Maybe I’m not of a high enough class to get it, but doesn’t it seem absurd to spend thousands of pounds on what is essentially the use of a La-Z-Boy chair for a few hours?

I was watching a promo video for an international airline showcasing its luxury class, and all I could think was ‘that’s just bizarre’. I mean, I can appreciate frequent flyers wanting to enjoy seamless and comfortable journeys (I have been there myself), but the cost-to-benefit ratio just seems ridiculous.

Even if I could regularly afford it, I don’t think I would bother.

Would you spend thousands of pounds for such temporary benefit?

24 hrs, private cabin, great food, 2hrs being pampered in the lounge, arrivals lounge, limo pick up and dropoff?
Tempted if I had the cash….

It adds another day to your holiday.
Do you really look forward to flying home?
We do.
We spend a lot of money buying stock for our shop. As much as possible goes on the Virgin credit card ,the miles certainly help.

I’ve only ever “turned left” on a plane once, after I volunteered to be bumped off a BA flight from JFK back to Heathrow years ago. BA were so grateful they put us up in the hotel they use, shoved folding cash money into our sweaty paws for dinner, and upgraded us on the fist flight out the following morning.

The flight was great fo’shure, and endless booze and comfy seats made for a very pleasant flight, being gently roused for lunch with proper cutlery and china was certainly a habit I could get used to!

Every now and then I think **** it, I’ll fly first, but the prices!!

I doubt I would ever pay it myself.

Love it when work pays for it. (Which they rarely do now).

However, Business Class does make long haul flights pleasant rather than torture.

We looked at this for our honeymoon in Bali. It would have worked out at £3000 extra for first class. £3000 to be more comfortable for 13hrs ish. Thats more than £200 per hour, half of which I’d be asleep.

Decided to save the money and spend it more wisely.

Saying that, if I could get it much much cheaper using avios etc then I’d be tempted.

Obviously my argument would be different if my employers were paying….

Even the Etihad Business lounge in Manchester and Sydney is great, lovely meal and matched wines which reminds me I need to pay for some flights before I book that one again…

Would you spend thousands of pounds for such temporary benefit?

From what I see of business and especially first class travellers, they aren’t paying for the travel themselves.
Most first class travellers that I have any dealings with tend to be business travellers whose companies pay for the tickets.

Thats more than £200 per hour, half of which I’d be asleep.

That’s my thinking.

Came back on BA First on Saturday night from holiday in Africa, was very nice. Not sure we’ll do it again but it is good

Just make sure you’re wearing inappropriate footwear.

8)

A friend of mine has been to Australia/New Zealand 3 times first class. Hers is quite a sad story as some of her family live there and a few years ago her husband and her went there and her husband died suddenly when they were there. Flying back with her husbands body wasn’t a great experience.

So when she eventually went back on her own she decided to go first class as 24 hours on a plane isn’tbriliant for anyone – she is 70yo so it can be even tougher for her. She took pics of the flying experience and she loved it. She was picked up in a nice a Merc from her home, never had to lift her own luggage the whole trip. Luxury first class lounges all the way, and the cabin experience was amazing. She didn’t just have a big armchair, it was like a little room. Probably took the same space at least 4 economy seats take. She had a big TV to watch anything she wanted, IPad to use, any food she wanted at any time. She could also go to the bar to stretch her legs (not that they needed stretching with all the space she had) and had a shower and spa type stuff during the journey. The seat didn’t just recline to sleep on, it actually converted into a proper bed (someone did this for her) where she got a proper sleep.

When she got there she said it was like she hadn’t flown at all and it was a great experience. I know it’s crazy expensive but from what she said the experience is great and considering how much space you take up on the aircraft and the extra staff/facilities/treats needed to make up the experience you can see why it costs so much.

She has been business class too and said that is nowhere near 1st by a long long way.

If I ever get the money I’d go for it!

Only once travelled BA First Class and that was because i was being flown back as a medical emergency after having injured myself badly on bike in Bolivia, initially was being flown back by American Airlines, but they were next to useless so they switched me to BA.

Was a real opener i must admit, in my opiated state, the champagne before we even took off was a nice touch and led me to dribble/talk to the lady next to me who i thought i recognised (it was Sophie Ellis Bextor) and the food was op notch, as i passed out after my fourth red wine, the “pod” reclined into a full bed.

If i had the money, for long distance flights i’d do it every time, 10 hours in “cattle class” is miserable 90% of the time.

SaxonRider – Member

Thats more than £200 per hour, half of which I’d be asleep.

That’s my thinking.[/quote]
Which all depends how much 200/hr means to you.

