There's a lot to catch up on. Holy! Might have to split this up into a few posts.
First off, let's talk about traveling in Business Class. I think I'm ruined for all future travel in economy class. I'm what you might call a "nervous flyer". I like to get to the airport early, get through security quickly (blegh), find my gate, and am the first one in line when they announce that boarding has started. I come by it honestly, and I'm going to share a little travel anecdote here, but it relates, I promise!
Whenever we traveled as a family, my Dad would ensure we were at the airport in plenty of time. Which is fine, and we could usually entertain ourselves by playing on moving sidewalks, people watching and reading. It became slightly more problematic when we traveled with our diabetic dog in the days of overbooking flights. We arrived in Toronto for our flight home to Calgary, probably 3 or 4 hours prior to departure (family, feel free to correct me). We checked in, headed to the gate, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, there were actual warm bodies at the gate and the pre-departure preparations were in full swing. The gate agents looked a little harried, and concerned. And then the announcements began...
"This flight has been overbooked. We are looking for people to give up their seats, and take the next flight home"
And then they got progressively more enticing... I think the first step was an offer of a $25 food voucher, which then increased in value. And the next step was flight vouchers, again they got progressively more valuable. And the cherry on top was an upgrade to first class. By this time, my parents had approached the counter, with our five tickets and a challenge.
"You can have our five seats on the plane, but you need to get our diabetic dog off the plane so that we can feed her and give her some insulin."
Challenge accepted. Dog fed, watered, walked and insulin-ed. We had a further five hours to wait, but had $150 each in flight vouchers, plus $50 or $75 each in food vouchers, and first class seats to show for it. So, that was my first taste of the mysterious first class cabin. It was great! I'm sure the people who paid for their seats were really pleased to share the cabin with us, but boy was it fun!
I completely understand the appeal of first class or business class. Once you arrive at the airport, you check in at your own counter, there's an express lane through security, executive lounge access, and priority boarding. And then, while the rest of the unwashed masses (lol, I joke) are boarding into economy (yuck), we are sipping champagne, with our feet up on our ottoman (which conveniently doubles as a guest seat), perusing our gourmet menu and investigating the in flight amenities goodie bag. I mean, come on! I was totally born to fly business class! But the perks don't stop there, folks! Not only are you first off the plane, but you're also in possession of an express pass through customs, and your luggage is the first to reach the carousel. I have pictures to share of all of this, but haven't gotten them off the phone yet... The people in business class are also interesting. It's good for people watching. One guy in particular was memorable, he had a satin blazer, sparkley red belt, and red reptile print leather boots. And bling galore.
Next up...
Evaluation visit vs. holiday. What's the difference?
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