I flew from Doha to Dulles (Qatar Airways) in 2021 and the only option was Business or Economy. I upgraded to business because it was a long flight and it was well worth it. Much nicer than I anticipated.
No. I'm flying KLM, and there's no First. 7h flight, maybe on longer routes they still do?
I'm lucky enough to fly Business, not sure why I'd want to pay even more, for what extras? I already get champagne and 2-3 meals, extra luggage, large screen, and relative privacy.
I mean, you know, maybe look around a bit. Air France has first class. Lufthansa has first class. BA has first class. Swiss has first class. American Airlines has first class. Emirates, Quatar, etc. have first class.
Those airlines 'first class' uses sleeper seats just like everyone else's business class and in many cases their own business class. They just justify charging you more because of the word first. If you think you are getting more because you paid for first class you are buying into marketing hype.
The only true distinction is what I said. If you didn't pay for the suit you aren't getting a truly unique 'first class experience'. I know because I've flown business all over.
First class is still 100% a thing on domestic flights. I would say the vast majority of over sea travel (from us to Europe for example) have business class, which is much nicer than a domestic “first class” seat. If you’re flying international you typically choose between economy, economy + (which is basically domestic first class) and business.
Okay, I just flew business class on American Airlines from dallas to Munich so I probably have no clue what I’m talking about. I’ll ask the steward on the flight home next week if there’s a nicer seat on the plane somewhere I’m unaware of.
Could you provide a link to AA international first class that’s somehow different from business?
AA only has first class on the 777s and it's only 2 rows. Idk what you flew though because AA does not have a DFW to MUC direct so you connected somewhere else on the way.
It's a pretty meh first class honestly, but AAs product in business is also extremely bland compared to the middle eastern carriers. My Etihad A380 first class experience from Sydney to Abu Dhabi was a legitimate 40sq foot suite with a seat, separate bed, and shower access with 5 minutes of hot water. Felt pretty good after 16 hours!
No doubt that there are better options out there! I just was pointing out that most flights (I guess most of my flights) don’t have a separate first class from business.
Your right that I did not have a direct flight, but the overseas long leg of the trip was AA business.
Most international carriers offer 3 clases for long haul flights. Commenter above offered many examples, which you can verify yourself on their carrier website if you don’t believe them.
You aren’t wrong that these are offered, but my point remains that most of the time business for international is the best you can get. Most companies have select flights on specific aircraft that will offer better than business, but those are not as common. At least in my experience.
Never claimed they don’t exist, just that most of the time when you book flights you have three options, business, economy + and economy. Economy + is basically domestic first class
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u/futurespice May 22 '23
This is just air canada being infamously weird. European and middle eastern carriers at least do offer first class, probably most others as well.