The difference on the flights I am looking at are $4000 Australian Economy vs $8000 Business vs $10,400 for first over 60hrs of travel

Are the maths available anywhere – i.e. what is the cost of every square cm of floor space in 1st vs every square cm in cattle class (including isles etc). Would be interesting to know which is subsidising which or if they work out about the same. The cost of all the guff you get (the china plates and free booze and better ratio of staff to punters) must add up to a quite small percentage of the the cost of the ticket.

It adds another day to your holiday.
Do you really look forward to flying home?
We do.

And yet with the cash difference you could have an extra week on holiday in lieu of a pampered flight home. Or another holiday at another time of year. I suspect most would opt for that if they had the cash.

it was Sophie Ellis Bextor

Hmm. Never thought about this possibility. I have a bit of a crush on her. 😀

Lie flat seats can make spending a short time in a long haul destination viable which if you’re living half way round the world from your family means you get to more of their birthdays etc.

Economy is great too if you can afford the time to recover from the trip but if you spend the first week of your dream fortnight in Australia recovering then it’s worth looking to see what else is possible.

never flown 1st class and I don’t imagine I ever will.

but if I was a gazillionaire I would do it every time. wouldn’t everyone?

I fly a lot for work. Often landing late, hotel at 0200 or so, then I need to be back up and selling paperclips* at 0730 the next morning. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was travelling in economy, I’d be too exhausted. Also, I look at it as a sort of pay off. If I’m having to be away from home, the nice wine, massages in the fLounge, etc, is recompense for that.

* 😉

which companies fly their staff in 1st class? where should I send my CV?

Hans, I do business for anything over 7 hours, with some exceptions. First is allowed if cheaper, which is occasionally at best. Upgrades are fairly regular.

Would I pay for it myself – probably not, as it’s mega money.

When work does though, it’s great.

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Hans, I do business for anything over 7 hours, with some exceptions.

Most of the big miners here in Oz put a similar rule in moving the line just outside of 90% of the flights they have to do for most of the staff.
Given business on the 1hr hop from the big island down here to the south island is 3-4x the cost it’s nearly always full on the key business times (rest of the time it’s us plebs on points) Even just the basic Virgin Business over to NZ last year was relaxing, just me up the front and a nice stewardess who was happy to top up my glass and chat most of the way.

Would you spend thousands of pounds for such temporary benefit?

Depends how much money I had. I’m not sure you really appreciate exactly how rich some people are 🙂

If I had to save for a £3k family trip then no, I wouldn’t save ten times as hard for first class. If I were Bill Gates though I wouldn’t think twice.

It’s a dream of mine to fly business or first at least once in my life.

Are the maths available anywhere – i.e. what is the cost of every square cm of floor space in 1st vs every square cm in cattle class (including isles etc). Would be interesting to know which is subsidising which or if they work out about the same.

I was speaking to an Emirates manager at Heathrow a couple of years ago he was saying that if they filled the lower deck on an A380 then that covered the costs and everyone upstairs was profit for the airline. It could have been the other way round though!

Also worth noting this
If economy is graded as 1, Premium takes you to around 3 or 4, Business to 8 and First to 10.

As in, the ‘quality gap’ between economy/PE and business is huge. The gap between business and first less so. Yes, there’s more space, and the wine list is better, but once you’ve got a flat bed, the gaps are smaller.

Also, lounges are another big benefit. The gap between business and first lounges can be big, too. BA at T5 is much quieter in the first v business lounge, and Cathay’s Pier First is perhaps the nicest place on the planet. Again, all that time isn’t exactly wasted, as you can work/relax in a lounge in a way you can’t in the terminal.

civil service rules used to be another over 4hrs was business. Not sure if that’s still the case.

now in the private sector and premium economy on long haul, decent chance of getting upgraded to business. 2/6 transatlantics flights I’ve been in the last 18 months have been upgraded. always on the way out though, never the red-eye home.

which companies fly their staff in 1st class?

I’ve never worked for one, and I’ve worked for a few big-uns.

Mostly, the 6 hour rule has been in effect – i.e. 6 or more hours flight = business class.

I just checked and even a flight to Sydney doesn’t allow 1st Class.

Hans, I do business for anything over 7 hours, with some exceptions.

Our current policy is Premium economy for anything over 8 🙁

Used to be Business, but we do too much travelling for our turn over to justify it….

First is often used as a marketing tool to the heads of industry – buy xxx business tickets for your workers & fly First for free. People flying First on personal travel value the privacy and separation from the masses.

People flying First on personal travel value the privacy and separation from the masses.

And the fact that they mix a better Bloody Mary in the nose of yours, Dan!

For work anything over 8 hours gets me into business class, and it just ruins normal travel afterwards. Only truly decent economy is Emirates based on who I’ve flown. Some of the BA fleet from the East coast US belongs in a museum.

