Chasing The 30K Airline Ticket

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

From From Kaleel

The Thirty-Thousand Dollar Airline Ticket

It's a price sensitive world, where low cost airlines rule the roost and are increasingly the airlines of choice for many travelers, so it's refreshing to meet a contrarian like blogger Rob Cockerham.

He spends his time looking for the most expensive First/Business-Class tickets and luxury flights, and posting the results on his web site, Cockeyed.com, like the British Airways flight from New York to Sydney (RT) for an eye-popping $ 30,678 bucks.

It's not that Cockerham actually books these flights, because he says for the $11,616 dollars he'd have to pay for a first class ticket from Sacramento, California to Johannesburg, South Africa, or the $26,909 dollars he'd pay from Sacramento to London and back, he could buy a car or boat or at least take maybe 40 trips, coach.

Even if he could afford it, he says he just wouldn’t do it. “It’s not worth it,” he adds.

CNN asked financial affairs reporter Clark Howard if anyone really pays these prices, and he said almost no one in First Class does. Typically First-Class travelers are actually upgrading from coach tickets or buying up with their frequent flyer miles.

But that's not completely true.

Farecompare.com's CEO, (btw, a cool site that alerts travelers immediately when ticket prices change) go up or down, Rick Seaney, says major corporations do pay these prices, if they have to, although they don't like it.
And of course the $16,202 dollar flight Cockerham found from San Francisco to London (RT) on Virgin Atlantic does have its perks, as do all the others.

These First-Class/Business Class tickets come with multi-course meals prepared by celebrity chefs, and are equipped with comfortable, luxury private sleepers. The service is exceptional, especially on high-value legacy airlines like Singapore and Emirates.

There's no question these kinds of prices and privileges give the lucky, luxury traveler immense bragging rights.
He or she could rent a private jet for the money, of course, but if you're gong to pay those kinds of bucks you might as well be seen doing it.