Member-only story
First Class for the First Time!
Was it Cheap? Nope. Was it Fun? Absolutely.
My sister and I impulsively decided to upgrade to first class on a recent trip from Philadelphia to Chicago. When we logged on to print out our boarding passes and learned that first class would be just $75 extra, my sister said, “Let’s go for it!“
It was a splurge for a two-hour flight, but in 5 decades of flying, I’d never flown first class, and I‘d always been curious. How different could it be?
It’s certainly different when you board. No standing around, clutching your carry-on and jockeying for position with your fellow passengers, waiting for your zone to be called. Instead, the moment boarding begins you and a small group of other privileged passengers stroll onto the plane and settle into large, comfy seats with ample leg room.
There’s a pillow and a neatly folded plastic-wrapped blanket on every seat. Not to mention scads of space in the overhead bin. There‘s even a special place to hang your coat.
“Here we are, as usual, in first class,” I remarked loudly as we settled in.
“You’ll be surrounded by celebrities,“ one friend had predicted. “Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift can afford private jets, of course. But you‘ll probably be flying with a local newscaster, and a Phillie or…
