4 ms·

I remain unimpressed by such 'first class' gimmicks. A full bath? Wow, English public housing units commonly include a full bath (and 'private bathroom'). Rid

by oska 6y ago

I remain unimpressed by such 'first class' gimmicks. A full bath? Wow, English public housing units commonly include a full bath (and 'private bathroom'). Ride in a Porsche? Truly not a big deal. Air travel should be treated with a Spartan mindset in my opinion. Forget all the fake trappings of luxury which are much better supplied (and enjoyed) on the ground. Forget the fake 'fine dining' which again is easily surpassed in any half decent restaurant on the ground. Easy to go that length of time without needing to eat. The only focus you should have with air travel is safety, environmental comfort (quality of air supply, air pressure, noise) and non-crowdedness. All the rest is, frankly, performance art to distract the easily distracted.

namdnay 6y ago
Meh it depends how much you fly. Until covid hit I was flying longhaul about twice a month for work, it's very nice to be pampered a bit when you've got to start your week at 5.30am, leave your family for 3 days, and hit the ground running when you arrive
- chrissnell 6y ago
  Exactly. I have no illusions that the food is better than something on the ground but it's really not bad at all. Flying first class on ANA, it's actually fantastic. However, that's not why you fly first. You fly first because it's completely stress-free from the moment they pick you up at your house until the moment they drop you off at your hotel halfway around the globe. You arrive rested, clean, fed, and relaxed. All problems get magically taken care of. That Porsche that picked me up? I landed late and was about to miss my connection to Italy. No problem. The driver told me he could hold the flight or reschedule me for later and bring me to the First Class lounge to pass the time. He picked up his phone and everything was handled. Zero stress. Clearing EU immigration was a cinch. When I flew biz class into Lisbon the previous summer, I waited 4 hours in line in a sweltering terminal to clear. With Lufthansa First, the Porsche driver drove me to what looked like a security kiosk. We got out of the car, a woman stamped my passport, and we were back in the car in seconds. That's what you pay for, not the champagne and caviar.
shard 6y ago
Somewhat related to your points, I found that a lie-flat bed is highly beneficial for long haul flights, such as US <-> Asia, especially as you get older and your body can't take the punishment of sitting in economy for 13 hours. I would lose a day upon landing when flying economy from being too exhausted and needing to crash, which was greatly mitigated by getting a good sleep lying down. Lie-flat beds are available in business class, so it's much less cost prohibitive.
- oska 6y ago
  Yes, lie-flat beds make great sense. And bunks in economy class would make sense too. I'm not talking about giving customers space and real comfort. I'm talking about the 'luxury' pantomime.

by oska 6y ago

namdnay 6y ago

Meh it depends how much you fly. Until covid hit I was flying longhaul about twice a month for work, it's very nice to be pampered a bit when you've got to start your week at 5.30am, leave your family for 3 days, and hit the ground running when you arrive

chrissnell 6y ago
Exactly. I have no illusions that the food is better than something on the ground but it's really not bad at all. Flying first class on ANA, it's actually fantastic. However, that's not why you fly first. You fly first because it's completely stress-free from the moment they pick you up at your house until the moment they drop you off at your hotel halfway around the globe. You arrive rested, clean, fed, and relaxed. All problems get magically taken care of. That Porsche that picked me up? I landed late and was about to miss my connection to Italy. No problem. The driver told me he could hold the flight or reschedule me for later and bring me to the First Class lounge to pass the time. He picked up his phone and everything was handled. Zero stress. Clearing EU immigration was a cinch. When I flew biz class into Lisbon the previous summer, I waited 4 hours in line in a sweltering terminal to clear. With Lufthansa First, the Porsche driver drove me to what looked like a security kiosk. We got out of the car, a woman stamped my passport, and we were back in the car in seconds. That's what you pay for, not the champagne and caviar.

shard 6y ago

Somewhat related to your points, I found that a lie-flat bed is highly beneficial for long haul flights, such as US <-> Asia, especially as you get older and your body can't take the punishment of sitting in economy for 13 hours. I would lose a day upon landing when flying economy from being too exhausted and needing to crash, which was greatly mitigated by getting a good sleep lying down. Lie-flat beds are available in business class, so it's much less cost prohibitive.

oska 6y ago
Yes, lie-flat beds make great sense. And bunks in economy class would make sense too. I'm not talking about giving customers space and real comfort. I'm talking about the 'luxury' pantomime.