Anyone Fly First Class?

I never really found any bargains for first class but we do book months in advance and watch the availability go down and the prices go up. DH doesn't like to fly he's a nervous wreck so first class helps. He also HATES the heat, and he will be going to Disney world next month for the first time...lol
 
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I only outright purchase first when it's an overseas flight. However, i'm platinum on AA, so i'll occasionally be upgraded on domestic flights (that seems to be a rare occurrence these days though). As long as I get a little extra legroom, i'm set.
 
I got bumped to first class when I was around 20. That was great! I had to take a flight from west palm to Orlando to do that though. I got bumped with a bunch of NY port authority guys. They were funny! They bought me lunch and I sat with/near them in the flight home.

Other then that, no. But the last time we flew to Orlando in 203 and then this August as well, I booked the even more space seats in Jet Blue.

My dh flies it all the time for work. He is spoiled! Well more spoiled when he flies the company jet and doesn’t have to worry about liquid restrictions and just goes to the airport and waits for Jim to land.
 
Folks who haven't flown in first class or were upgraded at the airport may not realize that there's more to it than just a better seat. There's priority boarding with no struggle to find an overhead bin. There are the minimal wait times at the counter, in the TSA line and at the carousel to pick up luggage.

When flights are canceled, you often get help first, too.

We don't get to the airport as early as we used to, don't sweat it once we're there and leave from the airport faster once at our destination. This all adds value- it saves time and makes flying fun again. In fact, I tell my friends that it adds three days to any overseas vacation- the day of travel is relaxing, the day you arrive is fun because you're not tired, and the day you come back home you're still feeling like you're on vacation. That makes it worth it to me.

Anyway, the real reason why I visited this thread is to ask if anyone has any insight when to buy first class into Orlando. Do the prices tend to follow the same pattern as coach fares or should I be looking sooner (or later). First class is still wide open on the flight I want to take for May.

Thanks!
 


Help in the TSA line when you fly first class? When and how? I've never been impacted in TSA by being first class (most recent first class flight was leaving LA a couple weeks ago.) The rest of the things we are familiar with, just not that one. No one even sees your ticket until you've already stood in line
Anyway, to add to your list, bags, we got 2 free bags, vs 1 usually. If you are like me and overpack, that was very nice. And free alcohol. I'm always up for free beer ;)

I've bought our first class tickets same as any other ticket. In my pricing, the fares adjust across the board, if coach is a good price, the price to upgrade to business class or first class is too, the increments increase all based on the coach fare. If that makes sense.
 
Help in the TSA line when you fly first class? When and how? I've never been impacted in TSA by being first class (most recent first class flight was leaving LA a couple weeks ago.) The rest of the things we are familiar with, just not that one. No one even sees your ticket until you've already stood in line
Anyway, to add to your list, bags, we got 2 free bags, vs 1 usually. If you are like me and overpack, that was very nice. And free alcohol. I'm always up for free beer ;)

I've bought our first class tickets same as any other ticket. In my pricing, the fares adjust across the board, if coach is a good price, the price to upgrade to business class or first class is too, the increments increase all based on the coach fare. If that makes sense.

Most airports have a first class/preferred line at TSA. I used to be Gold with USAir and Delta, it was nice to be able to use that line (this was before TSA Pre-check). I did get upgraded pretty often, first class is nice but I wouldn't pay for it. I also ran into a sort of "glitch" on USAir using miles, I could get a first class ticket for 50,000 miles when the coach was 60,000 for PIT/LAX. It happened a couple of times. I did fly overseas for work business class, now that was really nice! Flew United DC to Frankfurt, best flight I was ever on. It had the lay flat seats, huge monitors, excellent service.
 
I'm just curious if anyone here spends the extra money flying first class. Or if you only fly when upgraded or rewards points etc. Is distance a factor or do you always fly coach or first no matter what?
We have not flown since 2004. We have driven to Orlando from CT, and one time we took the train.

We are flying to AZ then Cali in April, and with all of the changes in the experience of flying, we have chosen to fly First Class. I want to be comfortable and have all of the amenities that are no longer found in coach.
 


Folks who haven't flown in first class or were upgraded at the airport may not realize that there's more to it than just a better seat. There's priority boarding with no struggle to find an overhead bin. There are the minimal wait times at the counter, in the TSA line and at the carousel to pick up luggage.

When flights are canceled, you often get help first, too.

We don't get to the airport as early as we used to, don't sweat it once we're there and leave from the airport faster once at our destination. This all adds value- it saves time and makes flying fun again. In fact, I tell my friends that it adds three days to any overseas vacation- the day of travel is relaxing, the day you arrive is fun because you're not tired, and the day you come back home you're still feeling like you're on vacation. That makes it worth it to me.

Anyway, the real reason why I visited this thread is to ask if anyone has any insight when to buy first class into Orlando. Do the prices tend to follow the same pattern as coach fares or should I be looking sooner (or later). First class is still wide open on the flight I want to take for May.

Thanks!

When? There's no telling just like buying a coach ticket. No way to really predict it. We usually buy first class from DC area to the west coast and those prices vary from about $1100 to $1500 with taxes. I've been watching/buying those fares for about 3-4 years.
 
