The Difference Between First Class and Business Class

Read this post about First Class first.

I should point out the fact that business class and first class are entirely different. I was under the impression that those terms were interchangeable. And on my first flight, they were. It was a domestic flight from Philly to Chicago. I was listed as business class, but my seat was in the second row.

There was no distinction between business class and first class on that flight. On this flight, the seats were pretty standard, in the sense that they were in rows, all facing forward. But the seats were far roomier than economy class and I had plenty of space to stretch my legs. Plus, each seat had its own two armrests. There would be no bumping of elbows. In business class, there was a power outlet for my laptop, and we were served breakfast (French toast) on actual plates with real flatware. I don't think economy class received a meal on that flight.

At this point, I hadn't yet experienced real-deal first class. When I was checking in at the Philly airport, I used the self service kiosk. The computer asked me if I wanted to upgrade to first class for my flight from Chicago to Beijing. I was perplexed, because I was under the impression that first class and business class were one in the same. But the $629 increase in fare proved that they were different. I declined the offer. But when I got to the gate and gave the staffer my boarding pass, she said I had been upgraded. Honestly, I don't know why they chose me. Maybe it's because I was so polite and handsome (heh heh).

When I boarded that flight, I was ushered off to the left, toward the nose of the plane. To my right, I saw the business class passengers. It was a huge plane and there were maybe 20 business class passengers. In the first class section, I was one of maybe ten passengers. This is where I first sat down in my little mini-suite. How will I ever fly economy again?

Read more about my trip to Kuala Lumpur here.