Flying first class, when is it worth it?

[elbacalao]

We're pretentious travelers, we always fly First Class.

 

[Eldritch]

Do you fuck with the overhead bins?

Not really, very rarely. 95% of my flights, they say they are booked to the max and are asking for volunteers at the gate to check their carry on for free. I don't even wait for them to ask. When I get to the gate, I just ask if they need volunteers. The answer is pretty much always either "yes", or, "probably, we will announce the need soon."

 

[Abacinator]

Not really, very rarely. 95% of my flights, they say they are booked to the max and are asking for volunteers at the gate to check their carry on for free. I don't even wait for them to ask. When I get to the gate, I just ask if they need volunteers. The answer is pretty much always either "yes", or, "probably, we will announce the need soon."

I'm right there with you. I rarely ever travel with more than a small success and a backpack. Love taking advantage of the gate check.

 

[mrmarklin]

I have never understood the interest in priority boarding. F' that noise. Seats are assigned for a reason. I typically wait past my Boarding Group and am one of the very last people to get on the plane. All those mofos waiting for a stand by seat are giving me the hairy eyeball the whole time, but I wait until the last couple of bodies from the last boarding group to get on.

I’m a carryon traveler. Early boarding gets you first dibs on the overhead bins. No so important now that I only do business….but still.

I hate waiting for luggage, and if there is a connection it can get worse, much worse.

 

[Eldritch]

I’m a carryon traveler. Early boarding gets you first dibs on the overhead bins. No so important now that I only do business….but still.

I hate waiting for luggage, and if there is a connection it can get worse, much worse.

We all have our preferences. Much like my intolerance for traffic or slow mofos on the road, anything that requires me to be, "in the mix, getting through it together," with other humans, I find it intolerable.

I would rather sit and wait for bags alone at the airport than be in some kind of aisle squeezy hustle with a bunch of other mofos trying to get off the plane together.

 

[mean dad]

I hate waiting for luggage, and if there is a connection it can get worse, much worse.

Every flight I've ever taken with a connection has automatically transferred my luggage to the appropriate next flight.

What airline do you use that requires you to wait for your checked baggage before you board your next flight?
If it's carry-on you literally carry it off. If it's checked you don't touch it until your destination.

 

[easy wind]

On international flights with connections one has to collect checked bags, go thru customs, then re-check bags to board again there. At least that has been my experience, learned the hard way. Also some connecting bags domestically, occasionally have not done so, especially with tight connections.

 

[Wolf]

Paying the full 1st Class fare? Maybe if the flight is 8+hrs.
But unless you have lots of "extra" money, it's kinda hard to justify a $1500 price difference for just a few hours of moderate discomfort.

But when the flight has available 1st class at boarding time and they offer $40 upgrades to the first person to reach the check-in station, I'm sprinting over there.
Not sure if they do that much anymore... used to get it occasionally on Alaska flights between SFO and SEA.

 

[greenmonster]

When my son came home from Army boot camp it took him 3 planes to get from Ft Jackson SC to OAK.

Every time he boarded they moved him into First Class which was pretty cool.

 

[Erbuck]

Every flight I've ever taken with a connection has automatically transferred my luggage to the appropriate next flight.

What airline do you use that requires you to wait for your checked baggage before you board your next flight?
If it's carry-on you literally carry it off. If it's checked you don't touch it until your destination.

Flying back to SFO from South America, with a connection in Houston. We had to do all the customs and immigration stuff in Houston. Drag your bags through a TSA style labyrinth to show your passport and say you didn't bring back anything of value. Then toss your checked bags back into the conveyor for loading on your connecting flight. That was United Airlines.

 

[Eldritch]

Every flight I've ever taken with a connection has automatically transferred my luggage to the appropriate next flight.

What airline do you use that requires you to wait for your checked baggage before you board your next flight?
If it's carry-on you literally carry it off. If it's checked you don't touch it until your destination.

No, some small, fucked off Airports like Medford, OR have this, I have seen it.

I believe it can also be a problem sometimes with going from domestic to international on the same flight.

Depends on the airlines you are patching together and the airports you are in.

 

[mrmarklin]

I said worse, much worse. Yes, sometimes on international flights one must handle checked bags. But mostly not. I guess none of you have ever lost luggage due to the Airlines wonderful baggage handling. That’s worse. And no fun. Mostly it will catch up to you but not always

 

[mean dad]

No one has ever lost luggage bro you're the only one ever.

 

[mercurial]

I used to work in China, a lot, and my job would offer business class for those flights, or you could fly Coach and get a $2,000 bonus. So, I would always fly coach.

Oh yea, those deals were the best. I used to work for a company that would kick back half of the first class ticket cost to you if you took coach, so I pocketed like $4000 on multiple occasions. They cancelled the program right before I left. I would be so mad if I had to take overseas flights in coach and get nothing for it.

 

[Eldritch]

I said worse, much worse. Yes, sometimes on international flights one must handle checked bags. But mostly not. I guess none of you have ever lost luggage due to the Airlines wonderful baggage handling. That’s worse. And no fun. Mostly it will catch up to you but not always

Anything I cannot afford to lose goes in the carry on backpack. That does not get checked, because it usually has my inflight entertainment and snacks or whatever in it.

Anything else gets checked, I can afford to wait for the airline to reimburse me if they lose my clothes and shoes type stuff.