I say that humbly. To put it in context, I have a somewhat crummy apartment, I drive a car from the previous millennium, my clothes generally do not come from Italy and I don't have cable. In other words, I live what some would call a frugal existence, but I have always wanted to fly First Class. I cannot not pin point the allure. Perhaps it is because I have flown from a very young age and great distances at that, twice from Canada to New Zealand before I was 11. So I have been on large planes crossing oceans and I always thought there was something special going on at the front of those planes. I didn't want to fly First Class for the prestige or so I could be smug about it, it was more to simply experience it, to see what the fuss was about, to ensure I wasn't missing out on something. I have never met anyone else that has flown First Class, or who would admit to it at least. With the following I hope to take away some of the mystery and mystique and let everyone else who is sitting in a row higher than 2 know what is going on the other side of those curtains.
First, to explain how I flew First Class. As I alluded to above, I am not rich, and you must be rich to pay retail for First Class tickets. My trip was from Calgary, Canada to Zurich, Switzerland. I flew one leg in First Class, Denver to Munich. The cost of that leg alone was $10 000USD if you booked it via the Internet a week before the flight date. That is one way from North America to Europe. Imagine the kind of European vacation you could have for $10 0000, you can get a return ticket from North America to Europe for around $1200. That would leave you $8800 to spend in Europe for the cost of a one-way First Class ticket. I spent two and a half months backpacking in Europe and spend less than $7000. It is safe to say I will not be purchasing a First Class ticket using my own money in the foreseeable future. I was able to fly First Class because my job keeps me traveling, a lot. Often I fly every week, leave Monday return Friday. At times I have been flying more than four hours one way twice a week for months at a time. I do not cover the travel costs myself, I pay for the flights with the physical toll it takes. Traveling every week for work is exhausting and I do not recommend it, I will not go into all the reasons you don't want to do it, that is left as an exercise for the reader. If there is one small perk about flying for work it is I get to keep all my frequent flyer points. The points start add up because all my flights are on the same carrier so all the points go to one program. In addition, I am able to accumulate travel points from the rest of my business expenses while traveling, which are often close to $5000 a month, so it does not take long for the points to accumulate. I collect points that are theoretically good on any of the Star Alliance airlines. Booking flights with points is somewhat of an art, I won't go into the details of my method here, but it basically boils down to persistence. When it was all said and done I was able to book a flight from Canada to Zurich with one leg in First Class and the remaining legs in business class with the number of points I accumulated in about seven months.
When I realized that I was actually going to fly First Class I promised myself one thing, turn nothing done. When offered a drink I would take it, when offered a another pillow I would take it, when offered food I would take it. With the assumption that I would never fly First Class again and the desire to get what was coming to me. Not such much for my enjoyment but for all the people in the back, I wanted them to know there was someone at the front not taking it for granted. The first leg of my journey was from Calgary to Denver on United Airlines in "United First". Don't let the word "First" in the marketing materials from United fool you. What United offers is not First Class, on any other airline it would be called business class, if that. This is a good time to agree on a definition. When I say First Class I mean something very particular. I mean sitting at the front of a plane, flying over an ocean on a flag carrier, any other airline that has "First" in the name of its cabin service that doesn't fall into the above category is likely not offering First Class.
Upon arriving in Denver I made my way to the First Class lounge. It being 10:30 in Denver but already 18:30 in Zurich I went right for the beer. I was to learn later that the lounge in Denver was not a First Class lounge per se, when held up to the arrivals lounge in Munich, but it was a good start. I quietly enjoyed my beer and finished up some last minute work tasks and thought about what was to come. I was called to my flight from the lounge near boarding time, that is about the moment I stepped through the looking glass.
