I was once bumped from an American Airlines flight and got 1st class seat as a benefit. A US Senator got to board to the flight early, but she sat behind me in coach as I was in First.
I work for a very wealthy man. He flies first class. Our competitor is owned by a man with a net worth maybe 1/10th of my bosses and flies privately. Some people just won't spend more money if they don't find value in it.
It can be a pain in the ass to organize a private flight also. Sometimes just easier to book the ticket. It's why I've also met a billionaire flying southwest. He needed a ticket, they had one
First class flyer here. And no, I'm not rich. Not even the poorest. Just regular guys who travels a lot because of work. First class is full of sales person from different industries, most of the time.
I use to work for Delta airlines. 90% of those in people in first are not paying out of pocket. They're either upgrades from medallion status, standby (employee) or the most likely they're business men who have a company who pays for it.
That's not true. My work caters to millionaires and billionaires. A lot fly first class. One, a billionaire, flys coach. Why? "The cost of first class from Dallas to Vegas is egregious."
As someone who has flown on private jets for work, it's astounding how much nicer it is - and how much more work I can get done.
I can be several states away and working on site before I would have taken off from my home airport. Seriously, it's 8 hours of travel vs 1:45. When you factor in time, private charter actually can be justified. Especially if you can divide the cost among a few people.
That's the whole reason a lot of wealthy individuals and corporations have private aircraft. It saves so much time. You can literally drive up to the hangar, get on the aircraft, and go at a ton of smaller airports.
Once your money (personal or business) reaches a certain point, you can buy more of anything that you need... except time. So things that save you time drastically go up in value.
So this one billionaire I know spends $35,000 or so each way on charter flights to fly him and his wife to one of their several homes around the US. (He used to own a private jet but is now retired.) One (beautiful!) home is part of a country club setup where the median price for homes is about six million US. Membership of the club is optional, but costs $30K per year. My friend doesn't play golf or tennis, but he and his wife love the food at the club's restaurant which boasts a French-trained chef - so he pays the annual membership fee, even though they spend perhaps four weeks each year in that home. So my girl and I went to visit the couple at that home (we've been to the others also) and I discovered that the Internet service there was rather poor. I did a quick online check, then let him know he could get 1 gigabit fiber at that location, for something like $70 per month. No, he said, he doesn't want to spend that much on Internet service!
Which is one of my favorite stories, about how we all have things we'll spend a lot on, and things on which we won't - even billionaires!
To the point of obsession sometimes. I dated a girl whose father did very well, so cue my surprise when I found the hand soap refilled with water. Gotta get every last drop, I guess!
Years ago I had a conversation with a buddy that started with "do you think Bill Gates fills his hand soap with water?" We surmised that maybe he does it to feel normal.
I'm definitely not rich,
(maybe in another 20 plus years I'll be hopefully comfortably well off)
but next time I ever fly to travel I intend to splurge on a 1st class ticket.
I used to like flying, but The older I get I've grown to hate it.
The lines and all the security you have to go thru seem to increase every year. I get it, I understand it. You definitely want it to be safe.
baggage checking and pickup, the waiting, lines,
waiting to board, waiting for people to cram their oversized luggage that should have been checked to be crammed into the overhead.
Just a general feeling of hating being around lots of people, loud, smelly, noisy, crying children, or kicking back of your chair.
I have no plans to ever fly if I can avoid it, but at some point I'm going to want to take a trip somewhere again.
I was able to fly 1st class a couple times, got lucky and was upgraded once.
The other time (I worked as a private chef for a few years) I was flown 1st class to cook for the 80th birthday party for a client.
In my case, The 1st class legroom is going to be worth every penny.
I pay for it because I fly so little. I'm a bigger guy and usually only fly domestic so the cost isn't absurd and it's worth the comport for myself. It's also usually Delta 1st class which isn't anything special.
Same. I fly maybe about 2 times a year so I figure why not just spend the extra money? The economy seats are basically crushing my pelvis, the extra legroom are significantly better, but I figure why not just pay a little extra for free bags, free drinks, gauranteed overhead bin space, and a significantly more comfortable seat?
