Who is the typical first class airline passenger? Specifically...

...what percentage pay full first class fare from own funds?
...what percentage have full first class fare paid by a sponsoring
entity (e.g.,employer or other source)?
...what percentage are seated in first class because they have paid
for an upgrade on a ticket purchased by a sponsoring entity?
...what percentage are seated in first class because they have
upgraded a ticket they'd paid for with own funds?
...what percentage are seated in first class paid for entirely with
frequent flyer points?
...do these stats differ significantly between domestic and
international first class passengers?

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 05 Oct 2003 13:00 PDT

Pundit Bill Buckley recently wrote the following illuminating piece
about first class air travel, though it doesn't answer my questions:

http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley091203.asp

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 05 Oct 2003 13:02 PDT

Ooops, it was business class that Buckley wrote about.

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 07 Oct 2003 07:51 PDT

Does this question remain uncommented upon by researchers because of the bid price?

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 07 Oct 2003 09:03 PDT

It's not just the price, though that is a major factor. The other
major factor is the difficulty of the question. I myself have tried to
look for any research relating to your questions, but I meet dead
ends. Perhaps no one has bothered to keep tabs yet on the statistics
or aspects you ask about here about the typical first class airline
passenger. All the airlines are concerned with is that the customers
pay, I guess. ;)

I looked at your question with interest.  However, unless one finds a
single web site or search query that provides the answers to your
question, one is essentially researching at least three questions
(personal vs. sponsored, full fare vs. upgrade, and frequent flyer).

As a researcher, I consider my odds of finding the requested
information within a timeframe that coincides with the bid price.  For
$10 questions, I look for it to be either a single question or a
question where my prior knowledge lends itself to the answer.

One thing to consider.  Researchers are only supposed to post answers
when a question is answered completely.  Therefore, if a question has
multiple parts or requirements, it increases the risk that research
will lead to a partial rather than to a complete answer.  Since
partial answers are frowned upon, a researcher may shy away from
investing time into questions they may not be able to answer
completely.

In any event, I thought I would share these considerations with you in
response to you clarification request.

Thanks for your comments. I, too, had searched the web for answers to
these questions (as I always do) before posting them here. I doubt
that such statistics are available online. Am therefore closing the
question.