The flight from Denver to Zurich was on an Airbus A343, a four engined long haul aircraft. An A343 seats around 300 passengers, so there was quite a line waiting to enter. I noticed the First Class entrace away from the crowd and made my way toward it. The ticket agent greeted me as she saw my ticket, her salutation made me look over my shoulder for my Father, it would be a sign of things to come. Upon entering the aircraft I believe the first crew member that saw me first thought perhaps I had come in the wrong door, that split second was the only time I felt like I was on a regular flight. Upon seeing my ticket she was more than happy to take me to my seat and take my jacket. I had barely taken my seat when a bowl of Macadamia nuts was thrust upon me and I was asked what kind of drink I would like. This offer was not fleeting, that crew member, Matthew, pleasantly stared into my eyes until I said beer. That is the first thing I noticed was different about First Class. When asked if you want something the offer is made in the most earnst manner possible, like how your Grandma offers you seconds of Thanksgiving dinner, you dare not refuse. As I enjoyed my beer and Macadamia nuts prior to take off another crew member gave me three small packages. The first in a waffle cloth bag was socks and slippers. The second, in a soft cotton bag, was pyjamas. The third, was a shaving kit containing: one shoe horn, one toothbrush, one micro tube of toothpaste, one comb, one eye cover and a pair of ear plugs. As I was inspecting my swag I noticed a crew member had laid out a display of roses and glasses on the service counter, purely for the ambiance.
As I was enjoying my beer waiting for the plane to take off I took notice of the seating configuration. The First Class cabin had two rows. Facing the front, on the far right side was my seat, immediately to the left was the aisle. There are two seats next to each other in the middle, across the second aisle is another lone seat on the far left side. Of the eight seats in First Class, only six were occupied.
My empty glass was immediately picked up once I finished and takeoff followed shortly after. The display of glasses and roses had to be taken down for takeoff. As soon as we were airborne the roses and the glasses returned. In addition, every First Class passenger was given a rose of their own that fit in a hole on the chair's arm rest. Along with the rose, I was immediately offered another beer and was given the menu. I soon learned I was going to be having a five course meal. The first appetizer to arrive was a slice of grilled tuna. I was enjoying it while reading my book and placed it on the arm of my chair. Matthew mistakenly thought I was finished and picked it up to clear it. I stopped him just after he had lifted it up to say I was not finished. Matthew looked embarrassed for a moment but immediately recovered by saying with a slight nod, "I will bring you another." I soon received another. I can only assume it was because he had touched the plate I was not yet finished with and that meant he must bring me a fresh one. In First Class you are never meant to feel like you can't have something or there is not enough of anything.
Once I had made my menu selections a table cloth was laid on my table, some fresh bread was offered to me and I sat waiting for the rest of the food to arrive.
Awaiting my second course
Second course: Caviar, Asparagus, Cucumber Salad, Fish and Chilled Vodka
Main Course: Roast Duck
Fourth Course: Assorted Cheeses, Pinot Noir
Fifth Course: Assorted Chocolates
On the whole the food was delicious. None of the vegetables were crisp or wilted. The duck was tender and flavourful. My first taste of Sturgeon caviar was a pleasant surprise.
As dinner was cleaned up I was offered another drink. By this point I have to admit I was drunk and opted for a bottle of water. I was for the first time at a loss of what to do, up to that point I was thinking only with my stomach. Now that it was full I needed something else to occupy my time. I took to examining the seat. The seat is big, sort of like how a lazy boy feels but obviously sturdier. All the movement of the seat is motorized with three ranges of motion. The foot rest can move up and down, the chair back can recline and the lumbar support can be adjusted. When the leg rest is fully extended and the seat back is fully reclined the chair is completely flat. As I was examining the chair I noticed for people in row two the crew was flipping up a metal divider. This divider was between the second row chair and the first row chair in front. It was so if the person in the second row and the person sitting in the front row both laid their chairs flat the second row person's feet were not tickling the top of the person's head in the front fow. As I was sitting in the first row there was a bulkhead in front of me, so no need for a divider. I was offered a choice of blankets, I selected the heavier cozier looking one along with a pillow. I think I could have had as many pillows as I wanted, but took only one.
At this point I had the option of trying to sleep, reading or watching the in flight entertainment. I read for a short time but then elected to see what else I could find on the television, I had been watching a documentary on the Olympics during part of my dinner. The entertainment selection was quite normal, I am sure the entire plane had the same selection. The television in First Class is attached to the seat and sort of springs forth from the right hand arm of the chair when you want it. I was quickly bored with the short program offerings and didn't think I would get through a movie, remember I was quite drunk by this point.
As I sat reading my book I started evaluating the comfort of the First Class Chair. The chair offers miles of room. In fact, when you consider the width and the amount of room the chair takes up when you recline it flat the footprint is astonishing. I estimate that you could fit around six economy class seats in the space devoted to my one chair, now it starts to make sense the cost of First Class tickets. With so much room it is relatively easy to get comfortable, just like at home sitting in a chair, as soon as an extremity starts to fall asleep a simple shift is all that is required to regain comfort. The leg rest does wonders for comfort, being able to raise your legs cuts the perceived flight duration in half.
