My husband Joe and I have flown first class a few times, usually because he’s saved up enough points and it’s a long enough trip where we’d rather be in first than economy class seats. We usually save those trips for when we go overseas, although we’ve occasionally used them for when we’re just going cross-country. Here’s Joe during one of those times:
Anyway, a few years ago, Business Insider posted an article titled:
DISAPPOINTING PHOTOS SHOW WHAT FLYING FIRST CLASS IS REALLY LIKE
The post mainly consisted of several photos and comments about each image. Its synopsis is:
- Despite its reputation, flying first class isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
- Advertisements for first-class accommodations — and even our imaginations — can look vastly different from the actual experience.
- Take a look at what the whole experience of flying first-class — from check-in to the exclusive lounges to the seats and meals on the flights themselves — can really look like.
Well, I read the whole article and looked at all the pictures, and all I have to say is, even several years after the fact, what a load of crap!
Here’s the article. Take a look at it so you know what I’m talking about 😉
The stuff in large bold is my introduction to each section. The stuff in regular-size bold is from the article. The regular print is my descriptions and thoughts.
The author first talks about the check-in process:
Well, I don’t know very many people at the check-in desk who smile and treat first-class passengers like royalty, but they do indeed have special access lines for people who are flying first class, both domestically and internationally, so they don’t have to stand on the queues that you might see for those flying Economy or on a Ryanair flight (Ryanair is an ultra-low-cost airline…it doesn’t even have first-class!).
He then goes into the TSA security checkpoint:
Well, how/where you go through security has nothing to do with what kind of plane ticket you have. It’s all about whether you have TSA Pre-Check or not. A traveler who has done his/her homework would know that. There may even be a preferred lane for first class and business customers, but that will just dump you into the normal security lane after getting your ID checked.
Next up – waiting in a lounge:
Just because you have a first-class ticket, it doesn’t automatically mean you have lounge access. You might, but the rules vary from airline to airline. So how crowded the lounge is might be a moot point; you’re not getting in unless you have access.
He then tries to differentiate waiting in the lounge if you’re flying international first class:
True, not all lounges, even not all international or first class lounges, are the same. If you’re in a small airport, for example, they might not bother to upgrade the international and/or first-class lounge very often. That being said, knowing what your lounge will look like before you go is all a matter of a passenger doing his/her homework. All it takes is a search on this website – by this point, just about every lounge out there has probably been reviewed at some point or another. If you don’t like what lounge you thought you were going to go to, see about getting into another one.
He then discusses boarding the plane:
I’m not quite sure what the author’s point here is. If you’re loaded into the plane first because you’re first class, you miss all the chaos, right? And even when/if biometrics become available everywhere for boarding (again, the pic the author used was for the Delta Sky Club, not a gate to a plane), it’s not going to stop gate lice.
The author then goes into great detail about the differences between domestic first class and international first class:
(the pictures for each are lovely international options or what you’d typically see in domestic first class)
The rest of the article delves into after you’ve left the plane:
The bottom line
If you’re just a regular person, not a bajillionaire who can pay cash for first class tickets, not someone who has so many miles that (s)he doesn’t know what to do with them, and somehow gets a first class seat, just sit back and ENJOY IT. Don’t expect first class service for any aspect of your travel besides things that have to do with the airline – TSA, taxis and the weather don’t care if you have a first class ticket or not ;-).
If you want to know what to expect before your flight, do your homework and learn what you’ll get in terms of seating, meals, etc. But don’t be disappointed just because you had unrealistic expectations of your experience—that’s on you, not them.
As for the author and his “You might expect this, but don’t” outlook, it’s just pushing for those unrealistic expectations and then taking them away, almost in the same sentence, which was just weird.
Feature Image (cropped): TravelingOtter / flickr / CC by SA 2.0
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