upper class

US Education of or relating to the junior or senior classes of a college or high school

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

upper class

the topmost class in any society. In modern British society this class can be said to consist of:

a core of around 25,000 individuals who exercise strategic control over the economy (Scott, 1982);
a wider group of individuals and families owning considerable, usually inherited, wealth, and distinguished by a distinctive lifestyle.

Since the numbers of individuals involved is relatively small, networks of relationships (e.g. public-school education, upper-class leisure pursuits) play an important part in sustaining the distinctive lifestyle and high social status, as well as the economic and political power, enjoyed by the upper-class. Persons whose family origins are upper-class are also prominent in élite professions, such as the administrative class of the civil service, the judiciary, and the upper echelons of the military, positions which may be seen as upper-class in their own right.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

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References in periodicals archive

Upper class has access to excellent health facilities, state of the art hospitals and top health professionals while lower class is forced to die without treatment and medicines.

Rising hatred among upper and lower class

New features of the cabin include new Upper Class seats, more overhead locker space, and the latest touchscreen technology in each suite.

Virgin Atlantic showcases A330 Upper Class cabin

Virgin Atlantic's new solution replaces an existing process for serving passengers traveling in the Upper Class Wing, the airline's premium entrance at Heathrow dedicated to Upper Class passengers.

Virgin Atlantic To Use Wearable Technology To Serve Passengers

As soon as the Upper Class passengers step out of their chauffeured limousine at Heathrow's T3 and are greeted by name, Virgin Atlantic staff wearing the technology would begin their check-in process.

Virgin Atlantic becomes first airline to use 'wearable technology' to serve passengers

It may be that proportionally the upper class lost more sons than the working class, but their survivors returned to a life of luxury while the working class "Tommy" went back to grinding poverty.

Dan Snow's piece of revisionist [...]; Letters

-Virgin offers Upper Class ground service to all

New York, NY, October 05, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Travelers who want to whisk from New York City's JFK airport to London's Heathrow can now fly in luxurious style, now that online travel agent MyReviewsNow.net's affiliate partner VirginAtlantic.com is offering a fantastic limited time sale on upper class airline tickets.

Online Travel Agent MyReviewsNow.net Spotlights VirginAtlantic.com Upper Class Airline Tickets Sale

Well, the race to win the favours of business class passengers took another turn on April 21 as Virgin Atlantic introduced its all-new Upper Class cabin and airborne bar.

The new upper class: the transatlantic battle for business-class passengers just got hotter with Virgin launching its new [pounds sterling] 100 million Upper Class cabin. Tom Allett reports

The upper class has a higher propensity for unethical behavior, being more likely to believe that "greed is good," according to a new study.

Who cheats more: the lower classes or the upper classes?

The shade is called 'Upper Class Red,' a moniker which makes you wonder whether airlines will ever let go of the elitist lenses through which they seem to look at the world.

Virgin Atlantic launches Lipstick

Virgin Atlantic introduces new [pounds sterling]100 million Upper Class cabin Virgin Atlantic Airways has introduced a new Upper Class cabin that is part of its [pounds sterling]100 million redesign of the Upper Class product.

Inside Air Travel