Who can afford First Class prices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We mostly fly business or first class but we definitely shop around for the best price. Economy has become a cattle car. We are retired and can afford it. Recently we had a UA flight cancelled and the best they could do was rebook us on a flight where we were in middle seats near the back of the plane. That experience reminded us why we book first class.

Count your blessings. As a retiree, I'm sure you are aware that the vast majority of retired people simply cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars more for a first-class plane ticket. They contort their aching bones and arthritic joints into economy seats like all the other plebians in the "cattle car."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We mostly fly business or first class but we definitely shop around for the best price. Economy has become a cattle car. We are retired and can afford it. Recently we had a UA flight cancelled and the best they could do was rebook us on a flight where we were in middle seats near the back of the plane. That experience reminded us why we book first class.

Haha, you're joking right? If you're in first class and the flight is canceled, they will rebook you in economy on the next flight. There is no guarantee that you get first class.

Please read Reddit and FlyerTalk forums. Tons of stories about first class ticket holders getting rebooked in economy. The airline will not even proactively give you the difference in fares, you have to call to customer service multiple times. And even when they do you refund you the difference, it will be the small amount between your discount first class ticket and the most expensive last-minute economy ticket. So maybe you get back $100/person on a $1500 biz fare. And you still flew economy!

There is no sense of "make it right" for first class ticket holders. These airlines DNGAF unless you spend $100K annually.