Boarding a cross country flight as a perhaps 10 year old unaccompanied minor, I remember thinking that I would never fly first class. I’d never be rich enough to afford it, and even if I were, why would I spend more money for a bit of comfort that lasted only a few hours?
Little did I know that about a decade later I’d start flying first class, even though I wasn’t paying for it. I had graduated college and was flying for work and earning elite status, and had figured out how upgrades worked even for a lowly United Mileage Plus Premier member (now MileagePlus Premier Silver). Back then I was earning a salary in the $20s, and certainly wasn’t wealthy.
Over a quarter century later, commentator Richard Hanania observes that domestic airline first class isn’t for the wealthy, that the product is accessible to many, and occupied by those who choose to pay rather than strictly who has the most money.
People who sit first class don’t from my experience seem to be the wealthiest on the plane. I see groups that tend to be poorer: fat people, tattoos, etc. Seems to select as much for willingness to splurge or other traits as it does objective ability to pay. Value is subjective.
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) June 20, 2023
Sex worker-turned data scientist Aella chimed in on the discussion to suggest that first class is also… upgrades.
im def not the wealthiest; i just fly so often that i get upgraded a lot
— Aella (@Aella_Girl) June 20, 2023
- Flying private is for the wealthy, although not exclusively so. In fact it’s just as much for teams of Walmart middle managers who can visit multiple rural stores in a day instead of spending a day on travel in each direction per store.
- Upgrades are less of a thing than they used to be. Historically first class was populated by upgrades, received by the most frequent flyers who tended to be.. middle managers not even top executives. However with first class prices far less of a multiple of discount coach than they were two decades ago, more seats are being purchased leaving fewer unsold for upgrades.
- First class just isn’t that expensive much of the time on domestic routes, so there’s no reason to expect it to be the province of the wealthy – unless you’re already defining wealthy in a way that encompasses the median airline passenger to begin with.
- Domestic first class isn’t that good. It’s a bit of extra elbow room, and a small bit more legroom than ‘main cabin extra’ or ‘economy plus’ seats. It basically means that you can work, cheap wine and cocktails are included, along with a meal that you wouldn’t ever consider eating under normal circumstances.
Indeed, it isn’t as good as it used to be. There’s less legroom and the meals are far cheaper too. An American Airlines Boeing 737 has 3 fewer inches at each seat than it used to. My first domestic premium cabin meal on United was an almond-dusted shrimp appetizer, followed by a proper steak entree at lunch.
Like Gordon Gekko said in Wall Street, wealth is not having to waste time. Domestic first class doesn’t get you that. It doesn’t get you to the airport, through the airport, or out of the airport materially faster. You’re still boarding half an hour before your flight for no reason other than to avoid having to gate check your carry on bag.
There are things many of us do to improve our efficiency, like CLEAR and PreCheck, like airport lounge access. But these are things of bourgeoisie bohemians rather than the wealthy as such. The closest most of us can come to avoiding the queuing hassles of travel is JSX, and American Airlines and the major pilot union want the government to outlaw it, once again making flights you show up for only 20 minutes prior to departure something only for the wealthy.
So Hanania is right that airline domestic first class isn’t a marker of wealth, since a large subset of passengers able to pay for air travel can pay for first class as well as it often isn’t that much more. But it hasn’t really ever been a marker of wealth.
Twenty years ago 90% of seats up front were going to upgrades, which frequently meant business travelers who weren’t poor by any stretch but often in the middle rungs of the corporate ladder. Who is flying up front has changed a bit, especially with managed business travel still down, but it hasn’t matched the mythology of the product in decades.
Yes, absolutely. The current generation of wealthy people of traveling age (20-50) are much more shrewd than older generations. The new generation is pragmatic, not ostentatious. They eat healthy diets and stay active, so they fit physically in Economy seats and don’t need the wide berth of a First seat. They may be tall, but exit row seats and extra legroom Economy seats accommodate that just fine. They know that almost nothing on domestic carriers justifies the upcharge for First, even while the difference between Economy and First fares is lower than ever–because the difference in service levels has dropped correspondingly.
