Is American First Class WORTH IT?

[@jack0939]

The Jeb Brooks clip is wild lmao

[@Travelog]

Yeah, I was debating if it was a bit too mean or not. It’s all in jest after all.

[@kevinclark2864]

Flying business/first is always considerably more comfortable than crammed into a 31" pitch economy seat, but I think about the $700-$2,000 price difference in ticket depending on the destination - $2k buys you a MUCH better hotel room and/or more lavish dinners or covers your car rental during your trip - so the 8-hour economy seat sometimes seems worth the misery. Nice Brooks dig - reminds me that much of my disgust of most airlines economy seats has a lot to do with my girth, so I cannot fully blame the airlines for my discomfort. My slim and trim daughter whose feet do not touch the ground sits in an economy seat like I would in a first class seat - so dieting would certainly help me in my travels. But I digress................ Nice video, thanks for sharing.

[@ABQSentinel]

First class is SO much better than economy, but it is also considerably more expensive. If the steerage seat costs $300, then the first class seat if probably between $1000 - 1200. Definitely not worth 4x the cost. However, I have found that if you start checking about a week before the flight, if there are unsold first class seats, you can usually pick them up for between $100 - $200. I'll happily pay an additional $200 for a first class seat if the flight is longer than 3 hours (shorter than that and it's really not worth it).

[@PomKiss]

I'm getting ready to upgrade to first class from economy for the 1st time. My flight is 5.5 hours long and this definitely helped my decision. Thank you!

[@mysteryrgo]

I've been flying with AA for well over 25 years. I always pay for my flights and yes, F. No I don't have status. Don't care about lounge access because I'm an infrequent flyer, but still end up on American. Especially these days when I can get it for $400+ cheaper than UA or DL. A little secret I learned some time ago: Take the base Main Cabin fare (not the el cheapo special lol) and add baggage rates. If you want an adult beverage, add $10 each. Check if there's a meal - add $10-20 depending on the aircraft. 10 for the Embraer/CRJ series as it's cold serve, 20 if it's Airbus or Boeing as it's much better and hot. Be careful with ORD flights - those generally don't have food service, not even to JFK. Now how much is the fare difference? On average, for us it's about $50. (60 bags, 40 Bev [each], 40 food for 180). We used to buy priority for $20 so this is barely over. We think it's definitely worth it. Take a look at your upcoming flight and see how this stacks up. Edit: No you don't get IFE on AA. That's why I won't go U/D. Spending that kind of money for a TV?? I'll bring my own

[@TheLakeMorgan]

I wouldn’t buy first class for any other reasons except for my current situation. Flying one way from Myrtle Beach SC to Minneapolis. About $260, and I chose first class specifically because I am moving there and the two check bags help and are cheaper with first class than main and two check bags

[@yvr2002rtw]

As a free agent living outside the U.S. who decided not to go for status due to travel patterns, I always buy First Class (which should really be called Premium Economy on U.S. domestic routes to begin with!!) when flying within the U.S. It makes the travel experience a lot less stressful.

[@ntxsirenvators8983]

Flying American for the last time going to DC and after that I’m ditching them

[@Piratehunter96]

Hi, didn't you have a podcast? Where did it go?

[@steventravels4035]

You forgot to mention that Star Alliance Gold members who are not United status members get free lounge access on domestic flights. Tbh, I value lounge access more than getting a free upgrade so, if I need to gain status on another Star Alliance airline like Air Canada or Turkish, I’ll do that and save more money by doing that than gaining status here in the US. Sure I won’t get domestic upgrades but, I buy First Class anyway

[@Travelog]

That’s true for OneWorld as well. I was really focusing on the experience of simply purchasing a ticket or upgrade on American.

[@steventravels4035]

@@Travelog I know lol. I’m still not surprised that even as a Platinum Pro member, you got 4 out of 16 First Class upgrades. I mean, when I was a Platinum Pro member a few years ago, when they still had the old program, I got upgraded more often than that, even on hub to hub routes when there was availability. Tbh, I miss the old program because I could gain status by how far I flew while also by how much I spend. I had a work around that always worked in maximizing the amount of miles I’d receive and the status I got. I mean, it still works for Oneworld partners like Alaska and Japan Airlines by earning AA miles from them

[@Blank00]

I’d like to see you compare the padding of first class on United’s and Delta’s NEOs

[@Travelog]

I'd love to but I'll never pay for it myself, so that's only leaves award tickets and upgrades. I did just book Spirit's Big Front Seat this month, so we'll see how that compares and I'll compare against American.

[@ameerali.ouarda]

The soft product on BA Club Europe puts this to shame