If you’re looking at flying First Class for the first time, then congratulations. Flying First Class is certainly the best way to begin your trip, bookending your journey with the ultimate luxury travel experience. Read on to discover whether First Class travel is for you, all you need to know before boarding, and the various First Class offerings from different airlines. 

Flying First Class will transform your travel experience, no matter how many times you’ve flown before. Prepare to relax in a whole new level of comfort and convenience, though to really make the most of this luxury mode of travel, it can help to understand the nuances of First Class. From booking to landing, every step of the journey is designed to enhance your experience.  

Read more: 10 Best Airlines For Business Class

Flying First Class vs Business Class 

When it comes to luxury air travel, flying First Class is as good as it gets – on most airlines, First Class is the step above Business Class. Whereas in Business Class passengers can enjoy pre-flight lounges as well as lie-flat beds, spacious legroom, and multi-course meals in-flight, each aspect of flying is even more opulent in First Class (but more on that later).

Whether you’re flying Business or First Class, know that both are a significant step up from economy class – both offer superior comfort and service, though First Class offers more luxuries and privacy, whereas Business Class balances between indulgence and practicality.  

Benefits of Flying First Class 

There are a whole range of benefits to First Class travel, and they begin long before you board the plane. As a First Class traveler, you’ll have access to priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and baggage handling, as well as free checked baggage and increased baggage allowances. Once you arrive at the airport, queuing will become a distant memory – minimize your wait time with expedited check-in, security, and boarding, along with exclusive airline lounge access. 

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On-board, relax into plush seats (with some airlines offering private suites), recline to a lie flat bed, and, with some airlines, tuck into gourmet food from renowned chefs. Throughout your flight you’ll be able make the most of the amenity kit provided, containing comforts from noise-canceling headphones to designer toiletry kits. Wherever you’re flying to, you can rest easy knowing that the flight attendants will be giving you their full attention for the full First Class experience. 

What to Wear When Flying First Class 

While most airlines don’t have a dress code for First Class cabins, many passengers opt to wear business-casual attire rather than the usual sweats and flip-flops – if you are looking to dress on the more formal side then slacks, skirts, or chinos will suffice, paired with shirts or blouses. However, what you choose to wear completely depends on the length of your flight and, at the end of the day, your comfort is what matters. Many airlines give First Class passengers pajamas to wear during long-haul flights, so if you’ll be changing into those then don’t worry too much about what you’re already wearing. 

First Class on International Flights 

To get the most out of flying First Class, it’s best to book your First Class ticket on a long haul international flight. These longer journeys offer a heightened level of comfort compared to a domestic First Class ticket, the latter of which is less likely to have all the luxury amenities mentioned above. If lie-flat beds, luxury food and drinks, and top-tier amenities are important to you, then choose First Class on an international flight. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to enjoy all those luxuries for longer! 

Read more: The airlines with the most luxurious First Class bathrooms have been revealed

Flying First Class on American Airlines 

If you’re flying within the U.S. with American Airlines, First Class marks the highest flight level. However, on some long-distance flights (both domestic and international), you have the option to book seats in Flagship First or Flagship Business classes, which are the most luxurious options on offer from American Airlines – passengers will enjoy lie-flat seats, access to the Flagship Lounge, luxury bedding, and exclusive toiletry kits.  

Flying First Class on Delta Air Lines 

If you’re traveling First Class with Delta Air Lines, you can choose from either Delta One, availably predominantly on long haul and international routes, and Delta First, available domestically. Delta One is the airline’s most premium cabin, offering lie flat beds, premium meal service, access to Delta Sky Clubs, and more – if you’re lucky enough to fly on Airbus A330-900neo or A350 aircraft, you’ll get to experience the new Delta One suite with full-height doors that slide closed for maximum privacy and 18-inch entertainment screens. For domestic flights, Delta First offers accelerated check-in, security, boarding, and baggage handling, with slightly larger seats and more legroom than economy.  

Is First Class Worth It?  

Flying First Class is the epitome of luxury air travel, with every step of your journey made to make your travel experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Of course, only you can decide if flying First Class is worth it for you, but if supreme comfort and arriving at your destination well-rested and looked after are a priority for you, then flying First Class is the only way to go.

Distinct, stirring and evocative. The rousing sound of bagpipes is recognized all over the world. An exclusive audience with Highland Piper Andy Coulter is a highlight of our British Royale journey, so we sat down with him to learn more about this revered instrument and his royal connections.