If you see a young traveler in domestic First Class today they’ve likely not read The Millionaire Next Door, or biographies of Buffett/Bogle/Lynch, so they lack financial literacy and they have scrimped to afford something they think will impress others.
“Domestic first class isn’t that good.”
So true, especially when compared to international first class on a foreign carrier. But it simply sucks less than economy, especially on a transcon. That’s why plenty of today’s leisure travelers are more than willing to spring for an extra couple of hundred bucks for it. I have to admit that I’m one of those middle managers who cracks a big smile when his upgrades clear. A work trip that sucks just a bit less is one of life’s minor joys that can make all the difference on the right day.
The irony is that Southwest is the most premium carrier in the US.
No basic econ, most legroom by default (tied with B6), two bags free, no cancellation/change fees.
You don’t get anywhere near the value from other carriers. And no, some garbage Oasis seat on AA with no IFE and food that comes from a homeless camp is not “first class”. United and Delta are no better.
“If you see a young traveler in domestic First Class today they’ve likely not read The Millionaire Next Door, or biographies of Buffett/Bogle/Lynch, so they lack financial literacy and they have scrimped to afford something they think will impress others.”
What a horrific take, Allison.
Work! That’s a laugh. 50 percent of the time electrical outlets don’t work so I can’t work on my laptop.
I love all comments about garbage food, coming from people that indulged on Popeye’s, Panda Express, and Varsity right before the flight. I had a nice meal in AS First Class. Was not greasy.
Unfortunately the whole airline miles and credit card points game is also for the poor. I’ve been playing the game for over a decade. I fly and have flown International First and Business Class around the world numerous times each year. So I have gotten tremendous value and pleasure from it. Nevertheless, chasing points, SUB, and award seats today makes me feel poor because if I was really rich I wouldn’t be wasting my time doing this. Financially I am no longer poor and am financially extremely secure, but chasing award seats and limiting my travels to the dates I can get award seats makes me feel poor since I can’t just book the date and flight whenever I want. I am extremely good at maximizing my points earnings and SUBs but it would be nice to not have to pay attention to all of that. Maybe I’m just burnt out.
We fly domestic FC only because we are headed to our jump off point for international travel and prefer no hassle and extra bags for free.
And we tend to fly either FC or business class on international domestic flights. Again, less hassle and more luggage.
Don’t care about the lounge, don’t care about the meals. Neither are worth the hassle.
I don’t agree that there isn’t much difference in 1st vs economy pricing.
I fly United primarily domestically and I haven’t booked a flight on them on Economy for under $450 since I flew to ORD from SMF last year.
They are not affordable compared to Southwest/JetBlue/Alaska but it’s mostly work and I’ve earned and been trapped by status.
First class fares are usually like $800-1300 apiece. I don’t think poors are paying that. I’m always surprised to see anyone that doesn’t look wealthy on UA flights because of what they generally charge.
I also don’t think that’s it’s not upgrades as there are tons of United elites.
Mostly disagree with this article.
@Dan fares for ORD-SMF are typically higher than XXX-ORD-SMF. The poors in F on your ORD-SMF segment may be connecting passengers. Upgrades are extremely rare these days. Just check UA’s upgrade list for any flight. Twenty years ago, a ton of people had checkmarks next to their name indicating a cleared upgrade. Now the upgrade list is both longer and the number of checkmarks is often just one or two.
There’s also a question of what does it mean to be poor. In coastal communities, you can make $1-2MM a year and scrape by in a modest home with obstructed ocean views, whilst your neighbors all make $10-500MM a year as equity partners in investment firms. Yet the median household income in the United States nationwide is under $0.07MM a year!
Almost any airline elite member will tell you free upgrades are much, much more difficult to obtain than in years past. People are simply buying First more often; as Gary says, the difference is often not much and almost always is substantially less than it used to be.
I’m struck though that no one is commenting on this poster’s supposition that people who have tatoos or are fat must be poor!
