Flying in business class is an aspiration for some people and I remember my first time fairly well. I decided to head off on a one year working holiday to Ireland and a oneworld around the world ticket was purchased.
It is very exciting to travel on your own across the world and doing it in business class made it that much more fun. As a self confessed avgeek, I looked forward to the flying almost as much as the trip itself.
My First Time
Being from Sydney, my first time was with Qantas on board a Boeing 747-400 from Sydney to Hong Kong. The flight departed around 1pm and I was first on board. Taking the stairs to the upper deck and sitting in the exit row window seat was excellent.
For some reason I did not write a report on that trip, but I did write an e-mail to friends and family back home. Here is the unedited portion of that e-mail about the flight.
“Pre-take off drinks, then more drinks, then a onion soup entree, then some kind of steak and vegetables – all served on my tray with white linen. Dessert was ice cream – and more drinks. The guy next to me was rolling his eyes at me because I was having trouble working out my seat and the video screen and everything.
Went and chatted to the flight attendants for a while, and listened to my iPod. I had a noodle snack, and then we landed. Good flight!”
How I wish I had a full photo report of the experience so I could share it with you here.
Thoughts On This Flight
It amuses me seeing this as I am clearly a creature of habit. I still like to board first and I still enjoy chatting with the cabin crew during the flight when they’re not busy. Regular readers will also note my habit of having a drink on board remains steady!
Throughout the whole flight I remember being astonished at how great everything was. The seat had a massage function and I thought that very comfortable. Since then I have never not known how to get out my PTV. The crew were fabulous and I couldn’t wait for my next flight.
Overall Thoughts
That ticket meant I got to sample Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas, Finnair and American Airlines, cementing my love affair with the oneworld alliance. Flying such good airlines resulted in my love for flying business class. Don’t get me wrong, I love flying in any class, but it’s so much more fun up front.
Do you remember your first time in business class? Was it an upgrade or did you pay for it? I’d love to hear your memories so feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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Featured image by Brian from Toronto, Canada via Wikimedia Commons.
ATL:MAN on a DL 767 in ’04, reclining seat with footrest. Wines were better back then, food about the same, but the seat was on par with today’s Premium Economy. No wifi and first generation IFE with ~10 movie choices and over-ear foam headphones (no noise cancelling).
Pretty decent length flight to have for your first time! I remember flying with no IFE – not nearly as much fun as it is today. The name of the game was a really thick book back then I found. Thanks for the comment!
JFK to Honolulu on Pan Am in 1988 – beef tenderloin carved to order!
You’re winning so far! I wish I had flown Pan Am 🙂
British Airways, Los Angeles to Rome and back.
Oh very nice, that sounds like it would have been a good flight!
yep remember mine too. lufthansa from frankfurt to malta
Excellent, they’re a good airline, I hear!