Crap or Not #6 – First and Business Class
Posted by Cap in Stop Buying Crap! |
Because Separating Yourself from Lesser Beings via a Curtain Rules
Being the plebeian that I am, I have never flown first or business class.
Each time I board a flight, I would shuffle my way through the spacious front compartment to reach my seat far in a distant land. Although I’ve flown economy class time and time again, each time I reach my eventual seat, I would always wonder if it was my imagination or were the economy class seats getting smaller and smaller.
First and Business class airfare can cost many times more than that of coach/economy class, although in some occasion (for shorter flights), business class may not be much different than regular class in terms of seating arrangement.
I’ve often peeked through the curtains (and watched my share of movies) to have a glimpse of first class service, yet I still often wonder: is the cost worth it?
Perhaps I need to pray harder to the air travel fairy, and hope for a bump to first/business class on my future flight (as Max did when he flew to Poland), so that I can fully appreciate and bask in the glory that is first class service.
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20 Comments to “Crap or Not #6 – First and Business Class”
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January 2nd, 2007 at 6:59 am
It depends.
2-hour flight from Newark to Indianapolis? Total crap.
20 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney? Possibly not crap*.
*unless you were on that flight from ‘Lost’, where everyone in first-class died horribly. In that case, it was definitely crap.
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 am
It really depends on your income level and what kind of deal you get.
Certainly a long flight can be very unpleasant crammed into cattle class. If an extra few hundred bucks means less than the added comfort for those many hours, then it’s worth it.
For me personally, I value that extra money more than my own comfort.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
agree, depends on the flight. any international flight involving overnight travel? WORTH IT! it’s much easier to sleep, making you more alert when you arrive and therefore safer, less likely to be taken advantage of, etc. not to mention more likely to enjoy your stay from the beginning…
January 2nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm
The extra comfort is worth the money!
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http://www.tawny-kitaen.com
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:21 am
Oh, I remember the good old days when all you had to do was ask and they would bump you up to business class on oversea flights (seriously — did it all the time). They would probably have you arrested if you tried that today…
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:37 am
It’s crap if you pay a lot for it.
It’s golden on a 22 hour flight from the east coast to southeast Asia.
I’ve flown in cattle class on a flight to Asia and it’s not an experience I particularly enjoy. Someone always has a funny smell.
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:54 am
You don’t “peak” through the curtains. You peek through them.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:38 pm
fixed
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I’m bigger than the microhumans they designed the coach seats for. Anything more than 4 hours and I’m in agony in those things. can’t recline enough to sleep, just enough to really kill my back. If I could afford business, I’d fly it.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:20 am
The seats in back are definitely getting smaller, thinner, and closer together. I’m 6′ 3″ so I’ve always been beyond the designed space. But I’m still the same size and weight since college and every year my knees get farther apart, wrapped around the seat in front of me. Also the bottom cushion itself is getting shorter, it now stops about halfway down my thigh. What’s really cool is to see the older aircraft that have undergone “remodel”. The seats don’t come anywhere close to lining up with bulkheads, windows, overhead lights, etc. I’ve traveled enough to experience and contemplate these things but I’ve also watched with satisfaction as the crap airlines doing this went out of business one by one. There’s one airline that’s never done this – southwest. And they make money – hmmmmm….
January 4th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Being not so tall myself, I vote for crap. On the long hauls, sure, its nice (heck, its nice on the short hauls) but not worth the money.
January 6th, 2007 at 3:01 am
like many of you I’ve had my share of long haul, international flights too.. and although I felt like a caged animal, I still can’t get myself to paying the extra for the comfort. Guess the comfort isn’t worth the cost for me.
eh, it’s subjective, but I still wonder if I’m filthy rich, would I pay so much just for comfort.
guess that’s a stupid question, heh.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:06 am
It’s not crap if somebody else (work) is paying or they move you up based on Preferred/Elite status. There is somebody extremely satisfying buying some super deep discount fare sale seats and getting a free upgrade. You know there are people paying 5 times as much to sit in the back since they purchased last minute.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I book travel for someone who travels first class regularly…MOST of the time it’s definitely worth it – but beware : You would think the larger planes (767/777) have more room – more often than not there are just more seats! I know from experience that first class on a Delta 767 is comparable to coach. However – first class on an American 777 is great…just do your homework first….
March 31st, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I did a quick search on the rate difference:
Cattle Class:
Phoenix to London
$808
Business Class:
$3,400
It’s insanity! I vote crap.
March 31st, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Oops, forgot first class (as if it mattered)
Phoenix to London:
$13,691
June 11th, 2007 at 8:29 am
I’ve flown 14 hours coach and arrived dazed, hunched, cramped and sweaty. Even though my seatmates were wonderful, after that trip I vowed I’d fly business class for any trip longer than 6 hours. It’s worth it for me to get the shoulder and leg room I need to really relax and be rested when I arrive. For shorter flights (most of my travel), I’ll fly cattle (coach).
March 18th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Crap. Too expensive for the added benefits.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:55 am
$13,691? Damn, I’d have to be a freakin multi-millionaire to even think of paying that much for a flight. Of course I’m Asian of average height, so cattle class isn’t all that cramped. And cattle for major international airlines like Singapore Airlines is not bad at all…
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 am
speechless Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:54 am
You don’t “peak” through the curtains. You peek through them.
Smart Ass.