I never travel business or first class. Never. But I’m going to Bali – and it’s 35 hours of travel there – and 25 hours back. Total – 60 hours.
That’s a lot of flight time for one little lady travelling alone. So when I booked my tickets – I looked at something I never even think of looking at – the difference in price between economy and business class. It was $1000. Round Trip. They were having a huge sale.
So $1000 for 60 hours is $16.67. What could they give me to be worth $16.67 an hour? Well it turns out that they are going to give me a bed. A bed. And not just one bed – two beds each way. And that’s not all – buy now and we’ll give you nicer food, a bigger seat, friendlier more personalized service, 2 bags free, priority access to the check-in counter, and guarenteed seats (which it turns out is not so guarenteed actually).
How could a bargain hunting senior possibly resist such an offer.
So – here I am – sitting in the Air France lounge in the Montral airport – snacking on their delicious food – fine cheese, proper nut bread, quiches, salad, biscotti (oh – I love biscotti), chocolates from Italy, unlimited drinks from canned Perrier to bottle water to wine and beer – although I’m not going to imbide any of the alcoholic suggestions – I know from previous flying experience that’s not a good plan.
They just announced that my flight is on time – but not to worry – when it’s time for us to board, they will make another announcement – meanwhile just relax and enjoy the lounge.
Oh man – I’m relaxing – and enjoying – and getting another biscotti!
About that guaranteed seating – I booked back in the spring of 2014 – and at the time I used Seat Guru.com – great site – to pick out the very best seats. I’m not a fan of bulkhead seats – I need something under my short legs to keep my feet flat – and I definitely don’t want to be near the toilets – or the gallery. So I carefully picked window seats that would be perfect.
Imagine my surprise to discover when I checked in yesterday that Air France had switched planes on me (not a bad thing – I’m getting their brand new upgraded business class experience) – but because I booked early – they gave me consistently bulk head seats! And naturally – there are not nearly as many options now as there where when I booked. So for the seriously long leg of this journey – the flight from Paris to Singapore – I’m in a middle row – no window. But in the image – it looks like one of the privacy booths – I’ll let you know as soon as I know.
Oh – my flight plans – Montreal to Paris – 8 hours in Paris (asleep – I can’t sleep on airplanes), then Paris to Singapore, then Singapore to Bali. Return trip is the reverse – without the long stay in Paris.
Can’t wait to turn to the left – Signing off so she’s really ready to enjoy this brand new adventure – The Soup Lady
Musings and Mutterings of a Montreal Madame 
Are you really traveling alone!!!! I thought you had a friend traveling these distance with you!!!
I’m meeting a friend at my destination in Bali – but from Montreal to Bali – I’m on my own. Plus my diving trip is going to be a solo adventure as well. Going bravely forward – with time set on every alarm clock in my possession! Leslie
We flew first class, using our frequent flyer bazillion miles, whcih we were saving for just such an occasion. This means we had seats that turned into beds, plush sleeping pillow, duvet, toiletry bag, a menu with options on a four course meal served slowly, one course at a time, restaurant style, our own media center with TV, free movies of any kind, all types of music, video games, etc. Warm gourmet chocolate chips cookie snack.Basically, there was not enough time to do everything during the flight. I included sleep in my choices. Don didn’t. But even if you don’t sleep, the simple joy of being able to spend a long flight with your legs stretched out comfortably in your sleeper seat which, by the way, has chair massage options, is heavenly. It’s a joy that almost overshadows the actual foreign country visiting experience. Almost. And my fear of flying? Pffft! Gone. You can’t be fearful when you are in a deep sleep when bumping into air pockets. Plus, with all these pleasures, time went by so, so quickly that we were kinda sad when we arrived in Rome! I mean, this has been THE best flight experience in my 34 years of travel, from Saudi Arabia, to Hawaii, to Europe, to Morocco, etc.