Fly first class on a long-haul flight

“It absolutely varies by airline and trip length. Speaking for US mainline airlines, first class on a regional flight or anything less than 3 hours is legitimately just a bigger seat, a free cocktail or two, and priority boarding. If you get into transcontinental flights (LAX-JFK, SFO-MIA, etc) then you start seeing more of the meal service come into play, usually with a slightly wider selection of things like decent wines. You miiiiiiiiight get a lie flat seat. International first class becomes a very different territory. Usually you're looking at semi-private seating with lay flat beds, multiple meal services (ordered from a menu with a decent amount of options), amenities to help you sleep, etc. The experience of a 7-12 hour flight in one of these seats as compared to an economy seat is night and day. As is the case with most people, I'm only lucky enough to experience those international first class seats via my job as I'd never be able to afford them on my own (aside from using points to upgrade). If you can find a way to make it happen, it's a magical experience. That said, once you've experienced it, going back to economy is pure hell.”

“The A380 suite is so exclusive it felt like I was flying on a private jet. Seriously, I didn't hear any other passengers during the entire flight, and the cabin was nearly full. Privacy is a luxury these days, especially during a pandemic when people want to remain at least feel 6 feet apart from others. Emirates does a stellar job on the cabin feeling peaceful and quiet. As for the seat itself, I only have one word: phenomenal. The seat had a whopping 86 inches of pitch and was 23 inches wide, perfect if you toss in your sleep as I do. The seat measured 78 inches long in bed mode, and I had more than enough room to stretch out my lanky frame.”

“We had a ton of air miles that we used to upgrade several long haul (10-12 hour flights). It was awesome for these long flights. My god they made cookies. Fresh cookies! But I really can’t fathom paying for first class out of pocket, and when I’ve flown first class for sub-5 hour flights it seems just needlessly frivolous. Premium economy is the sweet spot — a little more room at a reasonable fee, but without the frankly unnecessary frills.”