You have to spend a lot of money and trips flying coach to get enough points where
Your status gives you free upgrades to first class. So poor folks tend not to get those upgrades.
The caveat is if your company pays for you to fly for business purposes. But chances are that you would be in a position where again, you are not poor.
There are also opportunities for paid upgrades that are significantly cheaper when the cabin isn't full and the airline sells them for much cheaper than booking directly.
I flew economy from Melbourne to DC 7 times in 12 months, which was enough to get Premier 1k status with United. This included enough plus points for 4 business class upgrades between Melbourne and LA. The value of those upgrades was roughly double what I paid for the flights. Then covid hit and I was stuck in Australia for 2 years. Only ended up using one upgrade before they expired. And now United has changed their rules so that's not possible anymore.
That could actually be a good differentiator in the United States for middle class - can you afford to take a vacation requiring airfare at least annually.
Every flight I've been on has had a packed first class. I fly only a couple times a year but still, have never seen empty seats in first class. There's definitely a market for it.
The difference between first class and economy class is huge. The extra legroom and lumbar support basically makes the money worth it. But it depends on the travel distance. Short flights (<2 hours) aren't worth it but international flights (easily >6 hours) are great.
I used to work for an airline. The proportion of revenue they get from their most profitable (loyal) customers is insane. Those are the people most likely to buy the expensive last-minute tickets all the time. Even if they aren't necessarily buying first class tickets (which, they can be) there is value to the company in having that carrot on a stick to encourage customer loyalty by offering upgrades.
Yeah, I only book out max two weeks in advance so my tickets for short flights end up being $700-800 for flying in Premium Economy. I fly on busy routes at popular times so $$$. Just the Allentown to Atlanta leg is almost $300 one way.
The only time I've flown first class was when a company flew me out for an interview and tour. Neat experience, good leg room, too many free drinks. I might consider paying to upgrade if the flight is upwards of 5 or 6 hours, but otherwise probably not.
I fly first / business often. It's either points or when I get to the desk of the airline I ask for a deal, which they usually have one. No idea how ppl pay the prices advertised on the website.
I get upgraded all the time. As soon as I sit down my not paid for seat I start to scoff at all the poor people shuffling past me on their way to economy.
This ties into something I learned about a few months ago and hate because of how just, useless it seems. It's called Coded Luxury.
Basically when you're really rich, you can spend ungodly amounts of money on outfits and objects that look like something you could get at TJMaxx, but are super luxurious.
Rich people buy high end brand names, like LV or Coach. Rich people spend thousands on custom clothing that have no labels, no logos, and look normal.
I've been watching Succession lately. Sure, you expect them to get chauffeured around, but these billionaires don't ride in limos, they ride in sedans, SUVs, and vans. Certainly from high end manufacturers like Mercedes, but not as long and as obnoxious as limos.
Growing up we'd always book a limo to go to the airport cause it was cheaper for a family of 4 then taking the shuttle. I believe it actually was $75 total compared to like $20/person for the shuttle.
That's crazy. I'm about 13 miles outside ORD and the train is $5. A few decades ago when I was about 100 miles outside a different metro airport, the bus was $35.
I remember talking to buddies about going on a booze cruise to try out a bunch of breweries in the area and their reaction when I suggested we rent a limo for the night. Started sarcastically suggesting we get tuxedos and act all like rich pompous assholes to drink beer, then me having to explain that once you hit that needing 2, possibly 3 cabs for the night, it's just easier and cheaper to rent a limo. Divided 8 ish ways, we're spending less, we have a personal driver waiting on us that we just text when we're ready to go, get the bill and there he is outside when we're done. Because the back passenger compartment is separate from the drivers area we can keep drinking there.
Limos are just sensible when you're going out in a group.