Sometimes First is just full of OPM flyers, who do their corporate overlords bidding all year long with 2 weeks or less vacation and their only moment to shine is in a wide seat on a plane
The poster said it was a tendency, not deterministic. This is how misinfo spreads; nuanced claims lose their nuance as they flow through the internet. Please don’t contribute to the spread of misinfo!
Tattoos have in the past had a very strong association with low socioeconomic status. In some groups, that association is much weaker today than it has been in the past. It’s still frowned upon to have visible tattoos. Most high SES people I know with tattoos have one in places that would be covered up on a flight unless they’re wearing shorts and a tank top, which is generally not flight attire due to cold temperatures at altitude.
A lot of the readership of View From The Wing is ethnically Asian of some type (East Asian or Indian Subcontinent). In these regions there is a persistent cultural stigma against tattoos of any sort.
My wife has AA Platinum Pro so she (and by default me) get upgraded fairly often. Being a tall person it is a pleasure to stretch a little, though I’d normally not pay for it. (Oh I’ll take the wine, but I don’t make eye contact with those boarding after Group 1, the whole thing being a little embarrassing.) The exception may be a very long domestic or international flight where you just need more room to be halfway comfortable. I read once that the hold space allocated to an enslaved person on the Middle Passage was roughly equivalent to a main cabin airline seat. I believe it, and anything to make a miserable experience slightly less unpleasant is worth considering.
Don’t judge people by what they look like or how they dress. Those sneakers someone is wearing in FC might cost $1000 or more. There are plenty of people sitting in FC who are wealthy. Times have changed and people don’t dress for travel like they did 10 years ago. That is not an indicator of wealth or lack of wealth. People like David Beckham and Adam Levine have tatts all over their bodies. I consider both to be wealthy individuals. It’s never a good idea to assume things. Just sayin’.
What’s with the “poor” and “fat” labeling? Not only is this a poorly written article, but is not worthy of View From the Wing to even be published.
I would only pay for First if I was flying cross country or international. Even then, I would fly Business, if available. I don’t think either are worth the money for shorter flights. I can get by in a “Comfort Plus” type seat for a few hours, even with my bad back.
I always buy 1st. On AA unless you’re CK, you’re nothing. I’ve been EXP since they started that level, which at one time meant something, but now it’s pretty common status, particularly with the manner in which the FF program has been revised.
Now, when I check the upgrade list on flights on which I’m booked, there may be as many as 50 people on the list and no seats available unless someone may miss a connection and then someone is brought forward after the door closes. The only big fare difference is on the 3 class planes and the pods up front are frequently not available for upgrades so now, I’ll just burn the miles for freebies ( which have increased in # of miles required, substantially) and I’m flying whomever has the best fares. First today is what coach used to be 30 years ago.
The idea that one can use the number of tattoos, or simply how someone looks, to determine whether or not they are poor, spend money they don’t have, or otherwise in your view don’t belong in first class is laughable. And the writer who tried to delineate between tendency and deterministic regarding the appearance of tattoos is definitely wanting for class, at least in this instance. Nuance…don’t piss on my boots, as it were.
The rich present themselves in a myriad of ways. I’ve seen the low key but very present wealth of the UES, and I’ve seen many an unhoused looking soul walk into their UWS residence at the Dakota or the Apthorp. “The Poor”? I’d imagine that the vast majority of your readers aren’t the wealthy folk that wouldn’t blink twice at paying for first class domestic or international. I’d venture that many of them are like me—regular “poor” yet aspirational folks who are happy to accept the occasional upgrade, or who have employers who pay for those flights and often don’t foot the bill themselves. Readers who live vicariously through those who get paid to review Emirates suites and The Room on ANA and the like. But every single one of us—poor or wealthy, according to each reader’s definition—would accept those domestic first class flights if they were offered. And not feel the need to apologize for it.
@ Gary — You sure know how to stir up comments. I’m going to pass on sharing mine.
