So, I was bumped up to first class on my flight tonight – for 45 whole minutes in the air from Minneapolis to Madison. In seat 1A – all by myself in the front of the plane. My view out the window was clear and it was a beautiful (but very cold) day, but my focus was on my reading material. The plane was relatively new, but my tray was in the pocket and it always seems a little creepy to pull it out of the arm rest – sort of sticky and not super sanitary. I managed to get it out but when I put it back in, it banged and clanged really loudly. I woke up a few people. Sorry!
My view of the plane – beige walls, blue carpet, magazine holder stuck on the wall. Maybe I’m the only person who doesn’t like to sit in row 1 – no place to put my carry-on bag. So I stuck my belongings in a total of three overhead bins – coat in one, suitcase in another and briefcase in another. Nothing to look at for entertainment.
Everyone looks past the first class passengers as they get on the plane – like we are actually from a different class than them and they should avert their eyes. Or maybe they wish they got to get on the plane first like we did. One little girl kept telling her Mommy – “that lady is in row ONE and she smiled at me”. She walked by and was very excited that I said hello. Her mom never looked down as she hurried toward their seats.
Some airlines don’t have first class seats – that’s kind of nice in a very diplomatic way, however the airlines can make more money by making some of their seats special. So why not? What if restaurants had special seating areas? Maybe a special view or a quiet corner or better service. What if malls had special shopping areas? Macy’s has their special clothing area – “The Oval Room” or something like that. You can get better service when you spend so much money on your clothes. You can pay a personal shopper or a stylist to help you select the clothes that are right for you. So why not have First Class airline seats?
I’m in the minority when I say put me in Row 10 and give me a window seat on any flight under 3 hours and an aisle otherwise. But I like to people watch and you can’t do it from Row 1.
Hi Mary, I'm so sorry that you have to sit in first class ;)
ReplyDeleteI think back in the day, first class was nice, and they aimed to get nicer with the personal screens and the delicious 5 star meals. These days, it's not as exciting. I've never sat in first class, but it would be nice to have a completely different design (carpet, chairs, non-sticky table, lighting) than the rest of the plane. It does seem like the redesign of the plane interiors stopped in the 80s, and now we're stuck with the triangles and new wave Max Headroom designs.
I've never sat in first class either, but I find it slightly funny that you have your specific preferences for flying (which I'm sure a lot of people do, including me). It's hard to explain to my mom when she's trying to find me tickets that I like an aisle seat near the front because that way I can get on and off more quickly and there will still be space in the overhead bins and I like stretching my legs out into the aisle and having some breathing room. Every plane is the same, yet we each have our own preferences as to how we want to experience that vessel, each try to make it our own.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to figure out how to rig a mirror and a camera so that you can people watch and take pictures documenting people's movements in the cabin space behind you when you are sitting in the first row of first class. Important: THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING. Voyeurism could be an important criteria to the design of this. Anyone want to help with making this device?
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