How US Domestic First Class works

For most people the thought of "First Class" is unreachable. Everyone knows it is expensive but no one really seems to know how it works. The airlines board first class first so that everyone that boards the plane walks through first class and looks at the seated passengers to cause curiosity. When it comes to domestic first class in the US there are only 3 airlines that truly offer first class:
-American Airlines/Us Airways
-Delta
-United
Other popular airlines such as Jet Blue, Spirit and Frontier allow you to pay extra for more legroom and space but don't really include any first class amenities.
So do all these people seated in First Class really pay for these seats?
The most accurate answer is probably not.
There are very few executives, consultants, celebrities that are important enough to purchase a premium cabin seat.

So how people end up in the First Class cabin?
STATUS, all airlines have a tier of different status levels you can reach depending on the amount of miles/segments flow in a calendar year.

What are the benefits of flying First Class?
-You get a priority security line at most airports
-You board the plane first with the rest of the First Class costumers
-FREE DRINKS! The whole flight you can drink from a selection of top shelf liquors and wines.
-Free Snacks, on flights over 1,000 miles you will get a full 3 course meal with usually 2-3 options to choose from.
-2 free checked bags (Thats a $50 savings)
-Priority tagged bags (This means your bag will come out first at baggage claim with a orange priority tag)
-Flying comfortable, these seats usually recline so you can almost fully lay down depending on the plane.

Below is an example of the requirements American Airlines has to reach their 3 different tiers of status. Most examples I make will be with American because it is my preferred airline.

So what is a segment? A segment is any flight from one destination to another. For example, if you have a flight from Orlando to JFK (New York) and you have a layover in Charlotte you will earn one segment from Orlando-Charlotte and another segment from Charlotte-JFK. if you fly round trip you will earn 4 segments in total. To earn the lowest status on any airline you need 30 segments, this means you would need to take at least 8 trips in the year with one layover each way to reach this status. For example, it is currently July 8th and I have 70 segments with American Airlines, I am currently a Platinum member and on track to make Executive Platinum by the end of the year. Any status made in a calendar year also earns you status for the upcoming year. So what are the benefits of having status on an airline? They are below.

So as you can see, it can really pay off to have status especially if you travel often. It surprises me the amount of people that I meet that don't really know this information. The smartest way to travel is to choose one airline and stick to it, they sure will honor your commitment and you will fly more comfortably.

So now back on the topic of first class upgrades. As you can see above, all of the tiers of status make you eligible for first class upgrades. The higher the status you have the better chance you have of getting upgraded. Even though American and Us Airways have merged they are still to separate airlines with separate upgrade policies for the time being. Luckily for us we can still earn miles on our AAdvantage accounts by flying on either one.

For the non-traveler the rules above might look like gibberish so I will break it down. On Us Airways anyone with status is eligible for a first class upgrade for free as long as they are flying within the US, Canada and the Caribbean. Executive Platinum members can be upgraded for free 4 days before the flight for free as long as there are available seats, Platinum members get upgraded 3 days before their flight. Gold members get upgraded 1 day before their flights. If the first class cabin is full you will get added to the airport standby upgrade list. This means that if some one misses their flight the first person on the list will take their seat and so on down the list.

American Airlines has a weird upgrade system so I apologize in advance if it gets confusing. They use what is called a 500-mile upgrade. for every 10,000 miles flown elite members earn (4) 500-mile upgrades. So how do they work? for every 500 miles of flight time you must use 1 upgrade. So for example if I fly from Miami to JFK direct, the total milage for that flight is 1,090 miles. So to upgrade to first class I would need to use (3) 500-mile upgrades because it is 90 miles over 1,000 and requires and extra 500-mile upgrade. The only way to earn these upgrades is being an elite member, they can either be earned or purchased for $30 each. Once again, if you want to fly first class you must request it on your reservation and it will be processed in order of elite status, the higher members will get upgraded from Executive Platinum down to gold until the first class cabin fills up. The only people that fly for free in first class auto requested every time is Executive Platinum members. Once you fly 120 segments in a year or 100,000 miles you will practically fly first class every single time.

Please remember that these policies only apply to domestic, Canada and Caribbean flights. Executive Platinum members earn 8 system wide upgrades after qualifying in a calendar year. This means that if they where flying from Miami to London they could upgrade to the next class of service for free using only one systemwide upgrade with up to 2 layovers and this includes Admirals Club and One World Lounges for the day. These are the flights that truly have first class experience wit fully lay down seats as shown below in American Airlines 788 Dreamliner. I wont jump into international travel or lounges just yet but I will get there in my future posts. For all other travelers, Upgrading on international flights is only possible by initially purchasing a first class ticket or paying a hefty fee to upgrade. Currently a one way flight to London in first class on American is around $12,000 yes that is $12,000. So you can see how being a Elite member truly has its perks. The times I've flown in first class this year would have probably cost me around $100,000 just this year. Being a platinum member is enough to get upgraded almost every time, it is rare that I fly in the coach cabin. 

Most airlines have the same or similar upgrade systems, if you have any questions feel free to email me at yepessebastian095@gmail.com