@Alison – I’m a late 30s flyer with EXP on AA. My home base is Seattle so get upgraded on AA and AS about 90% of the time domestically. I always buy the cheapest main cabin ticket and pinch my pennies. Not all youngish flyers are just showing off. We just fly frequently for leisure and work + pay attention to Loyalty Points partners.
@PeteD, with respect I would say that implying a “tendency” towards being poor because of being fat or having tatoos is the misinformation here. In my experience it’s never a good idea to apply a narrow stereotype to a broad group.
I personally know quite a few people who are fat or have tatoos – sometimes both! – and are anywhere from very well off to uber rich. In my business I’ve found it’s a mistake to assume a person’s wealth based on any factor of appearance. But that’s just my opinion, not trying to spread any misinformation! 🙂
@Mark, completely agree!
Regarding what people may “look like” in FC.
I’m heading for an international trip, usually one with considerable hours of flight and layover time. I’m going to be in comfortable clothes. No shorts or tank tops, but no tuxedo or evening gown.
Not there to make a fashion statement. Just want to be as comfortable as I can be when facing 40+ hours of travel to my final destination. So judge not based on what someone may be wearing.
1. Yes. Domestic 1st Class is for the poors: the wealthy fly PJ.
2. Domestic 1st Class 2023 space and service is equivalent to Economy Class 1983.
3. Economy bulkhead and exit row cannot accomodate my broad shoulders. (Readers who are four foot ten never will understand.)
4. Dynamic pricing developed by zilionaire computer nerds in the SV (Silicon Valley) completely fills 1st class seats.
5. 1st class passengers dress as trashy as economy class, regardless of bank account size. I never see dresses and almost never see coat and tie in 1st class passengers.
6. Tiktok influencers (despite their ripped jeans, trainers, tattoos, dirty ill-fitting tee-shirts, etc.) continue the myth of 1st class being devoid of the poors.
@Kathy B – not poor, poors, know your memes
It’s for the smart. It’s for one’s who want to get from one point to another on a quick flight. It’s for people who have money but are cheap. It’s for Anyone.
@Ben if you flew from UA hub like SFO, IAH, ORD your upgrade % would be zero. This is the reality for millions of elites now. Cash is king.
How would this guy know what rich vs. poor look like? He has very little room to judge when it looks as if he’s wearing a shirt that’s a size too big that came off the clearance rack at JCPenney.
If he is indeed loaded maybe he should spend a few bucks on Botox to fix those big ass eye bags he’s lugging around.
So this idjjit sees “fat people, tattoos” and concludes they’re poor.
He should visit the nearest country club for a reality check.
Wait, he is a peasant and can’t afford membership to this lower-level, new money doodah.
The muron needs to get out more.
Gary Leff says:
June 21, 2023 at 7:39 pm
@Kathy B – not poor, poors, know your memes
Errr….if you have explain your memes or clarify, you have failed. Consider making Tiktoks, Gary.
I like many if your columns but this is towards to bottom of the cesspool.
Cheerio!
So having tattoos and being overweight makes people poor?
I hate when people rush to judge someone on appearance! Living in LA, I have friends in the industry that any of us would recognize, but most look almost homeless in their appearance. I love when people judge them know they could buy/sell most people all day long.
Yes Mark there are people that are rich that have tattoos all over the bodies like Beckham etc. Those people are very small part of the general population.
In general though people that have tats like that are pretty much low class or a lower economic status.
I don’t think the vast majority of the super wealthy fly private. I have a cousin married into one uber wealthy family and I used to work for a Pritzker. These people mostly like to blend in and are surprisingly careful about how they spend their money. They’ll fly in a private jet when it’s paid for by a company but they don’t like to spend their own money on this kind of thing.
I laughed reading this article. My dad worked for a major US airline and we were constantly upgraded in the 70s and 80s. No one paid the F fares there no were upgrades that frequent. First was a lot different then. Then came the 90s and all the upgrades for the frequent fliers. Today I am an elite flier for the airline my dad worked for. As you described accurately, it has changed in my life time. I rarely get upgraded even though I’m in the second highest tier. The F fares are sometimes lower than economy. But I simply buy first because I have expectations in my 50s and like a wider seat.
