Mumbai, 1:50am ... The boarding is about to process. As an Elite member, I am allowed to board whenever I want. So I choose to board first (with old people, children, and other Elite members). Suddenly, they stop us from boarding and begin to call about 10 people. I am one of them. I ask the lady what is going on and she answers those magic words: "You've been upgraded to business class". Funny coincidence as we were talking about business and first class tickets the day before, and I was weening that I never traveled in anything else than economy ! And today, it happened !!!!! And I must say, there is a great difference between business and eco, especially for long flights (this one was 9h 15min).
Most of you have taken the plane before, in economy class, so you basically know how it works. Here is how it works for business people ... As soon as you board and before you begin taxi, they offer you a first glass of champaign, in a real glass ! Very very enjoyable. Then, you get a lot of room, a huge chair that you can adjust in any possible way by pushing one of the many available buttons. Like an idiot, I had to read the manual, but I finally managed. You also have a plug for you computer, so, if you want to work all night, you can. No need to carry 5 batteries with you :D. But let me describe the flight ...
I first played with the chair to find a comfortable position. Then, I saw my neighbor playing with a bag where he put his shoes to hang them up (actually, you can also give your coat, they can hang it up in some cupboard ... but I did not, I am a noob :-) ). It took me a little while to find the make-up pocket thing, which contains socks, toothpaste, cream, stuff to sleep, and so on ...). I removed my shoes and put the socks...
Then, we took off. Once in the sky, they came again with a new set of glasses filled with champaign, mmmmmm :-) I guess after that, I got to play with the screen for movies. Big surprise there too. First, the screen is much bigger (probably twice the size), then, the headphones have noise canceling, which is great 'cause you really get to enjoy your movie. Also, you can start any movie when you want and pause, rewind, etc ...
Concerning the noise, I forgot to mention that I got assigned the seat 3F, which is the third row in the plane !!! We were 14 people in our section, with something like 4 waiters at any time (but we had more passing by), and being in the very front of the plane is awesome 'cause you almost do not hear the reactors.
Then, we got food in a real plate, with real knifes and forks (2 of each kind), a table cloth and a real towel ... and improved food I guess, even if I probably would have preferred the usual regular one :-) Improved wine also ... well, I kept the menu :-)
About sleeping... Usually, I do not sleep in planes, mainly because it is not comfortable. But business chairs are comfortable. You can move each part of the chair at your convenience, without bothering the guy behind you, and end up almost like you were in your bed :D. So even if I had a great screen and sound, for once, I slept in the plane, and this was a wise thing to do as I had rather shorts nights whole week :-).
What else is there to say ? I guess that's pretty much it ! Very hard to come back to eco class (where I am right now while typing this post) after that ! Maybe I'll check the cost for a business ticket next time I have an over 8 hours flight :-) Or I just pray and hope to be upgraded :-))
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