Flying first class

I was in Chicago last week, my main purpose being to take the Foreign Service exam on June 24. More on that in an entry on this blog soon.

On my way to Chicago from Nairobi, I flew British Airways through London. That airline was generous to me and upgraded me on both flights to business class. So I enjoyed more legroom and a bigger seat that included a leg rest and foot rest. On the second leg to Chicago, a man wanted to trade seats with me so he could sit next to his wife, so I got his seat, which was a seat alone in that row and in front of the exit, so I gained even more foot room and privacy.

On my return trip, my first flight, from Chicago to London, was delayed three hours, which meant I was going to miss my tight connecting flight in London. (On that flight, I had to sit in ordinary coach.) So I was rebooked on a Virgin Atlantic flight, which meant a second overnight flight the next night and a longer layover in London – basically the afternoon. Well, it was well worth the delay in getting home and the extra time in London. If British Airways was generous to me, then Virgin was extremely generous – they upgraded me all the way to first class! I was in the very front section of the plane in seat 9K! What luxury! I had a great time sitting there. I don’t know what I had done to deserve this. Perhaps they knew I had gone through some trouble with my late flight, having to change airlines, and being delayed on my trip. Or perhaps it was because I wasn’t causing trouble at the check-in counter like one African man a few people ahead of me who was growing very impatient and slapping the counter and threatening the agent who was helping him, which prompted her to call the police and take him and his family off the flight he so desperately needed to get on.

I did get some final generosity from British Airways before their obligations to me ended. I had gotten a meal voucher to have dinner with in Chicago because of the delayed departure of my flight. And then because of my extended layover in London (which was their fault), I asked to have some more meal vouchers, and they gave me two of them for a total of GBP 15. So I had a lovely traditional Irish meal of steak pie, mashed potatoes and peas at an Irish pub for lunch, and I had time to get a generous snack later.

On my Virgin London-Nairobi flight I had a little compartment all to myself with a seat that had a wide range of reclining positions and a permanent footrest at the other end of the compartment. I was offered champagne (or another drink) as soon as I boarded and then had a glass of wine with potato chips as a pre-dinner drink. The wine (I had three choices in each of the red and white categories as well as for champagne) flowed freely throughout dinner, which was served on real china, with real glasses (and a choice of regular bottled water or an expensive sparkling kind) and real silverware. I had three choices for the starter and main dish of my meal and a couple of choices for dessert (in addition to the three cheese options). I enjoyed a movie during dinner on my large TV screen, and I listened with my deluxe headphones in stereo with a noise-canceling feature. Then my seat converted into a lie-flat bed, and I changed into the “sleep suit” I was offered (basically a light and soft sweat-suit type outfit with a top and bottom) and slept a bit under my warm and fluffy duvet. Before bed I was offered some goodies from a basket that was brought around – things like mints, shaving cream, hand lotion and lip balm. For breakfast, I had about a half-dozen choices and again was brought a meal on real china, including coffee made to order, i.e., with my cream already added for me, not given to me in some mass-produced plastic container (I discovered later that I could have ordered an espresso drink). So I had a lovely breakfast of fruit in a real bowl and a Danish.

Another bonus was that, because of my seat, I was the second one off the plane. One drawback of my upgrade was that I was in the back of this front second, right near the bar, where there were a couple of seats and a small space for people to stand and socialize, which people did after dinner. But I think someone asked them to be quiet because they wanted to sleep, so I wasn’t disturbed for long.

So that was my experience in traveling home, a small consolation, perhaps, for my trip which had not resulted in me getting what I had hoped for – a position with the U.S. Department of State. But these complimentary upgrades sure made it easier and nicer to take the journey on a couple of long-haul flights between Chicago and Nairobi.