When? There's no telling just like buying a coach ticket. No way to really predict it. We usually buy first class from DC area to the west coast and those prices vary from about $1100 to $1500 with taxes. I've been watching/buying those fares for about 3-4 years.
May. Expert fare-watchers typically say coach ticket prices nadir around 50-55 days out (which has been my experience, as well), except for vacay hotspots like MCO which are more like 75 days.

But that's coach. I don't know whether first class moves in tandem with those figures. This time I'm doing more advance planning so I thought I'd see if the prices come down since I have more advance notice than usual for a domestic flight.

It does seem to me that I can buy first class airfare a little later than coach fare without being penalized for waiting.
 
We have not flown since 2004. We have driven to Orlando from CT, and one time we took the train.

We are flying to AZ then Cali in April, and with all of the changes in the experience of flying, we have chosen to fly First Class. I want to be comfortable and have all of the amenities that are no longer found in coach.
Yes. I got tired of the hassles and discomfort. About 5 years ago a nonstop flight from Frankfurt to Denver was the worst experience I ever had and that ended my coach traveling days. Whenever we fly we always have to take connections and can usually count on a long day anyway, first class really helps.

My kids are older and mostly just meet us wherever we're going, but if one is flying with us he/she can sit in economy plus. Unless I'm flying without DH, then whatever kid is on board gets to sit next to me.:tilt: When they fly back to college I won't even book them for economy anymore it is that bad, they usually fly economy plus.
 
Years ago I flew United Bos Seattle and Seattle to Boston every two weeks for a several years. I racked up FF miles. I would say to DH, “ Someday we are going to Hawaii Honey””. Someday came and we flew both ways (4 flights) First Class on miles. DH, who flew very little, was amazed. We also stayed in an Ocean front room in a Marriott in Maui on points. It was wonderful.
After that I often upgraded to First on miles flying home from Seattle after a days work. I loved it.
 
I always fly United because I have status and get free bags for everyone, usually TSA pre and get premium economy seats for free. I have been upgrading to first class more often lately, from Chicago to Hawaii, on international flights and I upgraded myself flying from Chicago to Phoenix to visit friends, I usually just pay the upgrade fee rather than use miles but it depends on how much it costs. I have almost 400,000 miles and I usually use them for upgrades. Last year three friends and I flew to Arizona for a girl long weekend. I upgraded everyone because two of them had never flown first. It was worth every penny to see their enjoyment,
 
DH and I usually fly first class to DW in Nov every year, but not this year. Prices have gone up too much.
 
We were upgraded for "free" many years ago coming back from our honeymoon to first class (AUA to JKF) when "first class" was just called first class not like the many forms of first class today. Then come full circle two years ago we "paid" for first class (JFK to AUA) but this time as a family of four.:crazy2: So like that old saying goes what comes around goes around.
 
Got a treat last month when my Disney friend purchased seats in first class for both of us!
I've never flown in first to MCO, and I wouldn't choose to pay that price myself. But it was nice!!
 
DH and I usually fly first class to DW in Nov every year, but not this year. Prices have gone up too much.
You might look into a Chase Sapphire card. I earn double points on most purchases and they are worth 25% more booking through their website, which is easy to do. So you can basically think of it as a 25% discount when using points.

Between that and the odd FF miles upgrade, I usually only pay full price for the ticket about half the time. But I (usually) don't have 100's of thousands of FF miles laying around, so the Chase Sapphire is the easiest way for me to get them for a little less.

Once I found about 90,000 points in a Wells Fargo Rewards account of my husband's that he never pays any attention to. That was a sweet find!

I'm still wondering how far out to buy tickets as it looks like I'll only have enough points for one ticket & I need two. The advice for economy tickets is to buy at about 75 days out for MCO- is this also true of First Class? Any insight is appreciated.
 
Well, I answered my own question this morning. Prices dropped by $50 on my route since yesterday.
I guess I'll wait a bit longer, I'm at about 120 days.
 
I'm 43 years old and have never flown first class. My husband used to travel frequently for work and racked up enough points that he was usually able to upgrade for his work flights. I fly frequently for leisure, but I'm not really loyal to any specific airline so I don't rack up enough points for an upgrade.
The longest non-stop fight I've flown (coach, of course) is Newark to Shanghai, about 15 hours. Ive also done a few 12 (ish) hour ones (Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Los Angeles to Osaka) and then multiple shorter flights (7-10 hours.)
 
I'm 43 years old and have never flown first class. My husband used to travel frequently for work and racked up enough points that he was usually able to upgrade for his work flights. I fly frequently for leisure, but I'm not really loyal to any specific airline so I don't rack up enough points for an upgrade.
The longest non-stop fight I've flown (coach, of course) is Newark to Shanghai, about 15 hours. Ive also done a few 12 (ish) hour ones (Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Los Angeles to Osaka) and then multiple shorter flights (7-10 hours.)
Upgrades aren't as easy to get as they used to be. I had elite status with United but sometimes didn't get upgraded, even when I bought the upgrade with miles. Since I really want first class, not a good chance at first class, that didn't make sense to me. I earn points with the Chase Sapphire card and get a discount booking through them. I still earn FF miles this way, and eventually I cash the miles in directly with the airlines.

I still get elite status from time to time after I fly to Europe, etc. but I can't say it's that much of a perk to me.
 
We are still loving first class with United. We took a first class home from Jacksonville to San Francisco last month. It was a POD, type of seat, it was delightful! Going back again in February for good no more trips to Disney World that we will have to fly cross country!
 

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