Enjoy an exclusive audience with Andy on: British Royale

Piping through the generations

“I’m what you call an Ulster Scot, I was born in Northern Ireland and now live near Edinburgh,” says Andy. “My father was a piper, my grandfather and my great grandfather. I started when I was 10 years old.

“After school I joined the army and spent many years in the Drums and Pipes. So, I’ve been a Pipe Major a long time. When I left, I worked for Mohammad Al Fayed as close protection security, and he asked me to get a Harrods’s pipe band going. We piped in the store and for dignitaries, as well as at his castle in Scotland.”

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An instrument of war and heritage

“The pipes date back to the 14^th century are basically a war instrument, although they haven’t been played in combat now for over 40 years, since the Falklands War.” Andy tells us. “A lot of Clan chiefs had pipes or a personal piper to pipe them into battle. They would also pipe them into dinner and pipe them into the grave!

“I play the pipes at lots of funerals and lots of weddings, it’s a very traditional thing here. They are preserving Scottish and Gaelic music and heritage for future generations.”

My royal resume

“When I was in the army my ceremonial work consisted of The Trooping of the Colour and state occasions like the Queen’s Birthday parade,” Andy tells us. He has piped in military tattoos in Denmark, Canada, Germany and France, and at the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo. “I also piped at state banquets for Buckingham Palace and the British Royal Family. When a President, King or Queen from another country was visiting, pipers would play around the table.”

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Enduring connections

“I was piping at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace for King Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife Queen Sofia, hosted by Queen Elizabeth II,” says Highland Piper Andy. “Following our traditional performance, I was asked to play a solo for the Queen Mother. It was a very unexpected and memorable occasion and I find that Luxury Gold guests love hearing all about this.

“I also met the Queen Mother on another occasion, whilst on guard duty at Windsor Castle. This is an amusing story that I share with guest when I meet them in Edinburgh. Suffice to say she left quite an impression on me.”

An exclusive audience for Luxury Gold guests

Andy delights in sharing the details of his encounters with the Queen Mother with Luxury Gold guests, after they dine at the exclusive Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh. A grand finale to their time in the vibrant Scottish capital, Highland Piper Andy tells us “I go in and play a couple of tunes and introduce myself. We then talk, share a few stories and I answer any questions that guests might have. I’ll also get them to join in a bit with me. It is always lots of fun. I find that people are very interested in the bagpipes and piping, I think it resonates with everyone.”

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A cherished heirloom

“My pipes belonged to my great grandfather, and he bought them in 1888,” explains Andy, adding that they gain in value as they are handed down through the generations. “The bag itself is perishable and you also change the reeds when needed. But the pipes themselves are what you pay for. The wood is a very hard brittle wood called Mpingo. It is an African Blackwood, the best wood you can find and is worth around $20,000 a meter.

“When I first meet guests, they are often very intrigued and impressed by my uniform. The question I am asked most is how much does it weigh? It’s heavy because of the traditional Eight Yard kilt, the bonnet, shoes and pipes and comes in at 22 kilos which is about 45 lbs.”

Read how we make British Royale is exceptional: How Travel Concierge Michael Gives a Royal Welcome in the UK

A sound that resonates across the globe

“The Great Highland Pipes that I play originated in Scotland. But there are around 70 different types of bagpipes throughout the world,” says Andy. “There are Scottish Small Pipes and Scottish Parlor Pipes for example. There’s the Northumbrian Pipe and in Ireland the Uilleann Pipes. In Brittany in France, you have the Bretton pipers. They’re all Celtic nations. Pipers also played a similar looking pipe in Northern Spain, and even in Romania and places like that you can find pipes. They all have different styles of course.

“The Great Highland Bagpipes were the musical symbol of war; they were played in battle. My great grandfather played in battle in the Boer War, my grandfather played in the battle in the Somme and at Gallipoli.”

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The next generation

“Pipes will never go out of fashion,” Highland Piper Andy says. “In Scotland the collieries all have pipe bands and that’s where they all stem back to. They are taught in school as well. Every Scottish High School in Scotland has a band or at least a few pipers. New Zealand has more pipers and pipe bands per population than anywhere else in the world and some of the best competition pipe bands can be found in Canada.

“With bagpipes found all over the world, they resonate for so many people. It’s also such a versatile instrument, associated with everything from weddings and dancing to military processions and funerals. Be it a highland fling or the haunting melody of Amazing Grace, when the pipes start playing, they always raise the hairs on the back of your neck.”

