Shark Tank start and former New York real estate broker Barbara Corcoran has a message for frequent flyers: you’re using your miles wrong, don’t upgrade or redeem for first class, and bring your own booze to drink on the plane.
Indeed, she has thoughts when it comes to travel. She travels carry on only and uses plastic dry cleaning bags to help reduce creases, and she doesn’t visit airport lounges – she asks people at her gate to play Scrabble with her.
Don’t Fly First Class
Corcoran, who sold her business 22 years ago for a reported $61 million (and so is now estimated to be worth over $100 million), says she takes “30 to 40 trips a year” and that she never buys first class or redeems miles to upgrade.
I feel pretentious in first class, and I can’t justify the additional costs. As for the miles, I never use them for an upgrade—I’d rather fly my family all over the country. I have nine brothers and sisters, 32 nieces and nephews, and then there’s my husband Bill’s side of the family. It makes all the difference for them to take that vacation and go somewhere they haven’t seen before. That’s my greatest joy.
Now, she’s not large and can easily fit in a coach seat! If she’s traveling for work though, I’d contend that the modest upcharges for first class often available on domestic flights are probably worth it for her productivity rather than her comfort – just the ability to easily open a laptop.
She’s not likely at a margin where saving on the fare, and saving her miles, is what makes it possible to gift trips to family.
However there is a lesson here – that the best use of miles is subjective because people value different things. If you don’t value spending more money or more miles for extra space, then you should not do it, regardless of what the relative value of those points versus the market price of the product may look like. Still, there’s very little ‘pretentious’ about first class on a domestic flight.
Bring Your Own Booze
Corcoran says she brings her own food. I prefer to travel unencumbered, and without doing as much planning for my packing, but this is still a great tip as long as you’re bringing things that the TSA won’t consider to be a liquid and it gives you something to look forward to. Here’s what she eats.
I always do the same routine [when I fly]. I bring my own delicious food: a couple of cheeses, usually hard salami, and really nice artisan crackers that aren’t soggy. I always bring two very pretty napkins—one as a tablecloth on my tray and the other for my lap….I eat lunch like I’m a queen in my coach seat. For dessert I bring an orange, and when I break it open, that aroma shoots out and everybody gets jealous.
But here’s the thing that surprises me: she brings “a real wine glass” and will “buy a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at the airport.”
This isn’t crazy, but it seems odd to me that she suggests it without any caveats, as though she’s actually doing it successfully on all of her domestic U.S. flights.
If you’re flying Cathay Pacific in first class, there’s a good chance that the crew will be accommodating and serve the wine you bring on board. But not every flight attendant on every airline is going to react so positively. They’re busy, they may think it’s strange, so you want to build a rapport with them. Be nice, and understand you’re asking for a favor. If they’re not comfortable with it, perhaps they’re not certain it’s ok to do, you can ask someone else. But don’t push! Many airlines have policies against this, making it less likely that your flight attendant may go along.
Stay At Resort Factories And Tip Well
The worst kind of vacation, to me, is the resort factory – the place where you have to go down to the beach before 8 a.m. and place a book on a beach chair to ‘reserve’ it, or else you’ll be four rows of chairs back from the beach.
For my personality, I prefer to detach from hordes of people. I’m not energized by it. Corcoran, on the other hand, suggests that she stays at resort factories on the beach (“Two-thirds of my vacations are water-associated and not everybody gets up early to attack the beach loungers”). And her strategy is tipping. She gives $100 to the bartender at the beach bar and says she wants the same spot every evening with the best view, and gives $100 to the attendant at the beach to reserve a lounge chair in a prime spot.
She suggests one tip sets her up for the whole week, so she must be disappointed when someone else is working the bar or at the beach the next day?
(HT: @crucker)
As I sit on an AA flight that has already been delayed an hour, I agree with her.
Oh where do I begin… FAA prohibits the consumption of personal alcohol brought on board. It’s on the announcements that I have to make on every flight. But on the other hand, I’d be happy to serve it to her if she drops it off at the galley from the onset and asks us to serve it to her.
And follow her example. Rich people do not stay rich if they spend their fortunes flying in luxurious digs of first, business or any form of premium class.
If the goal is avoiding pretension, or the appearance of pretension, I’m not sure unpacking your own napkin, ,table cloth, and wine glass is going to contribute to attaining that goal.
I totally disagree with her. While she may be content to fly cattle class, many of us prefer to fly first class and are willing to pay for the privilege. I always buy F although sometimes I will buy coach and use SWU if able to confirm at booking (mostly on international flights). More power to her if she is happy being packed in like a sardine, but not for me!
