A friend of mine, who is a university professor, travels overseas alot. He told me, even though the university and/or other organizations pay for his flights and hotels, He always prefers the cheapest tickets and the average hotel room. He said he once wanted to fly to Brussels from Toronto, and a round-trip ticket was over $7,000 first class and around $2,200 regular/coach. He said He could have booked either and be compensated for as long as he presented the receipt and a copy of the booking. So he had chosen to book the regular ticket instead. Not that he hates the first class's comfort, no, but he said it's just so unfair to pay that much money. So, I have always wondered why people would book first/business class tickets for 3-4 times as much as a regular one? Do they want to pretend that they can afford it? Or would it just kill them to fly in the coach section? I believe the first/business class is a complete rip-off, no matter how you slice it.
lol, have you ever flown first-class? Most do not pay out of pocket. Most corps will not approve anything above biz-class, save for key executives. Frequent fliers use their mileage to upgrade a coach ticket to 1st. It's only 15k miles on United to upgrade from coach to 1st.
It's simple, because they CAN afford it and it's worth it to them to do so. Is it essential? Of course not, but then again few things are in this world.
In first class I can open up my 17" computer and get some work done. In coach, about the only productive thing I can do is read a book.
The people I know who fly first class are able to do so with huge discounts through frequent flier/ credit card miles. They're constantly traveling so those miles keep adding up. I know they could afford first class without the discounts, but they've said they would never pay that much on a regular basis. Once in a while to treat themselves maybe, but not all of the time.
Either the very wealthy or, like me, it is a business expense so I will gladly pay more for the comfort of being away from home for work and deduct it. Try sitting in coach for 8 hours being above average in size with a douche in front who lowers their seat back the whole flight.
I have noticed almost everybody is watching movies or music on their laptops. they aren't working! Besides, cant you just leave work behind for the time you are up in the air and instead ponder what would happen if the engines failed?
it may not be your cup of tea but that necessarily doesn't make it ripoff. some ET posters pay relatively low commission rates and complain that the broker is "ripping them off" just for executing their orders. it is this sense of entitlement that is part of the reason the US is in its current financial mess.
If you're over 6 foot tall (like me), then you've likely had some fairly uncomfortable flights. It gets to be even worse for long trips (10++ hours). Singapore airlines, for example, and this may come across as racist, is deisgned for passengers 5'8" and under IMO. My femurs (i.e. my hip bone) are long enough that when I sit in those seats, my knees bump against the seat in front of me. When the person in front reclines, I literally have to shift my entire body to get comfortable... Some airlines actually do have enough room all around, like Air New Zealand, Quantus, Frontier... most american carriers I would say. But, there are those that have a coach section not compatible with people > 6' tall.