Who can afford First Class prices?

[Anonymous]

The wealthy businessmen in my small city fly coach. They think first class is not a good look.

The vibes I get from first class are usually either "fool and his money" or "upgraded on points".

[Anonymous]

This thread has become cross-threaded between Business Class and First Class.

[Anonymous]

We are going from Newark to Frankfort in December on Polaris. One ticket was $4k, the other is on points. We bought a little while ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread has become cross-threaded between Business Class and First Class.

As stated above, on international long haul flights, many airlines, including the US big 3, only have business class. The seats are like flat with aisle access in business class. In the fewer airlines that also have a first class, that seat is also like flat with aisle access, usually a bit bigger and with more amenities and better food. There is certainly a difference between the two, but it's not massive, and again on many airlines first class isn't even available. So it's much simpler to just talk about "long haul lie flat business class seats" as that's the comparable product across airlines

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone responding with business class fares when OP specifically said first class?

Because United has Business First.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone responding with business class fares when OP specifically said first class?

Because United has Business First.

Ha ha they did away with that "class" around 8-9 years ago. On domestic flights the best seat generally (unless its an internationally configured plane) is "United First", which is a traditional recliner with good legroom and about 20 inches or so wide and a nice gap to the seat next to you, in a 2-2 configuration on a narrowbody plane.

On long haul international it's a lie flat seat generally in a 1-2-1 configuration so every seat has aisle access without stepping over anyone else (except on 757s which are rare, but have a 2-2 lie flat configuration, so the window has to step over the aisle). That class is called "United Polaris". On other airlines its called international business class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You'd be surprise how many people are using points. I've flown to Asia, NZ and Europe in the past 10 years in business or first.

This past summer, during peak times, I used 100k points each to fly RT business to Europe. So for 3 people it was 300k points. I'm always earning points as I use them, so the balance doesn't really go down. You can learn how to play the sign-up game. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred not too long ago was offering 100k points to sign up. When you have a spouse they sign up for their own cards, which doubles your points pool.

That's really good for peak business. What airline was it?

Swiss Air because I wanted direct flights. Time is money. Points cost was lower because I used a transfer bonus promo. If you have Capital One points there's a 30% transfer bonus going on right now to Virgin Atlantic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The wealthy businessmen in my small city fly coach. They think first class is not a good look.

The vibes I get from first class are usually either "fool and his money" or "upgraded on points".

Really? And they're happy on arrival, 12 hours ahead, to run a seminar all day for three days straight? After spending 24 hours in the back of an airplane and trudging through airports? And do it eight or nine times a year? I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The wealthy businessmen in my small city fly coach. They think first class is not a good look.

The vibes I get from first class are usually either "fool and his money" or "upgraded on points".

Are you a hooker who hangs out at the airport bar? How do you know every single wealthy businessman in your city? No business women? You can’t afford it, move along. The question wasn’t directed to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most are definitely NOT 12k. Just searched for a 10 day trip Dulles to Rome late September. $3600 roundtrip business on Swiss Air.

Still a lot, admittedly, especially for say 4 people, but not even close to 12k/person.

Wrong, I just looked, it is $12,800 per person from DCA all the way through 2026

Oh okay I guess Google Flights was wrong that every airline was under $5k.

I think you may only be looking at First Class? On international flights that's very similar to business class, and only a few airlines now even have a separate first class internationally.

Post dates and start- finish cities in Google Flights.

It obviously can vary by airline, but I just flew business class to the UK and it was not even close to first class. It was a more like economy with slightly more space to lean your seat back. First class had separate pods and lay flat seats (and this was a US carrier, not one of the airlines that is known for a fancy first class).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone responding with business class fares when OP specifically said first class?

Because United has Business First.

Why would you respond when you don't know what you're talking about? There's no shortage of knowledgable people on this thread and forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most are definitely NOT 12k. Just searched for a 10 day trip Dulles to Rome late September. $3600 roundtrip business on Swiss Air.

Still a lot, admittedly, especially for say 4 people, but not even close to 12k/person.

Wrong, I just looked, it is $12,800 per person from DCA all the way through 2026

Oh okay I guess Google Flights was wrong that every airline was under $5k.

I think you may only be looking at First Class? On international flights that's very similar to business class, and only a few airlines now even have a separate first class internationally.

Post dates and start- finish cities in Google Flights.

It obviously can vary by airline, but I just flew business class to the UK and it was not even close to first class. It was a more like economy with slightly more space to lean your seat back. First class had separate pods and lay flat seats (and this was a US carrier, not one of the airlines that is known for a fancy first class).

But you're keeping the name of the airline anonymous to protect its identity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone responding with business class fares when OP specifically said first class?

Because United has Business First.

Ha ha they did away with that "class" around 8-9 years ago. On domestic flights the best seat generally (unless its an internationally configured plane) is "United First", which is a traditional recliner with good legroom and about 20 inches or so wide and a nice gap to the seat next to you, in a 2-2 configuration on a narrowbody plane.

On long haul international it's a lie flat seat generally in a 1-2-1 configuration so every seat has aisle access without stepping over anyone else (except on 757s which are rare, but have a 2-2 lie flat configuration, so the window has to step over the aisle). That class is called "United Polaris". On other airlines its called international business class.

I think Delta calls it "Delta One".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't travel much but are those seats mostly always empty?

The lie flat seats? Never empty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most are definitely NOT 12k. Just searched for a 10 day trip Dulles to Rome late September. $3600 roundtrip business on Swiss Air.

Still a lot, admittedly, especially for say 4 people, but not even close to 12k/person.

Wrong, I just looked, it is $12,800 per person from DCA all the way through 2026

Oh okay I guess Google Flights was wrong that every airline was under $5k.

I think you may only be looking at First Class? On international flights that's very similar to business class, and only a few airlines now even have a separate first class internationally.

Post dates and start- finish cities in Google Flights.

It obviously can vary by airline, but I just flew business class to the UK and it was not even close to first class. It was a more like economy with slightly more space to lean your seat back. First class had separate pods and lay flat seats (and this was a US carrier, not one of the airlines that is known for a fancy first class).

Sounds like maybe AA.

Both DL and UA have lie flat seats in virtually all of their trans-Atlantic business class cabins. Neither DL nor UA have an overseas First Class cabin. I think Delta's international business is now called Delta One and UA's is called Polaris.