It’s my 40th next year and I’m looking at a trip to the US for a week, probably LA and/ or Vegas. It’ll be me and the missus and given it’s my 40th and a long flight, I’ll be paying for business class out of my own pocket

Never done it and never would with my own money.
Looks lovely and no problem with others doing it, but I have a million other things I’d spend my own cash on first.

I saw Casey Neistat’s (famous/infamous) vlog about his upgrade to a $21,000 first class seat. Amazing to see how the other half live. Being able to lie down properly, with privacy, and then go for a shower when you wake up, would make long haul flights a lot more tolerable!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84WIaK3bl_s[/video]

I fly business fairly frequently for work (a few times a year), occasionally for holiday travel (my brother works for one of the airlines, so it’s cost me £150 return to Whistler in the front before), and occasionally in first (due to freebie upgrades).

For daytime flights, I’d actually say that premium economy is nice enough that its not worth the extra for business – sure you get more room in business, and the lounges are good (however I get lounge access anyway), but there’s enough room and drinks in premium for me to be perfectly comfortable. For an overnight flight though, nothing can beat a lie flat bed. That said, I’ve never paid for it myself (except once when the cheapest ticket somewhere was business. I hadn’t even realised until the booking came through and said I had 3 hold bags..)

The number of points you can earn is also crazy – a return flight in business from here to phoenix earned me enough points to get me (in economy) from phoenix to hawaii, or free return flights for 4 of us to Italy. Smashing.

My last job flew us business class anything over 5 hours. Few trips on Virgin whatever-they-call it class – you get driven to a private entrance at the airport, avoid security queues with all the plebs, nice lounge with free food and haircuts (couldn’t find the hairdresser). Then a massive comfy seat on the plane. Oh yes, if I had the dosh. Not normally though…. But I’d pay anything to avoid baggage collection at Gatwick!

I saw Casey Neistat’s (famous/infamous) vlog about his upgrade to a $21,000 first class seat. Amazing to see how the other half live. Being able to lie down properly, with privacy, and then go for a shower when you wake up, would make long haul flights a lot more tolerable!

Not bad but the Etihad Residence is like stepping up a level. It’s something like £12.5k one way from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi. I got shown around it when they first brought the A380 to Heathrow and it’s incredible but not the naff looking luxury that some of the Middle Eastern airlines seem to like.

http://www.etihad.com/en-gb/experience-etihad/flying-reimagined/the-residence/

It’s a bus, with wings.

You get what you pay for so if you can afford it, fill yer boots.

If the tickets were cheap enough, I’d stand the whole way hanging onto a strap whilst holding a pig under my arm and wallowing in the filth of the other peasants.

Real madness is spending thousands on a travel ticket and then having to endure horrendous conditions, like most commuter trains.

I flew first or possibly business once – it was hard to tell there was only one special section and it was in in Japanese from Sydney to Osaka, the then Tokyo to London, they’d cancelled the route and I needed to take a short from form Osaka to Tokyo (crazy short flight between two neighbouring cities that are basicllay joined theyre so big) it was lovely. This was before beds and cabins were a thing on a 747-400, but still massive chair, entertainment centre thing and proper knives and forks etc.

Would I pay an extra £4K for it? Would I ****. I’m not sure I could do it if I had millions in the bank.

Maybe I’m not of a high enough class to get it, but doesn’t it seem absurd to spend thousands of pounds on what is essentially the use of a La-Z-Boy chair for a few hours?

Mmm, it’s just a bit more than that. I was bumped up to first class one on an Emirates flight and it is definitely much, much more than a La-Z-Boy chair – it was a whole cabin and made a La-z boy seem like a beach deck chair. These things are a whole door to door service, from being picked up by a car from home, the check in experience is different and segregated from the rest of the airport, the experience on the plane, drinking wine and whisky’s that are hundreds of pounds a bottle etc. No, I can’t justify the cost/price, but then again I’m not their target audience.

Anyway amongst those who can afford it First Class is so passé. Those with the necessary funds to fly first class are shunning it in preference for biz jet travel. With the rise of marginal share business jets working on a charter basis the cost to charter a business jet has come right down over recent years and is now competing with first class cabins. So no need for the inconvenience to travel to a main airport with all the other riff-raff, just go to you’re closest regional airport, rock up 5 mins before departure and off you go.

Only ever travelled ‘left’ – by being booked on return from work trip. Was the only seat and apparently took a lot of management discussion to put me on it. I didn’t even realise, and turned up at Tokyo airport, waited in cattle lounge !!.

I think have been upgraded on a Virgin flight to USA in dim and distant past — can’t recall details of that either, it was very nice.