For the opportunity to meet Andy Coulter for yourself and hear the unforgettable sound of the Highland Bagpipes, take a look at our British Royale luxury tour.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to our planet (and our future), with world leaders and scientific thinkers constantly grappling with new ways to save the world. Energy-efficient travel is a top priority for those curious to see the world without harming it, but what about the landmarks we see when we get there? How could those be transformed into energy-efficient buildings?

Sustainable architecture goes beyond basic insulation and solar panels – in fact, energy-efficient buildings can be some of the most gorgeous constructions in the urban jungle. Without further ado, explore the finest green constructions our Earth has to offer.

Further reading: How We’re Setting the Gold Standard For Sustainable Luxury Travel

Elbphilharmonie

Hamburg, Germany

Recycling old buildings is common in Hamburg, with industrial buildings turned into public spaces in the Speicherstadt (warehouse district). One of the most energy-efficient buildings in the Speicherstadt is the Elbphilharmonie, a wave-shaped, 26-storey glass tower that houses orchestral concerts, lectures and even a hotel.

Sustainable thinking was ingrained into every part of its design, from reducing the CO2-producing concrete typically used for foundations to managing over-tourism by monitoring numbers of people in the plaza outside. Wind turbines outside Hamburg provide the venue with 100% of its energy – a truly sustainable way to light up the city’s classical music scene.

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CopenHill

Copenhagen, Demark

Not only does CopenHill (now called Amager Bakke) transform waste into energy via a sulfur-reduced form of incineration, it also makes innovative use of the land it stands on: the slanted roof is turned into a ski slope in the winter – complete with an epic ápres bar – and an artificial hill hiking path in the summer.

This ingenious building is also home to the world’s tallest climbing wall, with 85 vertical meters of nooks, crannies and outcrops for keen climbers to explore. Home to one of the world’s most eco-friendly attractions, Copenhagen leads the world in green tourism.

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Pixel Building

Melbourne, Australia

 

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Australia’s first carbon-neutral office building not only does good; it looks good, too. The colorful four-story office was built in 2010 and is one of the most energy-efficient buildings in Australia, fitting into Melbourne’s surroundings: one of the world’s most eco-friendly tourist destinations. 

The building generates its own electricity by utilising wind turbines and solar panels, and is cleverly water-balanced – the Pixel Building is able to supply its water requirements (besides drinking water) by recapturing the rainwater evaporating from its exterior. Even the pretty pixels themselves are constructed from low-carbon concrete and recycled aggregate!

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Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In preparation for the 2016 Olympics, Rio opened a forward-thinking, eco-friendly tourist destination: the Museum of Tomorrow, set in the Brazilian city’s old port. Beneath the uber-modern eaves of the Santiago Calatrava-designed building, the museum contains exhibits that discuss different aspects of life, from educational movies on evolution in an egg-shaped cinema to digital displays that show the dangers of overpopulation. 

The building itself is future-conscious, too – solar panels move with the sun to maximise energy capture, while the cooling system utilises the cold water from the depths of the bay next door. 

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ACROS

Fukuoka, Japan

 

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As energy-efficient buildings go, ACROS is pretty spectacular. From the front, the stepped facade looks like a Mayan pyramid overrun by the rainforest, flanked by the blue waters of the Naka River. 

However, this is actually a 14-story local government office built in the late 1990s, designed to alleviate the ‘heat island’ effect that Fukouka struggles with in the summer. The plant-covered, terraced roofs of ACROS naturally reduce pollutants, collect rainwater, absorb CO2 and means wild plants and birds can live in harmony with the hi-tech Japanese city.

Bullitt Centre

Seattle, USA

 

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Billed as the “greenest commercial building in the world”, Seattle’s Bullitt Center (opened on Earth Day 2013) is truly one of the world’s most energy-efficient buildings. A stone’s throw from Pike Place Market and the Seattle Aquarium – already some seriously eco-friendly attractions – the Bullitt Center pioneers sustainable architecture by refusing to use materials containing highly dangerous chemicals in its construction, selling surplus green energy produced on its 575 solar panels back to the national grid and has successfully reduced its energy waste and carbon emissions by 86% compared to other office buildings. Meanwhile, its wood-paneled interior, shady roof and green surroundings give the Bullitt Center an air of the serene: proving that sustainable can certainly mean beautiful.