As I sat in my chair I was suddenly struck by loneliness. There I was enjoying a once in a lifetime experience and I had no one to share it with. Not even a stranger, as my seat was all by its lonesome I hand no one to talk to. I would have loved to have sat beside someone who like myself was only there because of dumb luck, just to have someone to marvel at the pomp and circumstance with. I was getting to be quite friendly with Matthew, but of course he was busy tending to other passengers and his other duties.
While reading my book and starting to get more and more sleepy I noticed that some passengers around me were getting into their pyjamas. Shortly after when the mood struck me I also went to the bathroom to change. The bathroom at the front of the plane is no different than any other bathroom in the plane, there is no luxury when doing your business in First Class. I changed into my pyjamas which were a dark blue colour. The pants were straight legged with a draw string waist and the top was a collared long sleeve rugby style shirt that was rather comfortable with a crest over your heart. The pyjamas were not flashy but quite functional and also something one could duplicate in economy, by bringing a pair of pyjamas and changing into them.
I turned on the television again and got more and more sleepy. Finally I decided it was time to try and sleep. I had stopped paying attention to what time it was but I think we were just beginning to fly over the Atlantic. I laid my chair flat, put in my ear plugs, covered my eyes and was quickly asleep.
I did not sleep soundly long. For all the luxury of seats in First Class they do not make particularly comfortable beds. I was able to sleep but that was more a function of how drunk I was rather than my comfort. I had one of those sleeps where you sort of wake up for thirty seconds every twenty minutes. I had to use the bathroom at one point and also noticed I had cotton mouth. We all know how dry the air on planes is and all the alcohol I had consumed had not helped matters. Thankfully at the service counter where the display of roses is the crew had left a number of water bottles. After finishing in the washroom I immediately drank two and took a third back to my chair. I turned the television back on for a few minutes but was soon able to back to sleep. I was able to sleep soundly until what was technically considered morning.
I awoke to find most of the other First Class passengers were awake. A few remained in their pyjamas and others were already dressed or had not used their pyjamas at all. I slowly came around as I always do and in short order went to the washroom to get back into my clothes. Upon returning I was greeted by Matthew who asked how I had slept, I indicated I had slept well. He asked me if I was ready for my breakfast and I said I was. The previous evening I had discussed breakfast with Matthew, I had been offered freshly made scrambled eggs or smoked salmon or both for breakfast. I had chosen smoked salmon. The smoked salmon came and was quite nice. Along with the salmon came, by far, the best glass of orange juice I have ever had. I don't know if they squeezed it themselves at the front or what, but it was divine. I was then informed that they had an espresso machine and whether I would like one. I hesitated a little, for while I was intrigued, I don't normally have coffee in the morning. When Matthew informed me he made the best cappuccinos of anyone in the Lufthansa fleet I agreed. It was really good.
Breakfast: smoked salmon, cheese, mango, bread and the best damn orange juice I have ever had, 35000 feet or otherwise. The cappuccino had not arrived by time this picture was taken.
After breakfast was taken away there was only about forty five minutes left in the flight. I and the rest of the First Class passengers were tidying our things up. Matthew came to talk to me, earlier in the flight I had mentioned that it was my birthday the day after I was arriving in Switzerland and it was my Swiss friend Adrian's birthday the following week. Matthew was wondering if I would like two bottles of champagne. Not planning on checking any bags I was about to dishonour my promise of not refusing anything I remembered that I had brought two bags aboard the plane and that I could easily check one of them. Matthew then gave me two bottles of champagne, simply out of hospitality. The landing went smoothly and I sat quite contented as we taxied to the gate.
