SCHOOL ME ON FLYING 1ST CLASS OR BUSINESS - DOMESTIC

I'm doing a domestic flight soon from ~ Charlotte to ~ SLC to look at some land to buy. I'm looking at tickets and 1st class is about double coach. I did a fly and ride from Charlotte to Chicago in coach and it was a shit show because the behemoth beside me bled over into my seat by 1/3. Not going to repeat that.

So, what do you get for a 1st class or biz ticket on a domestic flight? I'm noticing that most places charge the same for 1st and biz, because they are the same seats on a lot of domestic flights.

 

Once you earn high enough status with a particular airline, the airline will sometimes upgrade you for free. You may want to consider getting the airline’s credit card because that should expedite your rise in status.

flyertalk.com is an excellent resource.

 

I thought Biz Class was for international travel only. But that might be dated info.

I did notice Delta offers direct CLT-SLC flights. Avoiding a connection should be a priority.

Delta is extending empty middle seat through April ...

Delta extends middle seat blocking through April 2021; Only U.S. airline to continue providing more space for customers | Delta News Hub

 

Probably not for me because I fly once in a blue moon. I'm not a big fan.

With this trip, I could drive. But I will lose 5 days, driving eleven hour days. Clearly better to fly 1st class versus lose 5 days, even if I save $100/day driving.

 

If you're flying from Charlotte, I'm guessing you're flying American Airlines? In that case I'm sorry for you and wish you the best of luck. I made the mistake of flying from there to LA and back once and that was the most boring 5-hour flight ever. AA doesn't even have screens to watch a movie or something on a flight that long! If you can fly Delta, I would do that instead. First class and business is the same thing on domestic flights. It's just the first few rows usually. Not sure about AA, but on Delta and United you get wider seats (about 3 inches wider roughly), more leg room, wider armrest/separation between you and the person next to you, and free drinks.

 

Excellent info on Delta! Yes, definitely non-stop.

 

Delta Comfort+

 

I'll take my upgrades when they come about or I can "buy" my way onto the upgrade list for a minimal amount of points, but I'm not paying real money for it, especially for a ~4 hour flight.

 

Domestic flights = 1st class
Internationsl flights = Business class, except for some airlines that offer international 1st class, which is a step up from their business class cabin.

Delta has, I believe, the best soft and hard product in the USA, so you can't go wrong there. Is it worth it to you? Only you can decide that. If you have a layover, you get free access to the business lounges with your 1st class ticket, which is a great way to pass the layover time.

Most importantly, flying in 1st class gets you great treatment... like, it feels good to be treated well. It can be very addicting

If the flight is too short, there will be no meal served, just snacks and free drinks. I don't know what the cutoff is these days.... maybe 4-5 hours.

 

I've done Detroit - Seattle and Atlanta - LAX with Delta and there was no meals. But I believe they offer some stuff you can buy. I wasn't in 1st class for those though, so maybe 1st class people get that for free. But they weren't actual meals like you would get on an international flight.

 

Domestically, room for you and luggage and drinks. I've only seen domestic meals once but that was SFO to EWR and a long time ago.

Internationally? Quite sweet. And suite. Especially if it's not an American carrier.

 

For a short hop I’m paying myself this. I’m fortunate to be diamond so don’t have to worry about it but comfort plus so that flight if not grab a seat with no one next to you.

 

On certain international airlines like Emirates international 1st class is unreal. The shuttle in a Bentley to your hotel beats the Porsche Delta offers hands down

 

On Domestic flights there is no difference between “First” and “Business”.

There are only 3 different kinds of seats on the plane. Regular Economy, Economy Comfort (or Plus, etc they have different names), and then First.

On a Domestic faith, First gets you a larger seat (only 2 seats on each side, instead of 3 or 4), free drinks, more baggage room, first to board, etc.

If it is a flight 2+ hours, it’s worth it.

 

Right now first class gets you wine, beer, water, and snack boxes on Delta, that and a larger seat. Covid has really dented first class travel. If doing a red-eye home and you are bigger than a toddler then first class is a must.

 

only thing that confuses me about first class seats is why they board them first? I could understand doing that from a plane that loads from the middle or back. Having a bunch of coach passengers shuffle past when loading from the front seems backwards.

 

I got to work on the Emirates "High Wall Suite" project, in pretty much all phases. Really fascinating to see the project from the inside out from start to finish.

 

To make people feel special since they paid more. Since the pandemic, airlines (or at least some of them) started boarding from the back....except for the special groups. So they still start with people who need assistance, military, people with babies and strollers, gold/platinum members, 1st class, and only after all of that they go on to board from the back. I was on a flight recently where they announced that but because I was going to Norfolk (high military presence), about 50-60% of the people on board were military. So by the time they got to "regular boarding", which was supposed to start from the back, about 2/3 of the plane had already pre-boarded lol Pretty much defeats the whole purpose of what they're trying to do.

 

FYI, Delta First Class and Comfort + are only serving beer and wine during the pandemic.
They give you a bag w a small bottle of water and snacks. I'm sure they'll return to form as soon as they can.
Been flying Delta for a while. Best in the biz currently.
I still miss Midwest Express.

 

I miss the warm cookies from Midwest express.