First Class - Going, Going, Gone?

[ktflyhome]

Exactly right. FFs choose airlines based on who makes their life the easiest. We evaluate schedule, cost and comfort. Most of us have great discretion in who we fly and you can be sure comfort is an important consideration. Speaking as a 6'2" 200lb person, I cannot fit comfortably for a 2 hour flight in the coach cabin of U planes. The seats just ain't wide enough and if the swine in front reclines there is no room to even work.

I don't care about the plastic glasses and I don't care about the hideous food, but I do care about space to work and relax.

Lose FC and you lose me and 150K miles/year, none of which is on bargain fares.

If you go out to dinner do the restaurants have bigger chairs for you to sit in? Do they compenstate for your largetude and charge you more???

 

[mweiss]

kt, you're making absolutely no sense.

If he finds the seats confining in a given restaurant and not confining in another, he will choose to go to the other.

 

[PITbull]

Two statements from PITbull that I agree with, without any caveats. What is this world coming to?

mweiss,

Shoot, we have agreed on more things than two.....c'mon, at least 3

 

[mweiss]

You're right. Probably more than two. I just picked two out of a lineup.

 

[longing4piedmont]

If you go out to dinner do the restaurants have bigger chairs for you to sit in? Do they compenstate for your largetude and charge you more???

No they don't. But look at it this way

I spend an average of six hours a week on US metal in the AIR. Sometimes it goes as high as ten hours a week. If I can get work done half of the time while on board, that is three hours I have to spend with my family when I am at home. I'm not huge at 6'3" and 230 lbs, but I can tell you that I can't open my laptop and work while in coach unless I'm in an exit row.

I will chose to fly on an airline that meets the very basic need of being able to work while flying. A year or so ago when we all got mad at BBB, I gave DL about 80 segments in less than six months at an average ticket price per week of over $1000. I came back to US because DL has the worst coach product in the industry and I seldom was upgraded to F. Heck I was stuck in a center seat at least 25% of the time and I am Gold on DL. (And I should add that the US front line employees are the best in the business.)

 

[ktflyhome]

MWeiss. Yes, I am making sense. You just don't get where I am coming from. I think first class is a joke and further more the folks in first class are no better than anyone else. More first class passengers take off their shoes and slink them out on the bulkheads and snap their fingers and throw their luggage on your feet and yell and scream as though they are the Crown Royal.

I have seen atrocities in first class that is never displaid in a public restaurant. I have f/class people throw tissues in my face, try to put breath mints in my hand, on, on, on, on. on. These are US 1 and 2's. Give me a break.

 

[ktflyhome]

No they don't. But look at it this way

I spend an average of six hours a week on US metal in the AIR. Sometimes it goes as high as ten hours a week. If I can get work done half of the time while on board, that is three hours I have to spend with my family when I am at home. I'm not huge at 6'3" and 230 lbs, but I can tell you that I can't open my laptop and work while in coach unless I'm in an exit row.

I will chose to fly on an airline that meets the very basic need of being able to work while flying. A year or so ago when we all got mad at BBB, I gave DL about 80 segments in less than six months at an average ticket price per week of over $1000. I came back to US because DL has the worst coach product in the industry and I seldom was upgraded to F. Heck I was stuck in a center seat at least 25% of the time and I am Gold on DL. (And I should add that the US front line employees are the best in the business.)

I appreciate where you are coming from. Then pay the price and enjoy your comfort.

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

Midland and Amarillo may lack glamour as exotic destinations, but come on, there's really nothing wrong with Harlingen. Since I am one of those folks that keeps his swimming pool set at a bathtub-like 95 degrees.......the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico sound awfully good since there was snow on top of the mountains out here in the west Texas town of El Paso yesterday morning.

The Mexican food in the lower Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen), the citrus, the overall ambience, and the beaches make it a reasonably decent vacation destination. In fact I think I may have to cough up a RR ticket and head down there in a month or so, as soon as I can get off from work for a few days.

In all honesty, to me the biggest difference between going to Harlingen and going to Costa Rica is not the language....it's the fact you don't have to go thru customs.

 

[longing4piedmont]

I appreciate where you are coming from. Then pay the price and enjoy your comfort.

Some of us do. I (my company) spent almost $50,000 last year on airfare last year. None of the fares were F. If your point was that I don't pay for or deserve to sit up front then I have to disagree with you. That revenue would have gone to someone else if my upgrade rate had not been 99% on US.

Now to agree to your point. I flew a GSO-DFW RT a couple of weeks ago and the ticket was less than $300. I was upgraded to First on all four legs (to the dismay of one EX VP on one of the legs.) Even as a cockroach I honsetly felt like the fare was too low for the services/value I received. The reason for this low fare was AirTran. Believe it or not I could have flown them F all the way for $60.00 more RT. This is fare pricing that makes no sense to me.

You folks are the best there is and you deserve more, and I do not want to seem ungrateful for the great service you provide in any way, just trying to help shed some light on how the other side feels.

 

[longing4piedmont]

MWeiss. Yes, I am making sense. You just don't get where I am coming from. I think first class is a joke and further more the folks in first class are no better than anyone else. More first class passengers take off their shoes and slink them out on the bulkheads and snap their fingers and throw their luggage on your feet and yell and scream as though they are the Crown Royal.

I have seen atrocities in first class that is never displaid in a public restaurant. I have f/class people throw tissues in my face, try to put breath mints in my hand, on, on, on, on. on. These are US 1 and 2's. Give me a break.

And for all these things I am truely sorry. I see it everyweek. Many times I have been tempted to tell them to get their feet off the bulkhead especially when they have their shoes on. The one thing I will not and have not tolerated is some one berating a F/A

All I can say is you would not see this behavor from me and I am sorry that you see so many US1 andUS2's behaving in this manner.

 

[mweiss]

Oy. KT, I've seen as much as you have, I suspect, by this point. You're looking from the perspective of who deserves to sit there. I'm telling you that if your airline says I don't deserve to sit there, I will fly with someone else. It's not an empty threat, either; I've already done exactly that this year.

In other words, I value this feature above nearly all others. I am willing to pay more to sit there (though not twice as much and certainly not ten times as much).

Incidentally, on my more frequent routes, FAs remember me, specifically because of my exemplary behavior and recognition that they are people, not servants. I've had some wonderful experiences as a result.

As a related side note, on my recent PIT-PHL flight, I was sitting near 2L and was waiting for the door to open when we got to the gate. While I was waiting, I turned to the FA who was standing there and asked if she was a PI FA before the merger. She got the biggest smile on her face, and told me that she was, and that it truly warmed her heart that I noticed. She may be losing her job soon (and I just hate that for her. Really. She was a joy to behold), but I'd like to think my small comment made the rest of her day more pleasant. It's not that hard to make a difference.