When the plane arrived at the gate I made no rush to get off. I wanted to enjoy the experience for as long as possible. One problem with this strategy was that unlike in Denver where the gate was able to meet with the plane at multiple doors, the gate in Munich only had one meeting point with the plane which was at the front. This meant the unwashed masses, I mean economy class passengers, would have to file through First Class to leave the plane. As I sat waiting to thank Matthew I couldn't help hear the comments. I heard people say "Look at this!", "Oh, must be nice." None of it was directed to me personally and I did my best to remain invisible. I started to feel like I was held up in Versailles while the Third Estate was threatening to storm the palace from outsite with torches and pitch forks. One mistake I had made was leaving my rose in the arm rest that was adjacent to the aisle. Eventually a young woman said while standing beside me, "Ohmigod, they got roses!" I was a little embarrassed and not knowing what to do picked up the rose and handed it to her saying, "Here, you can have it." She took it and added sarcastically, "Ah, all my dreams are coming true." I managed to avoid confrontation while the rest of the plane emptied out and was able to properly thank Matthew for everything.
I was informed while still on the plane to proceed directly to the First Class arrivals lounge to await my next flight to Zurich. I found it with little trouble. As if the plane ride wasn't enough, I started to feel even more like a king. When arriving in Germany you have to pass through customs even if you are just in transit like I was. To make this easier on Lufthansa's most treasured guests the First Class lounge has its own customs officer and security screening point. Knowing the champagne was not going to get past security I was hoping they were going to be able to check my second bag right from the lounge. For some reason that is not a service they offer, they were extremely apologetic regarding this fact, I think they thought I might have a tantrum because of this. At this point nothing was phasing me so I asked if I could simply leave the secured area and check in like a regular passenger again and check the bag with the champagne. They were confused that I was actually willing to do this, but since I had lots of time that is exactly what I did. I only got moderately lost on the way but was quickly back in the lounge.
Upon returning to the lounge I was informed I would have a sedan service to my next plane. Like many airports Munich does not have enough gates for all their planes therefore you often have to take a bus to the plane parked on the tarmac, not so for First Class arriving passengers. First Class passengers are shuttled directly to the plane in a car. Honouring my pledge to refuse nothing I said I would like the sedan service and would be back when it was time to leave for the plane.
If you ever have the opportunity to fly First Class on a flag carrier try and make sure you are landing in the flag carrier's home country, they will inevitably have a First Class arrivals lounge, they are immaculate. Along with the obligatory bar there is an al a carte restaurant and various snacks strategically located around the lounge. There is a business centre and showers. I plopped my self on a couch and started to watch television. This is where the traveling first caught up with me. I was exhausted. I felt pretty much the same after getting off any transatlantic flight, worn out. All the food and lay flat seating can't hide the fact that you have just spent nine hours sitting in a pressurized tin can, nothing in First Class can take away that feeling. I was in one of those states where I all I wanted to do was crawl into my bed at home and pull the blanket over my head.
I dozed on and off in the lounge until it was time to meet my car. The driver was a little late arriving and I started to get worried I was going to miss my flight. When she did arrive she took me to the nicest Mercedes I have ever seen, let alone rode in. We started to drive to the plane. It soon became obvious that the driver did not where the plane was, but I was assured that I would not miss it. We had to stop to ask directions once, I just smiled. When we finally arrived at the plane I wasn't late at all, in fact I was the first passenger to arrive. I was actually happy about that because all the pampering was starting to get annoying and the last thing I wanted to do was pull up late in front of a plane that is waiting for me in that car. If there is something that would push a jihadist with a chip on his shoulder about capitalism over the edge it is something like that. I climbed the stairs and found my seat. Just as I looked out the window for the first time the bus with the rest of the passengers arrived and I was pretty much back to normal again, just another face in the crowd.
Looking back, for about 12 hours I lived lifestyles of the rich and famous, or did I? Do the rich and famous fly first class or do they fly in private jets? There was no one famous on my flight, at least no one I knew. That's not to say they don't but if I had the really big money a private jet flying on my schedule right to Zurich would have been the way to go. To compare I flew back across the Atlantic in business class on Swiss Airlines. I was just as comfortable had just as much to eat and would have slept about as well as I did in the business class seat as I did in the First Class seat. Granted the First Class arrivals lounge was spectacular, but I was too fatigued to really enjoy it. I think First Class is an illusion, made up to fleece the truly narcissistic of their money. Of course anyone who has flown over an ocean in economy class knows that the service is spread thin over many passengers and there is not enough room. The business class I flew home in more than made up for the deficiencies in economy, I didn't really see the need for First Class. When I got off my first class flight I felt the same way as my business class return flight, and numerous economy flights before, kind of grumpy, tired and needing a good night's sleep. I think in the case of flying it is more the destination than the journey.
