While the Elite 1% travel on private jets, the other 99% are left to struggle through an increasingly crowded and inconvenient commercial airline system. Between dealing with transportation to and from airports, parking, security, boarding and de-boarding, baggage claim, flight delays, cancelled flights, and the various other aspects of commercial flight, a typical flight can become an all-day affair. And of course there is the struggle of fighting through crowds and squeezing into cramped seats surrounded by unknown fellow travelers. Most people agree–coach air travel is a bitch.
Business and First class travel provide an enhanced experience, to be sure. You get to board first, (and watch all the riff-raff file by), there is more leg room, food and drinks, and more attention from the flight crew. First Class travelers will typically have a fast pass that allows them to take an express lane through security, too. But these benefits comes at a huge price increase. A Business Class ticket typically costs from three to four times the amount of a Coach ticket, and First Class cost from four to five times the cost of Coach. But this huge bump in price still doesn’t change the biggest factor in commercial travel–they still have to make their way through large airports, waiting on the crowds to board, and generally travelling along with the hordes. It is still a far cry from private jet travel.