Essentially though maybe more pompous? We've got lots of party buses that are smaller charter busese. I've seen plenty that fit 12-15 people so they aren't always massive. I'd imagine it probably costs about the same at a 6-8 person limo since they're essentially reskinned school buses but I can't say for sure.
Reading this made me realize how weird it is we associate limos with wealth and extravagance.
Sure, we see celebrities and the elite often use them, but it just makes more sense because they often have an entire entourage of people with them. Security, stylists, photographers, friends and family.
Instead, they're interpreted as a symbol for people to show off their wealth.
I live near one one of the most expensive neighborhoods in California. If you drive through that area and look in the driveways you will not see Ferrari's and lambos. It's Honda's, Toyota's Chevys and the occasional Tesla.
If the tailoring is breath taking, you want the stand up van these days. It also prevents feet swelling to stay standing rather than to sit then stand repeatedly imho.
I live in a small village in Europe and the gypsies there (they are generally poor) usually rent a limo for their kid's graduation from KINDERGARTEN. I know they love fancy things, it's their culture but it's kinda hilarious when I see 6 year old kids that shares a bedroom with 5-6 siblings living on 1 parent's minimum wage, waving from a limo. Also it makes me sad.
I'm sure she was joking. She was actually a cool person. She wasn't born rich and yet built a fashion empire while suffering from intense anxiety and depression. Her life was sad
It can be cheaper for me to fly to Poland than to drive there given the price of fuel in Germany right now. Here in Europe we have a lot of budget airlines that go a short distance and can charge under 20€ for a one way ticket. Just about where you live that determines it I suppose.
European flight prices are wild to me as an American. Berlin and Warsaw are like 600km apart, and looks like tickets are like ~$150ish, probably cheaper if you go further out.
A similarly flight (similar distance, similar size cities) for me in America is $300 minimum, with a few going up to $500. Even going months out it only goes down to $255.
And I'm not super experienced with european flights, but I've always had a much better time (from a service/comfort level) on European airlines than American.
I drive a very efficient car, but it would still only cost me ~$50 in gas each way.
that's not always true. I live in the bay area and was looking at flights from the bay area to la recently and it's like $60. berlin and warsaw are only 500 km apart btw which is the same as sf to la
American domestic flying is weird. A short hop is hundreds of dollars, you get harassed by TSA and the service is poor in general.
The equivalent short flights in Europe are so much cheaper and security is normally less hassle. Service on the budget airlines is rubbish, but British Airways and others are good and still reasonably cheap.
Also, what US domestic carriers refer to as "first class" is literally just premium economy. European flights tend to have similar options but they'll cost about £100 more and be called something like Club Europe (BA).
To put domestic prices in context, I can go London to LA for £400-500 if I book far enough in advance. Within Europe, last month, I flew London to Barcelona for £17 return.
The funny truth is that First class in a commercial plane is much more comfortable than a private jet. Small, turbulent, less stable in flight, but offer privacy, no TSA and no wait
When I worked for a large corporation, the c-suite guys would all fly in on the company jet. They'd fly down in the morning, hang out, and then fly out that evening. The flight was 2 hours each way, but because they could fly out whenever they needed, they got a full day in.
And HQ was also in a smallish city with a lousy airport that had no direct flights. So the corporate jet saved even more time.
This is the real benefit of a business jet. You can't do meaningful work on a commercial flight, and you are at the whim of others for schedule. Depending on locations, it may take a full day of travel between connections to arrive somewhere. That means one full work day takes 3 actual days. Those 2 wasted days more than cover the cost of operating an aircraft.
My company does this as well, but the corporate jet isn't just reserved for the C-suite. Anyone can fly it but risks getting bumped with short/no notice if a higher up changes plans last minute (or at any time, really). The cost of operating the jet is typically not much higher than commercial travel on a per seat basis. $500-600 for your typical 3 hour flight, so it's actually encouraged to use the jet when able. The jet also flies its schedule no matter the occupancy, so not using it is straight wasteful.
