Study Tips

Cramming my 6 foot tall frame into a tiny seat by the window with my purse and laptop on the floor and my elbows jammed up against my sides is never a very comfortable way to get somewhere, even if I am excited about where I am going.  Like many students I often peer up to the first class section of the plane and see the wide seats, the free drinks and the relative ease and comfort of their journey.  I used to believe first class seats were for actors and rich businessmen but more and more I am seeing college students up there and I have to begin to wonder how in the world these students are getting cheap first class airline fares.

A little research was all I needed to find out where these cheap student airline fares were coming from.  Some colleges have their own travel agencies or deals with existing agencies to provide help for students taking holidays or trips abroad.  These agencies can book seats with discounts for students that allow them to lower to cost of the trip.  If the trip can in anyway be shown to be a necessary part of a class or lesson sought in the pursuit of the college degree, many airlines have student travel discounts to aid with that.  Contact your individual airline and find out what discounts they have for first class student travel.

Students can also get cheap first class fares by booking later. When you’re busying doing your job and working on your college degree it is sometimes hard to plan ahead and trips get taken without much notice. Many websites online serve the “fast travel” population by offering greatly reduced first class fares to seats on planes that haven’t sold yet and able to be sold more cheaply in order to fill the seat. The drawback may be the flight to where you want to go is full, so don’t wait too late to book those tickets if you really have your heart set on a certain flight.

Those big cushy first class seats with their own bathroom and dedicated flight attendant aren’t just for fat cats and old ladies anymore. Use the resources available to you and find yourself flying in style.

The best part of being a young college student pursuing a degree is the time you have between during breaks and summer to travel around and see the world. Once you get a job and family and life becomes blessed with both more joy and more responsibility, the time to travel is often limited and you have to ask the whole family where they want to go.  So my advice is, travel while you’re young and travel in style.  There are a number of ways you can take the trip of a lifetime as a student and still travel first class. 

First class student airfare is available from many airlines.  Use their website or contact and specialty travel agency and see what student or “blue passes” they have to offer that allow students a change to fly first class at a discounted airfare.  It’s a pretty good deal when realize a first class ticket can cost up to 5 times as much as a regular one. Some travel agencies that cater to college students also have tours and travel packages put together in advance that have first class student airfare as one of the benefits. Check your student activity center at your college to see which agencies offer that service.

Flexibility is not only the key to getting a college degree; it’s also a key in cheap first class student travel. Many airlines overbook their flights, particularly if the flight is a common one that has several flights throughout the day leaving from the same location.  If you listen to the announcements at the gate, they will ask for someone to give up their seat in return for a voucher for a first class upgraded seat on the next flight.   Most of the time it means waiting in the airport and hour or two longer, but sitting in the first class section may be worth the wait. It’s important to remember you can’t take this option if you have a connecting flight because it will set your whole time schedule off. But if you’re flexible, you can fly in the front with better food and more leg room.

Part of getting your college degree is memory making.  By finding some inexpensive first class student airfare you can make pleasant memories that last a lifetime.