One of my passions is traveling. When I was younger I had an overambitious desire to travel to every country. I soon realized that this was not possible. Countries sometimes fade from wars or politics. As a result my goal switched. I now want to go to every continent. I have visited quite a few. Australia was wonderful, if I had the opportunity I would love to live there for a bit.

Now I don’t travel a lot, but I do fly a decent amount of time. I do not travel weekly to new destinations, if I had the money I would do that in a heartbeat. However, since I’m not from Montana I have to fly to get back home. Generally I fly home for the breaks. Due to this I am pretty low ranked in United. I never get upgraded to first class. Only once I did, and I feel like it was a flux. The entire plane trip I was wondering if someone would come up to me and yell at me. “GET OFF COMMONER! YOU DON’T BELONG HERE.” However it never happened. I have a system with coach. I usually go for the aisle and as close to the front as possible. That way I get a bit of leg room and drinks first. I always fall asleep right when the plane goes up. Then by the time I wake up there is usually only an hour more to travel.

What came as a surprise was that my flight back from home was the price. I booked a pretty late flight for Bozeman with my points. I sent the schedule to my dad and he called me back. He told me that he found the same flight, except with the same amount of points I could fly first class. Thus began a whirlwind of activities. I called United and went through a series of hoops to cancel my flight and book this other flight with the same points. Then I got my ticket. I was in the first group boarding and was seated in seat 2C and seat 4D for my other flight.

The first thing I noticed was the leg room. I could sprawl. I had so much space. Usually my knees are scrunched up as I count the minutes until arrival. I had so much space. I had a solid foot of extra knee space. Additionally the seats were larger. Usually I fit just right, my 5’8 body has enough space to sit down. I could see an taller or bigger person would struggle to find these comfortable. The seats were leather and large. Instead of a tray that folds down from behind the chair in front, there was a pull out tray from the chair’s arm rest.

Before boarding I was asked for a pre-departure drink. Additionally whenever I wanted a drink, in a glass of course, I received the whole can. While travelling I was offered a warm towel to wipe down my hands. Similar to the ones after you have a nice plate of ribs. I was then given warm arrangement of nuts and then a meal! A yummy meal. I had a Tikka Masala chicken. It came with a roll, a yucky salad, and a cookie. The cookie and the rice was my favorite part. The rice was surprisingly cooked well and the cookie was warm and the chips oozed. I noticed that the older patrons on first got free red or white wine with dinner and could ask for those tiny bottles for free.

When I touched down I felt truly blessed and spoiled. I walked briskly to my connection and after a couple of minutes handed them my boarding group 1 boarding pass. I whizzed by the others waiting in boarding group 1 or 2 and then after putting my stuff away sat down. This time the plane was newer so the amenities were even better. The seats were made from a dark leather and I felt oh-so-special as I read from my magazine as the other passengers tromped down to their spots. To my surprise and delight no one was sitting next to me on this trip. So I got to sprawl even more. I was so excited I couldn’t fall asleep and I watched with anticipation as the stewardess asked for our pre-departure drinks. This time there was no meal, but I was able to get two cans of ginger ale. How ironic that I felt special because someone gave me two cans of ginger ale instead of a cup. It says something that even such tiny amenities could improve the outlook of a plane trip.