I had a hip replacement in August. That whole going bionic thing I mentioned before. One of the issues faced with age and joint replacement is blood clots, and flying is no friend of the affliction.
So this trip, at least on the long flights I splurged for business class. Not ‘first class’ because for that price I should have a private plane and royal butt wiper, but business class, or in this case ‘delta one’ seemed a good choice.
I am still not entirely clear on the difference, or if there is really a difference between Business and First on this flight, but I paid less, so I am satisfied. It appears all the cubes in the area are the same, unless there is a private lounge in the baggage area I did not notice. Or maybe those who paid more have massaging beds and a private bathroom suite somewhere. I may never know.
In the end everyone gets on; the plane goes; and everyone gets off if you have a royal butt wiper or are cozying up with the baggage. The price range from top to bottom is significant, which causes pause and concern about what could possibly make it worth paying that much more.
Here’s my experience
Essentially instead of a seat, I have a cubical on this flight. My previous business or first class experiences involved a wider chair and more leg room. Depending on the flight a better meal and the chance to get on or off first. Some even had complementary alcohol, headphones and to place my age in the centuries, a stone tablet and chisel to record your deepest thoughts. Entirely impractical given the weight issues involved with flying.
My cube has one of those bigger seats, but it is a recliner that reclines into a bed. I have a personal storage area, flat screen tv, head phones, universal plug in and USB plug in power. They call it Feature lighting, but it is more akin to mood lighting in my opinion, and I have my own private window without the hassle of someone sitting next to me. Essentially, this cube would replace 4 economy, perhaps 2 business class seats.
Again, is it worth it?
Okay, not going to lie. The beds are not comfortable even with the extra padding and Coz-z-z comforter made from plastic bottles to make me feel better about recycling or something. Plastic bottles do not appeal to me at all as a garment nor bedding choice, but the comforter does feel softer and less crunchy than I expected.
However, I have a private cubical, power, table, and television. I can close the door and shut the other people out. I had a 3 year old in front of me, a 2 year old next to that and I did not even notice.
Addendum: about 10 hours into the flight one started to scream, and I promise you even the cargo below the plane noticed. Overall remarkably well behaved children given the circumstances, and through a 15 hour flight, the fact I only noticed them for 20 minutes is amazing. But those 20 minutes were painful.
Which brings up an interesting point. As remarkable as these kids are, these cubes sit one. Mom was not in the next seat to comfort and console; she was in the next cube, and she was managing several children in several cubes. So this is not the ideal situation for kids who need support of any kind. The poor woman was moving from cube to cube and the flight attendants were stellar in their support, but a 4 seat bench where they could be easier to reach would be a better choice when traveling with children.
One sage piece of advice I will offer if you choose to fly in the cubes. Don’t eat for a week before you leave.
Since boarding and only 5 hours into the 15 hour flight, I have eaten more than I did last week. Poached shrimp appetizer, soup, salad, roll, Roasted chicken breast, broccoli, mashed potatoes and gravy… and ice cream sundae for desert. I was offered port with my dessert and mimosas when I borded. Mixed nuts, warmed no less, and they just came around with snacks. Not the official snacks which are listed as choice of cheeseburger with fruit and cookie or a similar Korean offering dumpling thing. These are the ‘light bites’ the people slumming in the back are paying for.
But wait, there’s more. Before we land, there is another meal. Quiche, French Toast or Somen noodles. That is on top of the buffet in the sky lounge and all of whatever you want to drink.
All on real plates, with cloth napkins and sturdy utensils served by the friendly sky flight attendants supervised by the first class purser. Yes, she introduced herself as purser and all I could think after that was “Gopher.” You must be over 50 to understand that reference. Little miffed Gopher brought real knives with my food but I cannot bring a pocket knife in carry on luggage, but that is different discussion.
Korean Air business class has different pods. They are not doublewide as Delta’s are, but they are longer, or at least feel like it. The pod does not have a door, so anyone walking by can watch you drool as you sleep, but they could on Delta too if they were over 4 foot tall.
I’d give the Korean Air chairs the win for comfort, but I was also only in them for 5 hours instead of 15.
And there was another meal. I have not landed anywhere yet and I had 4 four course meals with snacks and drinks between. I don’t eat that much in a month. I might not need to eat for the rest of the trip.
Correction. I did stop at Starbucks in Seoul while waiting for my next flight. Did not want it; did not want to spend the money and have no idea how much I spent since I did not bother to practice conversions in my head as I was only going to be at the airport for an hour. But I did need the caffeine jolt of I would still be deep in a food coma on the airport floor.
Ended up in a food coma on the plane, but at least I was headed in the right direction and did not miss the flight.
Some other highlights of the friendly skies.
Leo and I took off together. His first flight as far as I know. I don’t know where Beenie babies are made nor how they are shipped, so he might have been an international traveler before I got him.
I was awake and watching flight aware on the tv screen so noted when we were about to fly over Mt. Fuji. I had not seen Mt. Fuji in 30 years, so I took some pictures.
I asked for and received Delta wings. You know those plastic wings they give the kids? They still do that, and now they have trading cards the pilots give out. They are apparently valuable and sold online for healthy sums. Korean Air does not have wings, or if they do, they do not give them to adults who ask.
Would I do it again? Fly business instead of economy? Heck yeah.
Would I do it on flights 3 hours or less? Probably not. Only because cost does matter, and I can sit with the baggage for an hour or two. I don’t want to, but I also enjoy keeping my money.
Like I said, we are all on the same plane, headed in the same direction. If I had my way, I would have a private jet, but beyond that, my limits are how long can sit in a cramped space. For this adventure, anything over 4 hours I moved to Business or equivalent. Because I need comfort in this journey, most of which is at home in my chair.
Bring on the food coma. I will happily suffer.
