Do you travel 1st class

[escapeUK]

I need to be in the US on the 6th, so earlier in the week had a look an it was £1100 back and fourth in premium. Logged in last night to book it now £2800. Same seats, same flight, difference was I'm now within 21 days to fly. Absolute ******* joke.

Neither rush nor wait.

[ctdctd]

I got bumped up to 1st class from New Zealand to Australia once - very nice it was too.

Pay with it with my own money - not a chance. Too much of a tight wad.

[barrydidit]

I went business class to bob land. Emirates A380 out of manchester - 15/10, A330 (or some such crépe) back again - 2/10. I was stuck in the middle seat of 3 on a night flight home and hardly slept a wink. It wasn't my money, but I still felt short changed on the way home.

As for trains, the Midland mainline 1st class is very reasonable, compared with East Coast. Takes about an hour longer from London to Leeds - suppose it depends how much of a rush you're in.

[Zippy]

I got bumped up to 1st class from New Zealand to Australia once - very nice it was too.

Pay with it with my own money - not a chance. Too much of a tight wad.

Got a very nice upgrade across the Atlantic once (tip - be the only person not saying 'do you know who I am?' when it all goes tits up) and very comfy it was too.

On my own money?

[Gentile]

I find there's a huge difference in what some airlines compared to others call First Class.

I don't think there is such a thing as "First Class" in SleazyJet. I'd never use them again after being mucked around once getting to London and ending up spending seven hours on one of their cattle planes, including a diversion to Bournemouth.

BMA charge a fair bit extra for First Class, which seems to comprise of getting to sit on the front two seats (which are identical to the rest, but with extra leg room since they're at the front; they don't even have a curtain never mind any particular privacy). They also give you a tatty copy of that day's newspapers that have been used all day first and are consequently grubby and unpleasant to hold.

The best I've found by far is British Airways. Again, there's no separate compartment for domestic flights. But for only £20-£50 difference from SleazyJet (depending on when you book) you get a nice hot breakfast during the flight. And they don't tend to get mucked around for landing slots in the way that SleazyJet do (there was a BA jet in front of us during the detour mentioned above, and somehow they managed to get a landing slot whilst we were told to divert). I use them every time I need to fly now. They're rarely the cheapest, but not very expensive. And because most people use comparison websites to get the best deals, their early morning planes are often only about a third full too so you get plenty of room. Bargain.

[escapeUK]

Bargain.

You get what you pay for!

[d000hg]

I like how Virgin just call theirs "Upper Class".

[Zippy]

You get what you pay for!

Agreed. You reap what you sow.

[d000hg]

You get what you pay for!

Having seen on CUK what £500/day buys you, I have to disagree.

[eek]

I find there's a huge difference in what some airlines compared to others call First Class.

I don't think there is such a thing as "First Class" in SleazyJet. I'd never use them again after being mucked around once getting to London and ending up spending seven hours on one of their cattle planes, including a diversion to Bournemouth.

A tip I found elsewhere tonight

PS Here's another little tip I have just discovered.

Ryanair and easyjet are slowly working towards their own version of Business Class, with priority boarding, reserved seating etc.

On this particular trip to Seville, this week, I discovered that if you book Stansted Express First Class you also - as part of the deal - get Fast Track security (takes seconds rather than 30 minutes) plus access to a very nice lounge (free bar!) at the Ryanair hub, right by the gate.

Combine all these things and you basically have BA standard Business Class, the only difference is the seats are the normal size. But it £100s cheaper than BA Biz Class.