I used to fly actual business jets for wealthy people. One guy was worth billions and would call a yellow cab upon landing every time to save money. The rich don't get rich by spending I suppose
Many rich people think flying private is gauche because it's an ostentatious and environmentally problematic waste of money. You might be surprised how many filthy rich people are just normal people living their lives and spending money where it's worth actually spending; they're not all going way out of their way to blow a disproportionate amount just for the sake of it like the people you're likely to find on a private flight.
Flights that are two hours or less I'll fly economy. Anything longer than that and I'm flying first class. I just get too uncomfortable and I'm more than willing to splurge a couple times a year for my comfort.
The last time we flew economy my wife spent the entire flight with the stomach of the guy sitting next to her resting on her leg. She couldn't even use her tray table because it would have hit his body. I'm willing to spend extra money to make sure we don't have to deal with that again.
Yup, thats where I'm at too! My last straw was an overnight flight at the back of the plane next to a large lady who couldn't put her table or armrests down, and I got the aisle seat. Every time someone went past they had to brush by me, so I didn't get much sleep. Also, I'm unusually tall.
I about had a panic attack on a flight recently. I had exactly enough room for my knees to be digging into the seat in front of me, even sitting as far back in the seat as I could. The guy next to me was larger (as was I), and the window was placed just wrong enough that it was digging into my shoulder. I was having a bad time. I'm not flying American anymore lol.
Unless you're a student pilot, then you can be the poorest with a way better seat than first class
Renting a plane on average is around $150-200 an hour with an instructor
Just got to be awake the whole time.
Only if you don't wanna die
There's a difference between having money and spending money.
My Grandpa says, "you don't want to be the guy who owns the plane, you want to be friends with the guy who owns the plane."
First class, and even private jets, is comfortable, but still not as comfortable as not flying at all.
This guy gets it. The real first class is having people fly to you.
But what about travelling to places?
Places travel to you
I was once bumped from an American Airlines flight and got 1st class seat as a benefit. A US Senator got to board to the flight early, but she sat behind me in coach as I was in First.
I work for a very wealthy man. He flies first class. Our competitor is owned by a man with a net worth maybe 1/10th of my bosses and flies privately. Some people just won't spend more money if they don't find value in it.
private jets unless you go for very big planes aren't more comfortable than first class with a major non-us airline.
Singapore airlines has suites for example
That shrewdness actually tends to be how people build or maintain that wealth so yeah.
It can be a pain in the ass to organize a private flight also. Sometimes just easier to book the ticket. It's why I've also met a billionaire flying southwest. He needed a ticket, they had one
The rich folk I know don't flex their wealth. Whenever I see somebody who does I immediately think they are broke or distasteful.
There is even people who rent 5 minutes on a plane at the hangar, do a photo shoot and then bugger off to fly coach.
First class flyer here. And no, I'm not rich. Not even the poorest. Just regular guys who travels a lot because of work. First class is full of sales person from different industries, most of the time.
I use to work for Delta airlines. 90% of those in people in first are not paying out of pocket. They're either upgrades from medallion status, standby (employee) or the most likely they're business men who have a company who pays for it.
I don't need to be pampered on a plane. I just need legroom. I go for business class every time if that's an option.
That's not true. My work caters to millionaires and billionaires. A lot fly first class. One, a billionaire, flys coach. Why? "The cost of first class from Dallas to Vegas is egregious."
Can vouch for this - used to fly private jets for wealthy clients.
I work in general aviation. The amount of wealth that own their own jets or charter private jets is astounding.
As someone who has flown on private jets for work, it's astounding how much nicer it is - and how much more work I can get done.
I can be several states away and working on site before I would have taken off from my home airport. Seriously, it's 8 hours of travel vs 1:45. When you factor in time, private charter actually can be justified. Especially if you can divide the cost among a few people.
That's the whole reason a lot of wealthy individuals and corporations have private aircraft. It saves so much time. You can literally drive up to the hangar, get on the aircraft, and go at a ton of smaller airports.
