Tag Archives: first-class

First-Class Eats at 35,000 Feet

There’s nothing like sinking your teeth into an appetizer of sautéed prawns and crispy short rib wontons with organic Thai barbecue sauce and chilled sweet-and-sour cucumber relish, right? Yeah right. Most of us will never get to wrap our lips around an appetizer that fancy in a traditional restaurant let alone in a flying fortress 35,000 feet in the air. But that’s how good life can be if you fly first-class these days. While complimentary meals are all but a distant memory for most of us coach passengers a few rows up first-class cruisers are dining on gourmet meals made … Continue reading →

First Class Eats for Train Passengers

We all know airline passengers get the royal treatment in first-class, but what about high paying passengers who prefer to travel by train? Don’t shed a tear for them, it appears they are making out just as well as their high flying counterparts—especially when it comes to first-class cuisine. The travel world is a buzz with the news that one of Washington’s best-known chefs, Michel Richard, has developed a new menu for first-class passengers on Amtrak’s high-speed Boston to Washington route. For those of you who don’t watch the Food Network or don’t keep tabs on who’s who in the … Continue reading →

Meals Most of Us WON’T Be Dining on at 35,000 Feet

A new study shows that today’s average first-class, round-trip ticket costs $13,000. (So basically you could buy a compact car or fly in luxury for a day.) For that amount of money you are not guaranteed a delay-free flight or one that is void of turbulence. Heck, for $13,000 the airline can’t even promise that your luggage will arrive at your final destination in one piece. However, what you are guaranteed in first class is a four-star meal. Champagne, caviar, lobster—-you name it. These days the sky is the limit when it comes to dining on fancy food in first … Continue reading →

Luxury Travel: The Perks Of First Class

Must be nice to spend your vacation being lavished with seven-course gourmet meals, pampered with gifts by Ferragamo and Bulgari, and swaddled in Australian wool blankets—at 35,000 feet. Ah, the luxuries of first class flying… how I wish I knew thee. Actually, I’ve had the great pleasure of flying first class a couple times in my life, unfortunately both experiences happened in the mid 80s, long before first class flying included access to fully flat beds, silk sheets, and a three-to-one passenger-to-crew ratio. These days the first class cabins in most airlines are akin to luxury spas. To say some … Continue reading →

Airline Secrets Revealed: Affordable First-Class Fares

A few months ago I had to make an “emergency” trip to Hawaii to attend a family function. I didn’t have the luxury of booking my trip with the recommended two-week notice and therefore was left with few low-price options. After spending hours on the Internet searching for a decent price, I finally gave up and started calling individual airlines to see what they could offer me. Surprisingly, I was quoted a first-class seat on Delta for about $400 less than a coach seat on American (using the same dates and the same departure and arrival cities). Was it just … Continue reading →