Staggering amount of projection and assumption in these comments. All add therefore add my own:
Everyone seems to be the hero of their own story these days.
Love all the clowns on here getting mad at fat and tattoos are poor. I take it none of you work for an AM50 law firm or are a surgeon, or work at a Wallstreet equity firm. None of those have tatted sleeves, faces, exposed etc. And those would be considered the upper echelon of professions. Sure there are exceptions, rockstars, sports tars. Do people realize those are one in a million jobs. You know who does have 100% tats, all prisoners and lots of strippers. Second obesity has been correlated to intelligence, the more educated you are the less prevalence of obesity. And let’s not forget obese people are paid less on average. So yeah it’s safe to say on average if you have trashy tats all over or are obese you are less likely rich. To all the crybabies on here I can’t wait for AI and data driven points to show you the door. The poster had valid and real points.
If you’re reading this blog you’re already not wealthy. Even flying JSX or whatever is fairly pedestrian. Sure those flyers have a bit more disposable income but at the end of the day you’re working for capital and not the other way around.
Side note, JS above is quite funny. I agree that there are very few fat people who are truly wealthy but the young capitalists I know are all quite tatted up.
Numerous centimillionaires read this blog regularly.
centimillionaire in zimbabwe currency?
Not only is first class for the poors, so is lounge access. Rich people don’t get excited about free bottom-shelf booze and cheddar cheese cubes.
Why would flying first class be a measure of wealth ? Their flight is less miserable and tiring than yours is.
I rarely have a seatmate in first class I can discuss business and art with.
On a recent ultra long haul trip involving 4 first class/business class flights and several hours in lounges out of the 500 people I encountered ; only one person was working on a $2.5 billion deal. Probably the only person who paid 10k for a first class seat. It was the calamity of his behavior that gave him away.
The really wealthy don’t fly commercial. They fly private jets either share jet types or leased or via ownership by their “commercial” companies. Much similar to national politicians weaseling free private flights from ultra wealthy folks in their districts.
One reason there appear to be few seats available for upgrade is that the airlines manipulate the list. Unless the only people eligible for upgrades are the lowest tier, most of the upgrades are given a few days ahead of time, same don’t show up on the upgrade list. They leave one or two seats for the day of the flight in case someone is willing to pay for a full fare domestic first fare. Some of the upgrades are done before the upgrade list is visible.
This promotes the idea that there are no upgrades available and that you need to pay for it if you want one. That helps the bottom line when it encourages people to pay for an upgrade, even though they may have gotten it for free.
The pricing comment just isn’t true anymore, at least not between major cities. It has become significantly more expensive to purchase domestic first class tickets than it was a few years ago, often more than 4 times as much as coach.
@ D3Kingg — You asked 500 people during your travel of 4 flights what they were working on? Absurd and quite presumptuous. Furthermore, just because one is working on a $2.5 billion deal, doesn’t necessarily mean they are getting much more than a mid-level executive salary out of it.
Bone-Apple Tea
I feel poorer from the time wasted reading this article.
Yikes. Dumb “back in my day…” take and “the poors” feels real out of touch, like 5% of the world’s population takes a flight in a given year. Feels like someone trying to soft sell “you’re poor if you buy first, don’t you know it’s not worth it?!” so they can clear more complimentary upgrades.
Yes complimentary upgrades aren’t clearing like they did even a few months ago, but incredibly dumb take to say that it is poor people taking those seats. In my experience it is boomers, families with kids, biz people. Some of those fat people with tats probably have $5M of crypto from dumb luck
What a stupid article.
I am a bigger guy my partner is an artist with many tattoos. We fly business or first all the time because it is more comfortable and we can afford it . Stop judging people by what they wear or what books they did or did not read. Waste of time Article .
When on an airplane I don’t want anything other than getting from point A to B geuickly, safely and reasonable comfortably. None of this First Class bull.