Once your money (personal or business) reaches a certain point, you can buy more of anything that you need... except time. So things that save you time drastically go up in value.
So this one billionaire I know spends $35,000 or so each way on charter flights to fly him and his wife to one of their several homes around the US. (He used to own a private jet but is now retired.) One (beautiful!) home is part of a country club setup where the median price for homes is about six million US. Membership of the club is optional, but costs $30K per year. My friend doesn't play golf or tennis, but he and his wife love the food at the club's restaurant which boasts a French-trained chef - so he pays the annual membership fee, even though they spend perhaps four weeks each year in that home. So my girl and I went to visit the couple at that home (we've been to the others also) and I discovered that the Internet service there was rather poor. I did a quick online check, then let him know he could get 1 gigabit fiber at that location, for something like $70 per month. No, he said, he doesn't want to spend that much on Internet service!
Which is one of my favorite stories, about how we all have things we'll spend a lot on, and things on which we won't - even billionaires!
Lmao, everyone has their limits. But something tells me he doesn't spend that much time on the net.
Every "rich" person I've met in person (and not in passing) have been frugal as hell. Like somehow I'm less frugal than a couple of them
To the point of obsession sometimes. I dated a girl whose father did very well, so cue my surprise when I found the hand soap refilled with water. Gotta get every last drop, I guess!
Years ago I had a conversation with a buddy that started with "do you think Bill Gates fills his hand soap with water?" We surmised that maybe he does it to feel normal.
I'm definitely not rich,
(maybe in another 20 plus years I'll be hopefully comfortably well off)
but next time I ever fly to travel I intend to splurge on a 1st class ticket.
I used to like flying, but The older I get I've grown to hate it.
The lines and all the security you have to go thru seem to increase every year. I get it, I understand it. You definitely want it to be safe.
baggage checking and pickup, the waiting, lines,
waiting to board, waiting for people to cram their oversized luggage that should have been checked to be crammed into the overhead.
Just a general feeling of hating being around lots of people, loud, smelly, noisy, crying children, or kicking back of your chair.
I have no plans to ever fly if I can avoid it, but at some point I'm going to want to take a trip somewhere again.
I was able to fly 1st class a couple times, got lucky and was upgraded once.
The other time (I worked as a private chef for a few years) I was flown 1st class to cook for the 80th birthday party for a client.
In my case, The 1st class legroom is going to be worth every penny.
I'm curious how many people in first class paid for it at all? Upgrades are a pretty common reward for airline frequent flyer status holders.
I pay for it because I fly so little. I'm a bigger guy and usually only fly domestic so the cost isn't absurd and it's worth the comport for myself. It's also usually Delta 1st class which isn't anything special.
Same. I fly maybe about 2 times a year so I figure why not just spend the extra money? The economy seats are basically crushing my pelvis, the extra legroom are significantly better, but I figure why not just pay a little extra for free bags, free drinks, gauranteed overhead bin space, and a significantly more comfortable seat?
First class domestic is like $1000.
First class international can be upwards of $30,000 or more.
I think they were wondering how the latter flies that way.
I got upgraded to first on my first flight which was to Mexico City :)
Ah I see you started high and it's only been downhill from them
You have to spend a lot of money and trips flying coach to get enough points where
Your status gives you free upgrades to first class. So poor folks tend not to get those upgrades.
The caveat is if your company pays for you to fly for business purposes. But chances are that you would be in a position where again, you are not poor.
There are also opportunities for paid upgrades that are significantly cheaper when the cabin isn't full and the airline sells them for much cheaper than booking directly.
I flew economy from Melbourne to DC 7 times in 12 months, which was enough to get Premier 1k status with United. This included enough plus points for 4 business class upgrades between Melbourne and LA. The value of those upgrades was roughly double what I paid for the flights. Then covid hit and I was stuck in Australia for 2 years. Only ended up using one upgrade before they expired. And now United has changed their rules so that's not possible anymore.
