Flying First Class

Flying first class isn't all its cracked up to be.

I've flown nearly 28k on Alaska and its partner airlines this year and recently qualified for MVP status. With this comes the opportunity to be upgraded to first class.

On my recent trip to the desert Alaska gave me my first First class experience.

The advantages to MVP and first class:

1) Faster through the lines. This means all the lines. Checking my bag, security, and boarding the plane.

2) No baggage fees.

3) First to board.

4) Obviously wider seats.

5) The bathroom is closer and has less traffic.

6) A flight attendant that gives you lots of attention, drinks and food.

Now, the disadvantages.

1) While bigger, I didn't find the seats to be anymore comfortable.

2) You wouldn't think the divider between first and coach is really significant but it makes you feel like you're in a small room. Passengers in this room however, don't seem to have the same courtesy as in coach. They forget their voices carry and seem to think its totally fine to engage in conversations at full volume. Similarly, movements like tapping your foot, travel through the floor more obviously than in coach.

3) The flight attendants in the front of the plane have stuff to do so they never turn all the lights out and its hard to sleep with them moving around.

4) Getting off the plane first doesn't mean you won't have to wait for your luggage...for a long ass time.

5) The jackass next to me that thinks its okay to put his loafers on the bulkhead wall.

More fun on my flight, I saw a person get kicked off a plane for the first time. I have no idea why she was kicked off but she was not happy. Since I was two rows from the door I got to hear her yelling in the jetway.

Second, another woman mistook Alaska for Horizon. Horizon offers an ala carte service for their smaller planes that don't actually have internal space for roller bags. You bring your one free carry-on to the plane but then leave it in the jetway to have it immediately stowed. No grubby hands potentially digging in your suitcase.

Anyway, this woman just dropped her bag at the door and boarded. She was very angry when the attendants told her she'd have to get her bag at the carousel when we landed. In my opinion, SHE should've been the one kicked off.

As a frequent flyer I see people do a lot of annoying stuff. Like those who think that one suitcase and a personal item means a purse the size of a small child. Or the people who refuse to put their laptop or other small bag under the seat so there is plenty of room for suitcases. Also fun, the people who think their suitcase is special and ignore the dozens of signs that say "wheels down, facing you" and stuff their suitcase in sideways taking up a space and a half.

I also get to do some awesome people watching and see a lot of funny stuff. Like the woman in capris, flip flops, and pantyhose. Or the guy that was dressed up like a Pokemon.

I'm headed home this morning and got bumped up to first class again. The foot tapping woman from my first flight is back. Also a couple who has been super loud already. We'll see if my opinion of first class improves.

What kind of traveling experiences do you have?

Age is Just a Number?

The airport is boring.  Really, really boring. It is however entertaining to watch people. Some people quietly wait, reading their books, newspapers, and magazines. Others work dutifully on their laptops, tapping away on documents, emails and spreadsheets. A few chatter obnoxiously on their cell phones oblivious to others around them. Then there are those putting up that "leave me alone" signal with their earbuds in, jamming to music or playing games on one electronic device or another. Finally, there are those traveling with children.

I don't know how many times the average traveler flies in a year, but I have flown at least 30 segments this year. I'm looking at another four for certain before December. I'll actually hit MVP with my main airline very shortly. So, I spend a fair amount of time in airports. I can tell you with authority that you are constantly reminded not to leave your bags unattended. Even without TSA's multiple reminders, I wouldn't leave my stuff sitting anywhere anyway. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to replace my laptop if someone decides to relieve me of it while I'm off grabbing a coffee or using the bathroom.

Since I feel so strongly about my laptop and cell phone it disturbs me to see people leave their CHILDREN unattended. Not older children (although they also can be vulnerable), but anyone under the age of twelve. As I write this, I'm killing time in Sky Harbor International in Phoenix, Arizona. Since the flight isn't for two hours the gate area only has a dozen or so people in it.  There is a woman near me and apparently her smallest child needed the bathroom.  She asks the older girl to stay with the bag while she takes the younger girl to the bathroom.  This woman has one small duffel bag.  Just one.  No carry-ons, no stroller, no backpacks full of stuffed animals and entertainment for the airplane. Nope, just one small duffel bag.

Now, I've used airport bathrooms loaded down with a carry-on suit case, my laptop backpack, a coffee drink, and my jacket.  You do some juggling, but it is perfectly manageable and better than the alternative of losing your stuff. Regardless, this woman thought it was a better idea to leave this small girl ALONE in the airport, than pick up her bag and take both girls with her to the restroom.

After the woman left, I gathered my stuff up, went down the terminal a few feet and grabbed some food.  It probably took me about eight minutes. I returned to the same seat and noticed there was now a little boy playing at a nearby table and a man sitting a few chairs away from him. I assumed they were together, but the man wasn't paying much attention to the boy so I wasn't sure.  There were no other adults in the near vicinity.  The little girl smiled at me as I pulled out a slice of pizza and I asked her how old she was. Nine, was her response. Her mother (perhaps Grandmother) had left her alone. In an airport. At age nine.

Now, I fully recognize that at age nine I was riding my bike around my neighborhood and walking to my friends' houses. However, I really feel this is a different time and I don't know about you, but my children are irreplaceable.

The girl has now decided that she needs the bathroom. She starts to walk off but returns to do what? To talk to the little boy at the table.  This is apparently her brother. Oh. My. God! This woman didn't leave ONE child alone in the airport, she left TWO.  The boy is clearly younger than the girl. I'll guess he is seven. Older sister tasks HIM with the job of watching the single duffle bag, while she skips off down the terminal.

Eventually, the girl returns and not too long later the woman and the youngest girl return so there is a happy ending to this story.  This time.

How many of you have experienced that near heart stopping panic when you turn around and your child has DISAPPEARED? Standing right next to you one moment, and absolutely gone the next. They're sneaky little devils. I, for one, don't want my children to be scared of the world, but I do want them to be aware. Of course, I've preached Stranger Danger. It's foolish to think that alone will protect them. Children are, in my opinion, inherently trusting. It is our job as adults to keep them safe and not put them in situations where they need to be fearful and distrusting.

It's hard to find the balance between letting them stretch their wings and keeping them safe.  I've heard it likened to a spring.  If you hold it tightly in your hand, eventually you'll grow tired and it will spring out and fly crazy.  But if you slowly and gently release the spring, it'll stand steady where you place it.  I hope I'm striking the right balance with my own children.

What do you think? How old is old enough to be unsupervised? Would you leave your small children unsupervised at the airport? Playground? At home? I'm curious to know.