The answer is yes......

Look at the photo below, besides the warm nuts, besides the free drinks, besides the hot meal and salad and desert.....you get to keep your feet dry....

Laguy,

look away or you will never fly again, either that or numerous months of therapy are in your future

CFK

This guy was somewhat luckier! At least he was landing ANYWAY.....

Of course normally in a plane crash, first class is first to get crushed into oblivion serving as the crumple zone to cushion those in the tail.

CFK, is that pic photoshopped?*






* For CFK: "Photoshopping" is slang for the digital editing of photos. Done on a computer. You know, its one of those things with something that looks like a little TV set on a desk with a keyboard. Kind of like typewriter and a TV.

Well, that's a 777, so unless those birds are California Condors, it's either photoshopped or the birds were hundreds of feet closer to the photographer than the plane.

Photo is actual. Look closer, it's a 757. The birds are closer to the camera making it appear as if they are about to be ingested, obviously in close proximity. Birds are a major threat near many of the major airports.

Yep, it is a 757. Same thing, though, the birds are pretty close to the photographer and nowhere near the plane.

I sure hope Bin Laden doesn't read this site. If he does he may get the idea of diverting the carrier pigeons he uses for all his communications to suicide missions on aircraft.

You know something? 75% of those in the first class cabin are airline employees and family. Their "company" fare is something equal to what the tax on the full fare ticket would have been.

I grew-up as an airline brat. I travelled entirely around the world by the time I was 12. We always flew first class. Sometimes I was on flights where dad knew everybody in first class.

If you can afford first class to get a mediocre meal, free liquor, more leg and seat room...go for it. But I would only consider going first-class on an extremely long flight and only because of a special life event.

Otherwise, today I suck it up and happily pack myself into coach. Then I debate whether those in first class are either airline employees and family or morons on an ego trip who will serve to cushion the splattering of my body should we crash.


AJ

Last flight I took to Florida was in first class, and I paid cash to my neighbor who put me on his buddy list, and no you don't want to know what I paid him for a coast to coast non stop flight

If you are going to fly to Asia, I think the best bang for your buck is EVA premium economy class followed by Thai Airways premium economy class.

RG.

These days not so many people in first class (or business class) are airline employees. They tend to be frequent fliers who often get free upgrades from the airlines, or business travelers who fly on someone else's dime, or both.

I'll gladly risk being someone else's cushion during our mutual deaths for the comfort of the front cabin.

Plus if you are totally loaded on free booze you just don't care so much if you crash.

Alec,

I would say that 80% of people in first are frequent fliers upgrading. Most of the other 20% are either paid first/business (lots of paid business on international flights) or people who got the Y-up upgrade for purchasing a full-fare coach ticket and got upgraded automatically.

Buddy passes still have value but after listening to a lot of airline employees and friends bitching and worrying about using them over the last few years, I think their value is a shadow of what it once was. Except right now, with planes half empty, you can probably go anywhere you want. But a year or two ago, when planes were packed tight, they were pretty tough to use with much certainty.

Cat -

You're probably right. Last time I flew on a family pass was more than 20-years-ago. Back then FFM programs were a new concept. So when I regularily used first class, a majority of my fellow pax were company or family of the company.

I travel a lot, or until recently I did in support of my job. I've got about 225K unused FFMs remaining on AA. I usually take a trip to Latin America once a yer using my FFMs. I also fly family around on FFMs for get togethers and what not. Problem using FFMs is sometimes they stick additional legs in the trip or extended transfer time that almost makes it not worth it to use the program.

I've never tried upgrading to first class using FFMs, but neither do I feel compelled to do so as most of my trips are short (3-6 hours).

Last-time I flew first-class was on a short business trip before 9-11. My flight (leg) was only a little more than an hour. Coach was over-sold and the ticket agent remembered me because I had many trips recently through his gate (small airport)...so he gave me the upgrade and told me to enjoy that free drink. I did, but I would never voluntarily pay for first class (with maybe the exceptions I stated previously).

Ciao,

AJ

I don't think too many upgrades to first are made on trans pacific flights without some kind of payment - Miles or cash. They do not put employees up front any longer. I just returned from AC on China Air first class and the 12 seat first class cabin had exactly 2 passengers - including me. Got very good service from a very cute Taiwanese young lady. No BJ offered and I have to admit I was too tired to pursue.

I feel as if I have let my club hombres down !!

It depends on the airline I suspect. For example, back before I started my renewed boycott of United Airlines I received as a result of my frequent flier status a few system-wide upgrades each year which I used either to upgrade from economy to business class, or business class to first class, depending on whether I was flying for business or pleasure. I did this a number of times to Asia, more often going from business class to First than from economy to business. I would be surprised if there aren't a fair number of other passengers who do this as well.

The facts, nothing but the facts:

Cat, Alec, Laguy are all basically correct. Frequent flier program enticements are upgrades, gold/elite/etc. This applies only to domestic flying. For international flying you either pay for a first class seat or use extra miles, either way there is a monetary or mileage premium. No silver, gold, or elite upgrades.

Referencing KM's post regarding non-revs [pass riders] they have never stopped allowing pass riders first class. If there are available seats, they get them-period. In general, due to upgrades with the FF programs, and the few actual first class business passengers it is difficult to near impossible for a non-rev to get a first class seat domestically. The fact that first class is so expensive on international flights helps pass riders in those instances. At that point it becomes a seniority issue as to who get up front, and then the statement that most are pass riders becomes somewhat valid.

CFK

Actually, there are elite upgrades for international travel at the 100k miles/100 segments level. Basically, the top tier of each airline program has some sort of international component. With United, it's 6 system-wides (one-way upgrades, regardless of number of segments and/or distance) a year, and I think the regionals are good out in Asia. So, actually, on international flights, there are a good number of very frequent flyers using free upgrades.

But, most of the rest use miles, with a decent amount of paid business and full-fare economy "free" upgrades as well into business.

Cat is right. The problem with CFK's information is it appears to be based only on one airline, i.e., the one with the lamest business class seats to South America (at least as soon as United completes its cabin upgrades on the 767s). I guess we just learned it also has the lamest perks for its international frequent fliers (perhaps tied with Northwest).

Unfortunately for me, owing to my rotating boycotts of whichever airlines have pissed me off the most recently (in present order of outrage, United, American, and lastly Delta but if Continental doesn't get with the program and upgrade their business class cabins soon, they will make the list), I will soon suffer in one of those lame business class seats. I hope I don't break my back trying to sleep in one of them.