Oh I'm not saying they are poor but they aren't necessarily rich either just because they are sitting in first class.
in my world a rich person is the person who flies more than like once every few years... funny how perspective works
That could actually be a good differentiator in the United States for middle class - can you afford to take a vacation requiring airfare at least annually.
Without my airline card, i wouldn't be able to. I can usually get 750.00 a year in airline tickets to go somewhere.
Not everyone pays for it, but enough people do for that class to exist. They don't make money with the upgrades.
Every flight I've been on has had a packed first class. I fly only a couple times a year but still, have never seen empty seats in first class. There's definitely a market for it.
Generally, the eligible frequent flyers are upgraded before boarding
The difference between first class and economy class is huge. The extra legroom and lumbar support basically makes the money worth it. But it depends on the travel distance. Short flights (<2 hours) aren't worth it but international flights (easily >6 hours) are great.
If you wait until last minute, like while you're sitting in the terminal, it can be less than 100 bucks to upgrade through the app
Last month I was able to upgrade from economy to 1st on a cross country flight for $46 about an hour before the flight. It was glorious
I used to work for an airline. The proportion of revenue they get from their most profitable (loyal) customers is insane. Those are the people most likely to buy the expensive last-minute tickets all the time. Even if they aren't necessarily buying first class tickets (which, they can be) there is value to the company in having that carrot on a stick to encourage customer loyalty by offering upgrades.
Yeah, I only book out max two weeks in advance so my tickets for short flights end up being $700-800 for flying in Premium Economy. I fly on busy routes at popular times so $$$. Just the Allentown to Atlanta leg is almost $300 one way.
I used to fly last minute all the time, I paid $900 to go to Nashville from Orlando and $2400 to go to London. Man I miss flying for work.
The only time I've flown first class was when a company flew me out for an interview and tour. Neat experience, good leg room, too many free drinks. I might consider paying to upgrade if the flight is upwards of 5 or 6 hours, but otherwise probably not.
I fly first / business often. It's either points or when I get to the desk of the airline I ask for a deal, which they usually have one. No idea how ppl pay the prices advertised on the website.
Curious, the deal you're asking for is an upgrade to 1st from a seat you already have, right?
Not internationally.
I get upgraded all the time. As soon as I sit down my not paid for seat I start to scoff at all the poor people shuffling past me on their way to economy.
This ties into something I learned about a few months ago and hate because of how just, useless it seems. It's called Coded Luxury.
Basically when you're really rich, you can spend ungodly amounts of money on outfits and objects that look like something you could get at TJMaxx, but are super luxurious.
Rich people buy high end brand names, like LV or Coach. Rich people spend thousands on custom clothing that have no labels, no logos, and look normal.
Money talks, wealth whispers.
If you see someone who's truly rich, most of the time you won't notice.
Reminds me of when Spade said arriving in a limo is like bragging you had $400
I've been watching Succession lately. Sure, you expect them to get chauffeured around, but these billionaires don't ride in limos, they ride in sedans, SUVs, and vans. Certainly from high end manufacturers like Mercedes, but not as long and as obnoxious as limos.
"You can't do anything with five, Greg. Five's a nightmare. The poorest rich person in America. The world's tallest dwarf."
I got a limo leaving a canucks match because we didn't have to wait and my wife had never been in one. $80 cad well spent for the experience for her.
For some reason I remember the punch line being "Wow you have seventy five dollllars"
The Seinfeld joke about how it's never any big deal who's in a limo because it's probably just a couple dozen teenagers with $3 each.
I rented one of the coolest vintage carriage style limo for my prom... Definitely the most expensive one to show up.
$49AUD each, 10 of us, full confectionery bar and soft drink access.
Did we only sit in it a total of an hour? Maybe.
Was it worth it? Yes.
Had a group of about 12 of us and I rented a school bus for $75 AUD.
Everyone's rocking up in cool cars and we had a Hermit Park Bus Service bus drop us off.
The memories are worth the money when you're a teenager. Glad you had a good time.
Inflation man.
