180 degrees of first class
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Conflict resolution, Travel
I hurt my back. My physio said not to sit. I was about to board a long-haul, international flight to Brazil.
Not a good combo. So, for the first time, I upgraded to first class.
Who are the predominant first class fliers? It feels silly even to ask the question. Business folk of course. And what do business folk want? To arrive feeling rested (e.g. to be able to sleep lying down) and to be able to work (e.g. to be able to plug in).
I wanted the same, though for different reasons this time.
To be able to lie down, so my back wouldn’t feel like it was being ripped in two. And to plug in … my heating pad and apply to said back.
There was a plug in my seat. It was of some very odd configuration, available only on this particular airline. The pragmatist in me said ‘nah’. I had the attendant heat up a rice filled bag I’d also brought (in case I found myself sans plug). Besides not having a microwave, which meant she had to heat it in an oven, which meant the tags got burned to bits, it worked.
After finagling with the electronic buttons I got my seat to go back … about 135 degrees. And my feet to go up about the same. There was tons of room. It felt more spacious than my closet of a bedroom (literally, it was a storage closet) during 3rd year university. However my head and feet weren’t occupying the same level. I felt like I was sleeping on a toboggan heading downhill.
45 degrees makes a big difference.
So does having a plug.
I don’t get why the airline wouldn’t offer business class passengers these basic necessities.
The divine vanilla ice cream sundae, with my choice of toppings, almost made up for it.
And yes, I’m now in Brazil. More about that, and finding normal, in the next post.
Tags: airplane, back pain, brazil, business class, first class, flight
March 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am
This is a great post, I stumbled across your story while looking for music videos. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be sure to return regularly.