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First of all I have no desire to pay that extra money just for a little more legroom.
Secondly, Ive never been discontent with any seat, just get me from point A to point B safely.
About 3 years ago decided to splurge and take a cross country flight first class on Delta. Extra leg room appreciated. Everything else sub par. For food our FA handed out bags of chips. Free beer and wine but as this was an early am flight I declined. Coach folks came on later and proceeded to use our overheads and to take most of the pillows and blankets.
I did, twice, but never by intent. The first time, my wife and I settled into our seats for a flight from New York to Curacao. All the rest of the passenger must have been from senior citizens social club, and before the plane even took off, they were organizing the seats for inflight games of Canasta. The stewardess saw our dismay, and asked if we'd like to fly in the first class section.
The other time was on a flight from St. John's to Gander. Newfoundland, when I was about the last person to check in, and they had just run out of tourist-class boarding passes. Rather than make me wait while he went to restock, he just handed me a first-class boarding pass for the one-hour flight.
I used to ask my travel agent to book me Paris-to-London on something more exotic than the hourly flights on Air France and BEA, and once he put me on that section of Japan Airlines round the world flight. Nearly everyone leaving Tokyo had already gotten off, and the passengers were outnumbered by flight crew by about two-to-one, and it was a breakfast flight. Wow!--- It was better than first class. That was the last successful flight of that plane---its next weekly trip around the world a week later, it crashed in the Himalayas. Probably taking my lovely and pampering stewardesses along with it. A very sad thought that I will forever carry in my heart.
I've done it multiple times since my firm was paying and my job consisted of a LOT of travel globally, quite frequently. And trust me, I remember it VERY fondly. British Airways does a lovely job of it on their long haul flights, but I have to say that I really enjoyed Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. The service was something else, the flight attendants were the sweetest and the seats were oh, so comfy.
Nowadays, sigh, back in the real world, I schlep along with everyone else to the back of the bus in coach while getting jostled from people hoisting their bags into the overhead cabinets and - I seem to have a REAL knack for getting that pesky middle seat!!!! Therefore, I am SO glad I enjoyed my time at the front and noticed and appreciated every little perk received!
I have done a LOT of flying...Have ALWAYS envied those in FIRST...Never done it! WILL SOMEONE PAY MY WAY?? lol...LUCKY DUCKS...wish I could, but I will forever be one of the packed in sardines with the second class food, if I'm lucky (crackers and peanuts). LOL...GOD JUST DON'T CHARGE ME FOR MY CARRY-ON!!!!!
About 3 years ago decided to splurge and take a cross country flight first class on Delta. Extra leg room appreciated. Everything else sub par. For food our FA handed out bags of chips. Free beer and wine but as this was an early am flight I declined. Coach folks came on later and proceeded to use our overheads and to take most of the pillows and blankets.
Delta's First Class is subpar compared to other airlines. My sister just flew Delta First Class about 2 weeks ago, same thing - she loved the extra space but her meal (breakfast) was what would be a coach breakfast for most others.
Having flown First class on Continental many times, including a few times since you took that Delta flight, I can say they do a great job. Not just the extra room and free alcohol, but hot meals that were actually very delicious, plenty of snacks, and on longer flights (particularly the ones I take to Las Vegas or the West Coast) they bake fresh chocolate chip cookies - the smell wafts around the cabin, then they come out with the hot cookies and glasses of milk and water. You have to wait for them to cool down, they're still so hot when you get them.
Haven't flown since last year but I'm sure they've cut back since they recently eliminated meals (a month or so ago). But I would be that First class stilll gets a meal of some sort.
I have flown First class many times and on a couple different airlines. It is definitely great, but not worth the cost, IMHO. Most of this was because I'd fly for work and earn FF miles and "elite" status, and then it was a matter of being able to be lucky enough to get an unclaimed first class seat. When I was "silver" elite, I'd fly First about 2 out of 10 times, when I went to Gold and Platinum, it was more like 6 or 7 out of 10 times. Then a few times when cashing in FF miles I would spend extra miles for First class....
On my own dime, I won't pay for it. What's interesting is that a strategy I used to get First class helps when I have to fly coach, also... That strategy is to try to fly on the least crowded flight possible. This would increase the chance of an empty First class seat that I could get as an upgrade. The other thing is that if there is no First available, but the flight is not a crowded one, then I select a seat where the seat next to me is empty.
I don't know why, but so many people just let the computer assign their seat. I pick the good seats, or at least the ones with nobody next to them.
The best thing about FIrst is the space. All the extras are GREAT, but the space and freedom to move around is priceless. So, I'd rather have a coach seat with nobody next to me than pay (or even use FF miles) to upgrade to First.
When I fly to Vegas, I usually book a red eye return and that is First class - but flying TO Vegas I choose coach, on the earliest flight in the morning. It's great - I get to Vegas by 10:30 AM and get the whole day there for the first day, and the first flight out (other than on a Monday) is 1/4 empty, with plenty of space towards the back of coach. I re-check and re-assign my seat at the airport, pick a row with nobody in it or at least with the middle empty. The breakfast in coach is (well, was) good - cereal w/ milk, a banana, a muffin, OJ, and some other snack - I'd enjoy breakfast, beverages, snacks, and watch the movie or read or look out the window or sleep - it is always a pleasant trip and I can't remember the last time I sat next to someone on that trip.
So, if you do coach cleverly, picking less crowded flights (usually first thing in the AM unless it's a heavily traveled business route, or a Monday morning), and be smart about seat assiignment - check in online and select a seat before going to the airport, use the e-check-in kiosks to find a seat with nobody next to it, even ask the gate attendant at the last minute if you have to, but try to find a seat next to an empty middle seat.
Flying First class is great, but not worth paying much more than maybe $50 or a few FF miles for the upgrade. For those who don't fly enough to quickly get the FF miles, still save up FF miles and maybe look into a credit card that lets yu earn the FF miles, and in the future you should be able to cash them ini for a First Class uprade or ticket.
No matter what, approach flying with a positive approach, and it will be fun. Remember, flying IS something of a privilege. Not everyone gets to fly, and it's not cheap. A lot goes into making that flight happen, and when you really think about it, it's an amazing concept of flying to someplace far away in just a few hours. Airports are exciting and interesting places which you don't visit often, so enjoy the mix of people, the many gates going to so many varied destinations, the high-tech operation of the place, etc... Appreciate that you will be someplace in a few hours that used to take people weeks of agonizing, uncomfortable travel to reach in the past.
If you get extra space by having an empty middle seat next to you, that's a big bonus, enjoy it.
I think most people who hate flying just go into it with negativity.
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