Today's super-powered anti-hero
Growing up we'd always book a limo to go to the airport cause it was cheaper for a family of 4 then taking the shuttle. I believe it actually was $75 total compared to like $20/person for the shuttle.
That's crazy. I'm about 13 miles outside ORD and the train is $5. A few decades ago when I was about 100 miles outside a different metro airport, the bus was $35.
For long trips it's cheaper to take a limo or town car to SFO than parking at SFO or an Uber.
I remember talking to buddies about going on a booze cruise to try out a bunch of breweries in the area and their reaction when I suggested we rent a limo for the night. Started sarcastically suggesting we get tuxedos and act all like rich pompous assholes to drink beer, then me having to explain that once you hit that needing 2, possibly 3 cabs for the night, it's just easier and cheaper to rent a limo. Divided 8 ish ways, we're spending less, we have a personal driver waiting on us that we just text when we're ready to go, get the bill and there he is outside when we're done. Because the back passenger compartment is separate from the drivers area we can keep drinking there.
Limos are just sensible when you're going out in a group.
Party busses would probably work better. Not many limos where I'm from but lots of party buses.
But isn't a limo just a small party bus when you have good friends?
You are correct my guy
Essentially though maybe more pompous? We've got lots of party buses that are smaller charter busese. I've seen plenty that fit 12-15 people so they aren't always massive. I'd imagine it probably costs about the same at a 6-8 person limo since they're essentially reskinned school buses but I can't say for sure.
Reading this made me realize how weird it is we associate limos with wealth and extravagance.
Sure, we see celebrities and the elite often use them, but it just makes more sense because they often have an entire entourage of people with them. Security, stylists, photographers, friends and family.
Instead, they're interpreted as a symbol for people to show off their wealth.
Most very wealthy people I know drive nothing really above "mid-range" vehicles.
Extravagance these days is a Long-Wheelbase Sedan:
Bentley, Maybach, an Alpina 7-Series, AMG S-Class, A8-S and the ilk.
I live near one one of the most expensive neighborhoods in California. If you drive through that area and look in the driveways you will not see Ferrari's and lambos. It's Honda's, Toyota's Chevys and the occasional Tesla.
If the tailoring is breath taking, you want the stand up van these days. It also prevents feet swelling to stay standing rather than to sit then stand repeatedly imho.
I live in a small village in Europe and the gypsies there (they are generally poor) usually rent a limo for their kid's graduation from KINDERGARTEN. I know they love fancy things, it's their culture but it's kinda hilarious when I see 6 year old kids that shares a bedroom with 5-6 siblings living on 1 parent's minimum wage, waving from a limo. Also it makes me sad.
But it makes them happy!
As a dad who just blew hundreds of dollars to see my kid super happy seeing one of his favorite shows in-person.... This makes me feel better.
David said that?
Kate
Ace of
Base
I saw the sign
Well a Spade is a Spade
call it like it is
Of course she did
I'm sure she was joking. She was actually a cool person. She wasn't born rich and yet built a fashion empire while suffering from intense anxiety and depression. Her life was sad
She was totally joking because she was actually David Spade. Kate Spade did make a limousine purse that is ironically selling for $400 right now.
And only the richest poor people fly at all.
It can be cheaper for me to fly to Poland than to drive there given the price of fuel in Germany right now. Here in Europe we have a lot of budget airlines that go a short distance and can charge under 20€ for a one way ticket. Just about where you live that determines it I suppose.
European flight prices are wild to me as an American. Berlin and Warsaw are like 600km apart, and looks like tickets are like ~$150ish, probably cheaper if you go further out.
A similarly flight (similar distance, similar size cities) for me in America is $300 minimum, with a few going up to $500. Even going months out it only goes down to $255.
And I'm not super experienced with european flights, but I've always had a much better time (from a service/comfort level) on European airlines than American.
I drive a very efficient car, but it would still only cost me ~$50 in gas each way.
that's not always true. I live in the bay area and was looking at flights from the bay area to la recently and it's like $60. berlin and warsaw are only 500 km apart btw which is the same as sf to la
American domestic flying is weird. A short hop is hundreds of dollars, you get harassed by TSA and the service is poor in general.
