so is business (on BA and Emirates) and I wouldn't pay again. The only difference between the two that I could see was that in first class you can't really see any of the other passengers due to the way the seats are configured so it seems a bit more private and the wines are a better vintage but it's not worth the extra money. I do think however that it's worth every penny to upgrade from economy to business if you can afford it!

Ah, first class is so last year. Flying private is where its at.

Only if you enjoy tiny planes, often with a propellor.

What! Well, you've obviously never heard of Gulf Steams, you can fly private from the same prices as first class often for far less depending on various factors.

I travelled business class once when husband worked abroad and got a certain amount of flights with his job...it was bliss...fabulous meals, seats etc. ED travelled to Hong Kong first or business class...can't remember which, paid for by the company she works for....looked AMAZING...proper beds etc She said it spoilt her for cheaper seats...which unfortunatley she has to use, or not go due to lack of take home pay from said company!!

Thread hijack here, but with so many frequent flyers I am hoping someone can help.

I am flying to Uganda with Emirates in the autumn. I have to make connecting flights to MCR from my rural location that involves Flybe flights.

I booked it months ago. Flybe have changed the flight times. They have sent me repeated, frantic, emails asking me to "click to confirm" I accept the new times. I have refused to do so. If I accept the new times I miss my connection in MCR. I have tried talking to them, I got nowhere.

What do I do now? We are at a stalemate situation, & I have spent £800 I cannot spare really so I can see my sister who has been abroad for over a year & won't be coming back to the UK any time soon.

Help!? I would really appreciate input from MNetters.

Because it's a different airline, Flybe aren't responsible for you getting your connecting flight and they are allowed to change flight times (although I think they need to refund you if you don't want to accept those).

I guess the question is, (and I mean this genuinely, not sarcastically) what do you want them to do? i.e. what realistic outcome do you want? They're not going to change the flight time back so if they're the only airline that flies to (presumably LHR or LGW) you'd need to get an earlier flight.

How did you book the two flights? As in, did you book each flight directly, and pay FlyBe and Emirates separately, or did you book the whole journey at once through one, the other, or an agent?

I'm a bit confused about first class. Just flown on holiday with Virgin in Upper Class, I always think of that as business class, do some planes have a class above that, first class? Is PE the new business class?

Upper Class is (first class) on Virgin Atlantic.
I take it you were in the cabin with its individual seats that fully recline to a bed and had a mini duvet and a little bar that you can go and sit at and have a drink .
Oh and a beauty therapist and choice of menu made to order and selection of wines and champagne.
How can that be business class?
Where do you think First Class is hiding out?

I always thought of Virgin Upper Class as equivalent to Business on Emirates or British Airways. We used to fly it all the time between Heathrow and JFK, due to my husband's points, but now that we have two children we fly Economy everywhere. I actually find it less stressful to be surrounded by more families travelling with children in Economy as opposed to lone business travellers. If flying alone, I might consider Business but couldn't imagine paying for First even though combined we are high earners.

Yeah different airlines have different classes and definitions of those classes and levels of service within them. BA 4 classes, Economy (called World Traveller on long haul), Premium economy (World Traveller Plus), Business and First. I think Virgin has 2, Economy and Upper Class, which as a previous poster said is more akin to First than Business. Air Canada has 2 as well I think, Economy and what they call "Executive First" which is basically business class, with no real first class... Happy to be corrected on any of this though!

Isn't Emirates first supposed to be one of the best in the world? Along with Cathay and Singapore? I would love to experience that someday. I love flying, that would be the icing on the cake.

the first class terminal (yes, an entire TERMINAL for first class) and then drove us out across the Tarmac to the plane in a Porsche grin It was surreal

My local airline does the personal assistant and drive acriiss the Tarmac thing. But not the seperate terminal as we're too small a place. Emirates and Etihad however have so many people flying first or business that it really is just one very impersonal mass market experience. I don't fly with them unless I can't get to my destination any other way from this part of the works.

Virgin deliberately positioned their classes "between" BA's, so BA has 4 classes (economy, premium economy, business and first). Virgin has 3 (economy, premium economy and upper), so upper is supposed to be better than BA business class but not as good as BA first class, and so on.

Similar to the strategy that a lot of car manufacturer's take.

I'm the mummy with kids in economy whilst Daddy is up the front .

He travels a lot and more often than not ,gets a** free upgrade .
I can slum it for 6.5 hours in the provision he takes charge once we land and I head to the hotel pool , shop or spa it for the equivalent hours .

I've flown Virgin UC and don't think it's quite as good as BA business class. The service and food menu is more extensive on BA and the space around the seat is bigger - it doesn't feel like they're trying to cram you in so much. The food is more like going out for dinner from what I've experienced with BA and the CC make sure they give a real personalised service. Our children were spoilt by them on the last flight!!

When travelling with a dh, but especially dcs, the layout of BA club is also much better - you can sit next to each other and talk rather than be penned into a little area with no way to communicate with the person sitting next to you. Although it would take a lot to beat the Virgin clubhouse for their pre-flight lounge and drive up check in, their amenities outside of the aircraft are much better.

I agree with the PP, luxurious as Virgin UC is (agreed, it's sandwiched in between BA first and club) I didn't think it works for young children, BA Club is much better for that. When we fly as a family we put the dcs in the 2 seats in the middle and then we sit either side of them, or, we put each dc in a window seat and sit next to them.

When I fly alone, I am the person who checks in as soon as the 24 hours window opens to avoid the dreaded love seats, as I call them. Nothing worse than a "talker" for 13 hours in those seats!

Emirates biz class

Emirates business class on an A380...that food was just the starter!!( Dubai- Manchester)..... Unlimited canapés and drinks( Bollinger champagne) in the bar..... Slept well, wish flight had been longer!

My parents! £8k on flights faints

£8k on flights.

Coo! How the other half live.

I think I'd want the airline to throw in a complimentary shag for that figure.

But yeah, why not if you can afford it?