Domestic First Class: Who Does It Best?

Paul Thompson
by Paul Thompson
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Mon October 17, 2016

Virgin America has a very nice-looking First Class but I've never sat up there. But if you're into white leather and purple lighting, this is the place for you. It does look very comfortable, but can't hold a candle to what American and JetBlue are putting out there. And besides, the future of this particular product is very much in question, because of Virgin America's pending merger with Alaska Airlines.

United's First Class on aircraft for most domestic routes is nothing too special. It's a wider, more roomy seat that reclines really well, but doesn't come close to the lie-flat offerings by JetBlue, Delta and American. The reason I say "most" domestic routes is because you might get lucky and have an internationally-equipped aircraft on your flight within the U.S. For example, they have a 787 flight that goes from Denver to Houston after flying in from Tokyo each day. Flying in First Class on this plane from DEN-IAH costs exactly the same as a smaller Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 with a First Class that is boring by comparison. I always advocate choosing your flight reservations by aircraft type, for this reason, if you have the schedule flexibility.

Before LAX-DCA was added by Delta, most carriers focused primarily on the biggest hubs such as New York JFK to LAX or San Francisco. However, JetBlue has done a great job lately of expanding Mint availability lately to leisure destinations, including Aruba, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Maarten.

[READMORE]READ MORE: Which US Airline Offers the Best Beer Menu?[/READMORE]

No other airline offers such incredible seats to as many domestic or near-international airlines as JetBlue, and for that reason, they are the clear winner when it comes to offering the best service in this category - not only for its availability, but also for the quality of service from the beginning to end of the passenger experience.


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Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson is an airline industry veteran, specializing in airlines, general aviation, aircraft manufacturing and the travel...

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