Travel & Holidays Anyone flown Business/First Class Flights?

anyone flown/fly business /first class???
and im not talking about jetstar first class

i just read a diary of a person on emirates first class apartment and it was quite astonishing....as welll as the price

What do you value the most in the in paying the premium?

whats the difference between Business and First?

 

Ive done business a fair bit but not first.

Qatar business was prob my favourite.

A friend of mine got an upgrade from business to first last year on emirates from perth to usa and it was apparently pretty outstanding

 

I accidentally went into business class by mistake once.

 

How long were you in jail for?

 

In my previous life (ad agencies) I travelled return to New York first class with my art director. It was so good it broke my heart when I got sleepy - I wanted to stay awake the whole time to make the most of it.

 

I've flown business with Jetstar a couple of times. It's more like 'premium economy' than the business class of most airlines and the cost isn't significantly more. The seat size, leg room and baggage allowance make it worthwhile.

An additional perk is you get into the priority queues in security and customs when flying internationally. Much faster.

 

Flown business class (mostly Singapore Airline) a few times for work and also frequent flyer points redemption. You definately do feel the difference from the priority check-in, lounge access (in Singapore you have separeate lounges for the masses, business class and first class), extra room, flat beds, chefs menu which you can order before take off etc etc.

Manage to score a free upgrade to first class on a Cathay flight (business) and that was a very good. This though was also before the new private suits came out.

Similarly, with such a hefty price tag, I would never pay for it myself.

On one of my flights to HK, I happened to be seated to a Australian who also happens to be the Director of IBM Asia Pacific. We started chatting and we started talking about the flight and he mentioned:
"Most people flying here are on OPM".
Trying without luck in decoding what OPM meant, he saw my confused expression and added "Other People's Money! Just like you and me "

 

I fly Business class to the USA on upgrades quite often. It does spoil you for flying in Economy or Premium Economy. Its the flat bed sleeper that does the trick. The food is better, the service is great. I can't get myself to pay the full price though. I do pay to fly Premium Economy each time. So much more room, better service and far better food. A small cabin on Qantas dedicated to Premium Economy. I have found that being in Premium and requesting upgrade, using points to Business class is much easier to obtain.
I worked for the UN in Geneva for a while and was flown Business Class from Melbourne to Geneva. Qantas were kind enough to upgrade me to First Class for the Singapore to Frankfurt leg. It was very nice, bone china, vase with a flower, etc. The only problem was that you had to ask for anything you wanted, there was no automatic meals or drinks. Sometimes you don't realise you want something to eat or drink until it is offered to you

 

In the past 18 months I've flown first class to Europe twice with Emirates and once to Singapore with British Airways.

All these flights were achieved by taking advantage of credit card sign up bonuses and ensuring day to day spend is done on the rewards card, with the total cost of flights being far cheaper than even an economy flight.

I would never pay full price to fly first class, but the experience is incredible - Limo transfers at both origin and destination, priority check in, express through customs, lounge access, dining/top shelf liquor, shower on the plane etc.

Because we all love looking at the numbers A first class flight to Europe on Emirates can be achieved with just 2-3 sign up bonuses and would cost you under $500 in taxes to book.

 

id probably be the same!!!!

in fact when my ipad wasnt working for my flight so I had to pay the $15 to rent one of them, I pretty much watched it for the whole time to get my value for money

 

Yup..
Chicago to Tokyo first class on United.
Was nothing great though... And even the hosties were old and unattractive.. Like my grandmother was serving me food n drinks..

 

I used to fly first class quite a bit when I worked for Qantas (on business trips). Felt sooo good to get pampered and oodles of space without having to pay for it. I would never fly business or first if it was coming out of my pocket. Strangely though, I could never fall asleep on long flights despite the flat beds. Reinforcement for me anyway, that it's not worth it - saving thousands for ground related expenses is more important than 10-20 hrs of your life.

 

limos for transfers ??? reallly?? I never knew that,
I know about the sign up offers,
however, $500 for taxes??? I did a couple of quotes from melb to Europe and the taxes were $1200,

how do you do 1st class with a 2-3 sign up bonuses,

the most ive seen is 40k Qantas points, x3 is 120k.

first class return I got at 500k points?

 

Always Business on anything greater than a few hours.

Value:

• Being treated like a human, not a bovine.
• Space. Not so much leg space - I'm a short ass. But not having to fight over elbow room. Not having someone's butt in my face everytime they want to get up etc.
• Lounges.
• Not having to line up for everything.

 

man! how do you afford it?
it seems nice but 3 -4 times the price!?!?!?

 

Nah; was just posting that for comedy purposes....throw away line.

 

Not saying its alwayz justified but say 2 extra a year might cost 10k, if after investing heavily over a long period we cant afford 10k a year on a creature comfort arent we doing something wrong?

 

Yep, loads of international business flights. If I have a deadline/meeting/presentation, it saves a day as you can arrive rested. Plus, the limo is there to pick you up and drop you off. They sprung for a Porsche Cayenne one year.

I flew First Class to London last year. My wife brought the three kids in economy. Ahem. Yes, I still pay for this (different flights weeks apart, but it made economic sense, I swear!!) It worked out about $500 first class vs $900 economy using equivalent points - I think it was a one off first class spare seat or something.

It was awesome. "Where do I put my bag?", he says "Sir, this is first class. You put it wherever you want". It made no sense why there was room for 3 though.

Business worth it, first class, no.

I hate flying. It's in the very bottom of my list of favourite things.

 

I've flown business class over two hundred times and first class probably 25 times with lots of different carriers (and i'm not a pilot). My preferred carriers for business class are Qatar, Etihad, and Emirates and for first class are also those plus Qantas as well.

Again depending on the carrier business class is fine as it offers more comfort, space, and better food (airline food has improved allot!). The private first class open top cabins are really nice as they're more spacious and again - private.

Generally I prefer business class over first class as I get to socialise/network more and the people there are not as stuck up like in first class. Business class is worth the dollars particularly when you get off the plane and have to hit the ground running as you're abit more relaxed than in economy.