I have a secret guilty pleasure, and it has taken me a lot of courage to share it with you, with the world. Here it is: I absolutely love watching First Class flight videos! It is escapism at its finest.
I haven’t been shy about my love of travel and my current wanderlust on this blog. I have tried watching travel movies, gone on local adventures, and even made a quick trip to Cabo (we were in Economy Class. Boo hoo!) But First Class flight videos have some advantages that can’t be beat and I’m going to have you watching these videos along side me before you know it.
You only get the good bits
One of the best parts of First Class flight videos is that you only sample the fun parts of traveling. All the dull and tiresome parts of air travel (yes, even in First Class, it gets tiresome on a 14 hour flight, at least a little!) are edited out, and you only get the good parts. No waiting in line to use the loo, no delays on the tarmac, no turbulence. And they are over in 10-20 minutes- not hours later.
Here’s a good example. The flight from SF to Hong Kong is about 15 hours (thanks Alexa!) This video is 15 minutes. A perfect break in between conference calls, right??
And you don’t see the boring parts (which are admittedly limited if you are in First Class!)- no standing in Passport Control, no TSA pat-downs. No waiting in line at Hudson Newsstand to buy a $6 bottle of water. See what I mean?
The travelers seem to be thinking “I can’t believe I am in First Class!”
Some of the travelers hosting the First Class flight videos do adopt a “too cool for school” jaded attitude. But most of them seem a bit stunned, and I love them for it. “How did this actually happen?” “I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this!” “Is this really happening??” seem to be the common sentiments from most of them. And I love that; I still feel that way when I (very occasionally!) get upgraded to Business Class. At some point, they are going to figure out that I don’t really belong up here 🙂
They inspire my credit card rewards strategy
Let’s face it, none of us is going to be racking up 100,000 miles on an airline anytime soon. Having a huge mileage balance and status on an airline is not in my future, that’s for sure. And I don’t miss it- I did enough traveling when I was a consultant to satiate any desires I ever had to spend weeks on end in Cincinnati!
Now my path to Business Class (and maybe First Class someday? A girl can dream!) upgrades is going to be through credit card rewards. I am an avid Chase Ultimate Rewards loyalist, but American Express Membership Rewards works too. For a few tips, check out my post last month on simple ways to maximize your rewards earning. While we are all at home, this is the time to be banking those sweet, sweet rewards points in the hopes of traveling in the lap of luxury in future years.
A wonderful distraction
At the end of the day, First Class flight videos are about escaping into another reality for a bit of time. No worries, no delays, and (usually) no Coronavirus. Just a few minutes of relaxing and pretending that you are sitting in seat 3B, right next to the guy or gal in the video. Except you never actually see them, because you are in an Emirates’ first class suite 🙂
Do tell us what your guilty pleasures are these days? Are you eating something weird or indulgent? Watching the Bachelorette? Share it in the comments!
