Flying in style!

20 April 2003 ~ 12:06

However, on this particular day, things took on an unusual twist. When we got to the gate, there was an extra security check and some people were taking off their shoes and getting their baggage searched. Although Mark stood by waiting for his check, they waved him on with the comment, �just keep going unless we pull you aside,� so he did and I followed. When we handed over our boarding passes, the girl wrote a new seat number on them and told us, �you�ve been upgraded to upper class today.� I don�t think Mark realised this because she made the comment to me. It was only when I told him, �hey, we�re really in luck today!�, that it sunk in.

The airline we flew with, Virgin Atlantic, had made wonderful provisions for those lucky enough to be travelling upper class. As soon as we boarded the plane and settled down in the huge seats, a stewardess approached us to offer us a glass of champagne or Buck�s Fizz; I took the Buck�s Fizz and Mark had the champagne. We were then approached by the airline masseuse to let us know she was hoping to provide us with our choice of several massages, mostly involving the head, back, shoulders or hands, depending on the time available. Mark muttered under his breath, �what, no naked full-body massage?� and I think that�s why he never got his! (They gave him a priority card to use next time, should we be so lucky.)

We soon found out that the chairs we were sitting in had a button that you could press that extended them to a practically horizontal position, which was most comfortable. We also had much bigger pillows than usual, and small duvets rather than blankets. There were complimentary Space NK toiletry bags in the pouches dug into the seats in front. These contained toothpaste and toothbrush, clothes brush, shampoo and conditioner, handkerchief, mints, earplugs, socks, a pen, an eye mask, bubble bath, all of these contained in a lovely red faux-leather case. In addition, there were also free bottles of water in the same seat pouch.

In upper class, instead of getting a tray of typical airline food, you choose from a menu and you can eat and have a glass of wine any time you like. Mark took advantage of this by having four glasses of Chilean red wine and a can of Miller beer. Nuts, crisps and chocolates were frequently offered and there was a small bar with stools where you could sit if you got fed up with your chair. For dinner, we had bread rolls with butter, selected cheeses, Mark had salmon fishcakes, I had savoury cheesecake with roasted vegetables, and vanilla ice cream with crushed Dime bar toppings; all this food was delicious. I had my massage about two hours before landing.

It was wonderful to sample a taste of the jet-set lifestyle. I�m sure the seats, had we paid for them, would�ve cost over �1,000 each � we paid just �300. If we could afford it, we�d certainly fly upper class every time. The return trip to London is going to be like going from living in a stately home to living in a fisherman�s hut!


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