@HelenPorche, I agree with you. Rich people are not always the happiest people. Try as they may, but they cannot buy happiness. Perhaps they’re most content when they are miserable?
It seems like she hit a nerve with some, but she didn’t say flying first class was pretentious. She said “I feel pretentious in first class”, Can anybody really say how somebody feels is wrong?
I’ve heard many people mention flying first class to impress people, so there may be something to pretension with some.
Can you fly first class without feeling the need to basically refer to most of those on the plane as cattle and sardines?
So my American flight has now canceled. Delta seriously needs to expand dramatically in Latin America.
As an 84 year old who is a widower with no children or immediate family, I enjoy flying first/business whenever I travel. You can’t take it with you and I don’t intend to try.
If she sold her business for $61 million, and after 22 years she is worth “over $100 million” (google claims she is worth $100 million), that isn’t the best rate of growth – it’s close to 2.3% growth per year. 5% per year would be 178 million after 22 years.
Of course, we don’t know how much she was spending during those 22 years, she could be growing 30% per year but spending most of the growth.
Since she sounds like a person who isn’t living large, I’m more inclined to think the past 22 years haven’t been that good.
She’s still worth much more than me!
@LennyD, Go for it
@KK maybe she is happy being miserable
@LarryinNYC agree with you 100% Pretensious, moi?
@Gary I think she is just saying this for the record.
Unless someone can provide proof of every domestic flight in economy I call BS.
If I had 61 million the interest will be enough to send my family in cattle class wherever they want.
“First class is better than coach. And for those reasons – I’m out”
First class in USA airline pretentious even inside ones mind?? Sutely she jests
Jason Wong. The business is worth $100,000,000. Not her.
Yeah, No sorry Barbara but the FAA prohibits the consumption of your own alcohol. So that would be a big No No Barbara. It’s printed on your ticket as well as several announcements regarding this issue
Hard salami? And cheese? I’ll take a cold Maine lobster personally
With all that money find something that isn’t an artery clog at that age
Want to sit in cattle no one will stop you.What a cheap woman not to treat herself well
Not as bright as I once thought.As for First class it can be free when you travel that much
That said coach seats can sometimes be more comfortable with more leg room so first isn’t always good
When I buy or redeem in FC it’s not to impress but to be a bit more comfortable
Like many others I’ve gotten fatter over the past 3 years.With my recent health check up
I have undertaken a serious diet and succeeding so far.Hopefully in the months ahead I’ll fit more comfortably again in coach.
I live much better than her who knew mega money and good business instincts don’t get you great common sense and she’s one always quick to criticize others with a giant ego
Hopefully she enjoys her scrabble & salami burp
Love the tablecloth. It brings some civility to flying. Will do the same myself now. I am surprised she flies coach but shocked she flies commercial. Probably the only shark not to fly private. It allows her not to feel pretentious but at the cost of comfort, privacy, time, security, rest and productivity. Not a good trade off in my books.
Are they handing out “judgey pants” at the door,? Everyone seems to be wearing them today.
…sounds kind of pretentious to state you Feel pretentious. ..who cares…share it with a psychiatrist, get over yourself…
and has been stated elsewhere, and in boarding announcements…..the consumption of personal alcohol on board is prohibited
Ate
“and has been stated elsewhere, and in boarding announcements…..the consumption of personal alcohol on board is prohibited’
So why does TSA allow “airline” liquor bottles through the checkpoint, as long as in a baggie? I’ve never been stopped or questioned….
What a bunch of humble bragging coupled with BS re: consuming alcohol brought on board against TSA regs! First class isn’t pretentious or even that indulgent outside of certain airlines and international routes. Neither are the lounges. These are just minor conveniences that save time and make frequent business travel bearable.
I have to call b.s. on this whole story, if Ms. Corcoran even said those things.
First of all, if she is truly flying 30-40 times a year, and probably spending a fair amount on a charge card, she would easily qualify for top tier status and any upgrades would be free, based on availability.
Secondly, it’s true that one cannot consume their own alcohol per the FAA, but it is possible if a flight attendant serves you your own booze. That requires a bit of smooth talking, and is more likely to go over with the first class FA, rather than those working main cabin. They just have too many people to take care of. So, her pro tips fall apart there.
Please, pretty please with sugar on top, don’t bring your own booze on board expecting to skirt these rules. We are not going to look the other way and you will not be going to your final destination.