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Your question is (I think): why does (US) domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% as wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of difference. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

It's been pointed out that some carriers (e.g. AA) now offer certain domestic routes (LAX/SFO <-> JFK/EWR) with full reclining beds in first; however (as if to prove the point) these first class routes come at more of a premium than normal domestic first.

Your question is (I think): why does (US) domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% more wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of difference. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

It's been pointed out that some carriers (e.g. AA) now offer certain domestic routes (LAX/SFO <-> JFK/EWR) with full reclining beds in first; however (as if to prove the point) these first class routes come at more of a premium than normal domestic first.

Your question is (I think): why does (US) domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% as wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of different. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

It's been pointed out that some carriers (e.g. AA) now offer certain domestic routes (LAX/SFO <-> JFK/EWR) with full reclining beds in first; however (as if to prove the point) these first class routes come at more of a premium than normal domestic first.

Your question is (I think): why does (US) domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% as wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of difference. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

It's been pointed out that some carriers (e.g. AA) now offer certain domestic routes (LAX/SFO <-> JFK/EWR) with full reclining beds in first; however (as if to prove the point) these first class routes come at more of a premium than normal domestic first.

Your question is (I think): why does domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% as wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of different. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

Your question is (I think): why does (US) domestic first class exceed the cost of economy by 50%, whereas international first class is many times the cost of economy.

The answer to that is that the comparative services are vastly different. In (US) domestic first class you get a little more legroom, and a seat roughly 50% as wide. In international first class, you will often get far more than a fully reclining seat - a private bed is not unknown.

Comparing the plane's floor-plate take is a crude measure, but it would not surprise me if a first class seat took 10 times the amount of space as an economy seat on an international flight. Look at the floor plans here (image not copied for copyright reasons) and you can see the six seats in the back half of the first class cabin of a 747 take about the same space as 4 rows (40 seats) of economy. Calculating very crudely, that would explain an approximately 7 times difference in price.

Now look at a US domestic layout (here for example). You can see the 8 first class seats take only slightly more space than 12 economy seats. That would crudely explain a 50% difference in price.

In terms of flying experience, there is a world of different. LAX to NYC in first class is, well, slightly less uncomfortable than economy. However, NYC to LHR (roughly the same time) is luxurious in comparison.

Personal opinion: if economy class between domestic and international are roughly the same, domestic first is significantly worse than international business (somewhere between international premium economy and international business), and international first is way out in front in terms of travelling experience (if you have money to spend / burn). On one of the two occasions I've flown transatlantic BA first class (sadly over ten years ago), I was given as an unprompted gift a 200 GBP (then about $350) bottle of claret, simply because I'd had a few glasses on board and seemed to quite like it, and they weren't particularly busy; I am told the experience is now far better.

It's been pointed out that some carriers (e.g. AA) now offer certain domestic routes (LAX/SFO <-> JFK/EWR) with full reclining beds in first; however (as if to prove the point) these first class routes come at more of a premium than normal domestic first.