Sunday, December 05, 2010

Too Blue

Delta Business Exec Seat
The plane we're taking to Sydney is a Boeing 777 200 LR. The flight is non-stop, 14 hours 35 minutes long: LR stands for "long range". As usual, we've used hard earned miles to upgrade, in this case to "business exec" where you are given a little suitelet.  The seats lie flat for sleeping and you have the pleasure of privacy in your assigned space where presumably you can do whatever you want (within reason).

Obviously this is not a very companionable setup and Richard and I will have to pop up over the wall or peek around the sides to visit. The benefits of this arrangement for the frequent business flyer are countless; for the recreational flyer, I wonder. 

Is it just me, or does this look a bit like a dental cubicle? Will Steve Martin wielding a lethal looking drill suddenly appear on the scene? A bit of pattern or another color might have softened the Telletubbie interior scheme a bit: it's so blue that it makes me nervous.  I'm going to take a very large non-blue scarf in my carry-on for decorating my space by flinging it here and there. 

To kill the time, I plan to watch at least one bad movie (2 hours), get 6 hours of Ambien induced sleep  leaving a lovely 6 hour stretch for reading ("Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann and "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand) and consuming the three or four meals they will no doubt serve. Richard will amuse himself catching up on his back issues of Foreign Affairs, dipping into and out of the Le Carre novels he's packing; we'll both read "Unbroken".

In Sydney we'll have lunch or dinner with Frances Hazel our Thai friend and perhaps her two parental units if they choose to come along. Sometimes they just drop her off. Those Aussies.



 

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:03 AM

    As I was reading your description of the airline seats - it reminded me of my diary posting about the seats on the train to san diego on our girl scout outing. Will things never change? Are we seat obsessed?
    Actually it will seem kind of weird that you and Richard won't be sitting together. They definitely didn't design those seats for couples.
    It's like when we make hotel reservations and I always ask for 2 beds (a double double) and most hotels look at me like I'm nuts. Then I always have to say "but I don't want to sleep with my sister" then they really look at me like i'm nuts. You'd think there would be lots of women traveling together that don't want to sleep together. But I guess hotels don't get that message. And it looks like airlines don't either.
    Have a great trip and a very Merry Christmas. Hope we can get together as soon as you get back so we can hear all about your travels.
    Nancy

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  2. Yes, you would think hotels would be aware of that kind of request. Once on a family trip in
    Europe - several family and kids - Richard had to sleep in the same bed as his brother. They've never stopped talking about the horror of it. Happy Holidays.

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