Other articles by Scott Mccartney:

Gripes about airport security screening surge Airlines add delays into flight time Small jets flying nonstops are coming soon to Tucson In the bag; at least it better be Air carriers do battle for full fare

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Reinhold Alt arrived at the Frankfurt airport two hours early — because he wanted to.

Alt is hooked on Lufthansa's first-class terminal in Frankfurt, a separate facility where attendants greet you at the door and take you through speedy security and immigration checks. You can enjoy a bubble bath with a rubber ducky or have a smoke in a cigar room. And a few minutes before departure, you are driven to your airplane in your choice of a Mercedes or a Porsche for boarding up the staircase used by baggage handlers and pilots, bypassing the herds and hordes completely.

Lufthansa AG says that in the two years since the terminal opened, sales of first-class tickets are up more than 40 percent. In April, Air France started its own personalized first-class service, complete with delivery to the airplane in a car, at Paris Charles de Gaulle. First-class ticket prices have already risen.

"What has replaced Concorde? So far, nothing. But this comes close. This was an amazing experience," said Sylvain Ercoli, general manager of the luxury Hotel de Crillon in Paris, who recently flew to Osaka, Japan, on Air France.

There's a first-class frenzy going on among international airlines, from Middle Eastern carriers installing lavish closed-door suites in the front of planes to Virgin Atlantic's "Clubhouse" at London's Heathrow Airport, with a beauty salon, a cinema and a Jacuzzi. British Airways PLC plans to make its own mark by building five lounges for first-class and business-class customers in its giant new Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport, set to open next March.

The competition is particularly intense in Asia, where carriers have been longtime leaders in first-class luxury. In May, Qantas Airways opened new first-class lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, with spas, libraries and chair-side waiter service. Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong first-class lounge, called The Wing, includes a noodle bar, a library and a bath facility dubbed "the Cabanas."

U.S. airlines lag behind their overseas rivals, lacking the perks of many international rivals.