The equivalent short flights in Europe are so much cheaper and security is normally less hassle. Service on the budget airlines is rubbish, but British Airways and others are good and still reasonably cheap.
Also, what US domestic carriers refer to as "first class" is literally just premium economy. European flights tend to have similar options but they'll cost about £100 more and be called something like Club Europe (BA).
To put domestic prices in context, I can go London to LA for £400-500 if I book far enough in advance. Within Europe, last month, I flew London to Barcelona for £17 return.
Flights to Florida right now for 50-75 bucks. I can't drive there for 75 dollars
True. The truly rich teleport!
The funny truth is that First class in a commercial plane is much more comfortable than a private jet. Small, turbulent, less stable in flight, but offer privacy, no TSA and no wait
Most private jets fly quite high, even higher than commercial, where there is almost no turbulence.
Private also allows you to fly at any time.
When I worked for a large corporation, the c-suite guys would all fly in on the company jet. They'd fly down in the morning, hang out, and then fly out that evening. The flight was 2 hours each way, but because they could fly out whenever they needed, they got a full day in.
And HQ was also in a smallish city with a lousy airport that had no direct flights. So the corporate jet saved even more time.
This is the real benefit of a business jet. You can't do meaningful work on a commercial flight, and you are at the whim of others for schedule. Depending on locations, it may take a full day of travel between connections to arrive somewhere. That means one full work day takes 3 actual days. Those 2 wasted days more than cover the cost of operating an aircraft.
My company does this as well, but the corporate jet isn't just reserved for the C-suite. Anyone can fly it but risks getting bumped with short/no notice if a higher up changes plans last minute (or at any time, really). The cost of operating the jet is typically not much higher than commercial travel on a per seat basis. $500-600 for your typical 3 hour flight, so it's actually encouraged to use the jet when able. The jet also flies its schedule no matter the occupancy, so not using it is straight wasteful.
Private jets are smaller but not necessarily more turbulent. They tend to fly higher where there tends to be less variance in weather
I'll take small and turbulent over "screaming babies" any day
A lot more rich people fly coach than you think.
I used to fly actual business jets for wealthy people. One guy was worth billions and would call a yellow cab upon landing every time to save money. The rich don't get rich by spending I suppose
$10,000 for a flight, $50 for a cab. Lol.
i fly corporate jets and it's crazy how people will drop 50k on a one way flight then sit around for an uber to take them home…
Many rich people think flying private is gauche because it's an ostentatious and environmentally problematic waste of money. You might be surprised how many filthy rich people are just normal people living their lives and spending money where it's worth actually spending; they're not all going way out of their way to blow a disproportionate amount just for the sake of it like the people you're likely to find on a private flight.
This! A lot of incredibly wealthy people live low-key
Flights that are two hours or less I'll fly economy. Anything longer than that and I'm flying first class. I just get too uncomfortable and I'm more than willing to splurge a couple times a year for my comfort.
The last time we flew economy my wife spent the entire flight with the stomach of the guy sitting next to her resting on her leg. She couldn't even use her tray table because it would have hit his body. I'm willing to spend extra money to make sure we don't have to deal with that again.
Same, but my rule is 4 hours.....because that's about how long it takes for my back to get mad at me.
Albeit, I don't have fat guy stories.
Yup, thats where I'm at too! My last straw was an overnight flight at the back of the plane next to a large lady who couldn't put her table or armrests down, and I got the aisle seat. Every time someone went past they had to brush by me, so I didn't get much sleep. Also, I'm unusually tall.
I about had a panic attack on a flight recently. I had exactly enough room for my knees to be digging into the seat in front of me, even sitting as far back in the seat as I could. The guy next to me was larger (as was I), and the window was placed just wrong enough that it was digging into my shoulder. I was having a bad time. I'm not flying American anymore lol.