It is about the people fawning over you and the extra space, but not all first or business classes created equal. I’ll have to tell you to avoid EVA’s business and first class because it’s not worth the price at all. I got bumped from biz to first last time and you cannot lie down flat and you’ll always end upw ith risk of sitting next to someone in EVA first class because of seating arrangements, without a wall/board thing between you (they provide this in Cathay first class). One English speaking couple came in behind me onboard and took a look at their EVA biz class seats and said “Oh this is SHIT compared to what we had!”–apparently compared to another airline. Actually looking back to the seats at first I thought it was economy class–they really pack in the biz seats.
Priority luggage is nice, as is the lounge to hang out in if you have to. Cathay Pacific TW lounge is quite nice, they have a ramen bar for biz class. The first class is just a dark room in the back but I saw Jackie Chan the last time I flew to HK first class…the womanizing slut. EVA’s is OK and absolutely SUCKS in LAX–it’s like a 2 star motel with the old stained floral cushioned seating. The first class section is blocked off by 2-3 bookshelves and that’s pretty mcuh it.
The quality of the food is not necessarily BETTER–it’s just MORE. Meaning juices and breads beforehand, salad, appetizer, main course, dessert. Other than the salad being fresh, the quality of food is still mediocre. Service is served with a smile but at least on EVA they had a bit of trouble speaking English and what? No ginger ale? Maybe I’m being a bit fussy but hey, this IS first class after all. On Cathay they have someone that can speak Mandarin (however weird), English (however accented), Cantonese, and usually a Japanese speaker on board for all occasions.
It’s just about that extra leg space and the fact you don’t have to share the lavatory with a billion other people cramped into economy. Extra leg space will make you very happy 12 hours later when you land (west coast).
oh you also get packs of amenities to take home and nicer slippers. Which you are completely free to jack if you feel you were ripped off.
