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

Our family rule is that anywhere over 3 hours we travel club/business. We did long haul at Easter - 7 hours, return leg was overnight and the dcs fell asleep the minute we were up in the air. Typically, we have to wake them up when we land. For me, that is worth the money. While I tend to get upgraded to First if I am alone, we don't travel first as a family, as that would be double what we normally pay. Eg we are going longhaul (12 hours) in December. For the 4 of us the club flights will be £20k. Pils are coming with us, and they will fly First on the same flights, cost to them will be £14k. So to OPs question, we as a family travel club, but our parents travel first. To the other poster, no we aren't twats and so we don't think it makes us better than anyone else.

DH&I will be flying premium economy out to the US next year and first class back. Yes it was a splurge but why not? Life's too short. Can always make more money that's my motto anyway!

I travel business class with work, mostly BA which is just about OK and sometimes with Delta/Virgin which is much, much better. But DH always flies BA so we tend to stick to that and accumulate miles that we can then use for our holiday flights.

I regularly fly long haul first class. However, this is always done on airmiles, as DH racks them up on business trips. Although I love the whole experience, from 'First' check in, lounge etc, I'd never pay for it! Would pay for Club World though, if it was a night flight.

Who flies first class? Very rich people who have so much money they struggle to make a dent in it and very famous people who really want their privacy. Business class is not that much different to first class really but it's a bigger area so less exclusive, slightly cheaper and less extravagant food and wine choices but still fantastic when compared to economy.

Lots of people in Business Class are travelling on business so they probably aren't paying for their own ticket! It's important they can sleep and arrive refreshed if they have back to back meetings in long haul locations. People who do jobs like that would have nervous breakdowns if they had to spend their lives scrunched up in economy on long overnights with different time zones to contend with.

Then those who fly very frequently will accumulate so many loyalty points and airmiles that even when they are flying for pleasure/leisure and buying their own ticket, they can use the points to obtain large discounts on BC flights. That's how we manage to do it. We also scan the sales and special offers/BOGOFs. We would never pay full advertised rate for Business Class.

We were lucky to be upgraded to business class on a long haul night flight once. Having done that flight many times before, the difference was night and day.

We've now saved up and paid for business class return fares (in a seat sale, only way we could justify it).

But comparing business to first, there isn't actually enough in it for me to warrant paying another several thousand pounds. Business class was so comfortable and I slept well and ate well, and the staff were tripping over themselves to provide great service. TBH I think anything more would just be awkward!

I have a rule that if we're flying long-haul we go First Class. Nothing to do with feeling better than anyone, more the fact that long flights in small seats makes for a challenge when you have two children, one with ASD. Both have flown economy and first class, and both have enjoyed whichever flights. But as a parent it's far, far easier with space.

DH travels a great deal and earns plenty of air miles but we also just pay outright. He's a high earner and if he wasn't we'd have to go economy everywhere, and that'd be fine. But if I can make our lives easier by paying a bit more, I do.

It's no different than going to Legoland and paying for a Q-bot. Totally up to the family what they're prepared to spend, but can have an impact on your day.

just average people who can afford it and think they are better than the rest.

Good grief! It must be miserable being you if that's how you view people. How do you live with the bitterness?

I completely agree about BA Club Europe. Totally not worth it so we don't do it anymore. If you're a gold or silver club member, you get the lounge access, the luggage allowance and get to board first anyway.

We did it once, got a windfall and flew to Australia cost 6.5k for 2, it was the best part of the holiday. The luxury of sleeping that horrendous journey away fully horizontal or lying there drinking champagne and eating fancy food on demand with the stop over spent in the lounge with beauty therapists, hairdressers, and showers is indescribable.

Would I spend that money again if I had it? YES. I am sad I am unlikely to be able to do it again.

We go to the USA every couple of years. We fly out economy with Virgin but come home upper class as the journey home is a night flight and it means we can get a good night's sleep.

I have a friend who is a fairly successful financial domme. One of her millionaire slaves recently paid for her and three friends to fly first-class to Italy.

Avois! I left our fam holiday 2 days early (save AL days) and got a single club world flight for £24 + 45,000 avios points. We have the the black BA Amex cards(1.5 points per pound spent), I use gate365 for every online purchase and OH does a lot of BA flying for work, so our household balance is regularly c. 300k points.

We also use the companion vouchers on regular BA routes (Europe/USA/ME) so have been known to get 2 return business tickets for £1k.

I've only been first once and it was great! DH worked in China for a while and part of the deal was return business class flights to the UK. I was allowed to use one flight to go out to see him. On arrival at the airport they upgraded me to first. Only time I've really slept on an aircraft.

I also know someone who works as cabin crew in first class, many of her passengers are royals/aristocrats from all over the world, celebs, people whose companies buy the tickets, or people just splashing out for the experience.

To clarify the £1k flights were NY and Dubai

We do but dh is very good at hitting it at the right time, the price does drop you just have to be hawk eye and know when to check

I was tempted earlier this year. I had enough air miles. Trouble is dh and dd didn't. I was still tempted as I am by far a much worse traveller than either of them, and they just plug in headphones and have a film fest all the way there and back.

However I just couldn't do it! It would have felt mean to walk the other way on board. So I cashed them in for a lot of wine instead!

Maybe one day ...

If we had one holiday a year then maybe we would. But the cost of first class tickets for one holiday will often pay for a second holiday long haul somewhere else...

We are very average but have booked to fly first class next year as we are both 40. Once in a lifetime experience for us-why it makes me think I am better than anyone else I don't know....,

I fly long haul regularly, always in economy, I got upgraded ONCE and it was fecking marvellous. If I had the money I would definitely do it, it's so worth it for horrible flights of 12 + hours.

I flew business once, on honeymoon (got a very cheap upgrade).

To be honest, I don't think I'd actually pay for it. Yes, flying is a misery. But even the longest flight is only for a few hours, and the cost per hour is crazy. I'd rather fly economy and then spend the cash on expensive hotels, restaurants and wine!! You can't actually taste food properly at the altitudes they fly at, so you might as well drink prosecco rather than champagne.

My PIL fly first or business, but usually with miles (credit cards). They complAin how difficult it is to spend the miles these days, I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. How do you all do it?

Who flies first class? some ofthe Olympic Council of Ireland flew first class to Rio at 7000 euro a seat. They haven't made it home yet!!!
The athletes travelled regular class.

I did it once. It was a combination of factors - I had to go to Australia at short notice to see my Mum who had cancer. I had received some back pay from work due to a payroll error which almost covered it. The airline was running a deal of first class for the price of business £3800 return.
It was very comfortable and an experience I'm glad I've had - my mum passed away while I was there so I was very grateful for the privacy on the way home. Hard to go back to economy seats though!!

I always think I'd rather spend the money on the holiday than the journey. When we went to New York for our honeymoon loads of people asked if we were going first class and laughed when we said we had booked the cheapest flights.
I was happy enough to be offered regular cranapple juice!