Monday 18 July 2011

In which I show my true colours whilst travelling on a budget airline

On a budget flight between the Netherlands and the UK today, my experience of a week or so ago was put firmly behind me. The lovely lady checking passengers in at the gate sent the Boys and I to a special boarding queue reserved for parents travelling with small children, and we were allowed to follow the priority boarders onto the plane before the main bulk of the passengers were released onto the tarmac to tussle for their seats. A far cry from my having to beg an unwilling passenger for the chance to sit next to my own children on the outbound flight, thank heavens.

As a result, today we sat in only the second row from the front, directly behind a rather over-excited mother and daughter who were keen to tell everyone else around them that this was the first time they had sat right at the front of the plane.

They were from the U.S. and I think this was their first experience of budget air travel in Europe, hence their rather optimistic request that the little girl be allowed to go into the cockpit to have a photograph taken with the pilot (some hope). Halfway through the short flight, Boy #2 overheard the mother telling her daughter that essentially they were sitting in First Class on this plane. Since we had spent the last week travelling through Holland by train, taking advantage of a summer offer to travel 1st class for less than the usual price of a 2nd class ticket, this actually meant something to him and so he wanted clarification.

"Are we?" he asked me. "Are we travelling 1st class?"

What I meant to say in reply was that all the seats on the plane were the same class. Honest. I did, really. No, really.

What I actually said was "There is no class on this plane, darling."

Which of course was untrue. Well, we were in row 2, for starters...

13 comments:

  1. This is a genius comment! I can only pray that 'darling' was actually pronounced 'daaaaarling'.

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  2. Always has struck me as funny how much nicer budget airlines are flying back to the UK as opposed to from the UK, guess it has something to do with local staff?

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  3. A comment worthy of our beloved Dulwich Mum! Well, what can you expect on a budget airline ;-)?

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  4. I just took a 6.5 hour flight from Ghana to England on KLM and guess what? Coach/economy wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!! Daahling.

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  5. You should sit economy travelling to/from Lagos (on any airline - BA, Virgin, Air France, Lufthansa, etc)! It is terrible - and everyone is treated like cattle!

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  7. Ha ha - am imagining it said in an ice-chilled Joan Collins voice

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  8. Dawn daaaahling, of course it was!

    MAM, I don't know why it is but you are so right!

    NVG, what indeed?

    EPM, are you converted?

    Dia, you know, I think I'll pass!

    Mama M, well not exactly Joan Collins. I don't have any shoulder pads, for starters...

    TW, thankyou!

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  9. Hilarious, always great to set expectations for kids! The front of economy is first class - yes! The previous flight we were bumped up to business and I was appalled by the number of children there!. If you're ten and you're sitting in Business class...where is there to go in life? (Well First class i guess...)

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  10. Converted? Absolutely not. Will take Business any time but trying not to complain. Especially when travelling to a country with so little!

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  11. After years of work travel, it took me a while to learn to not turn left when getting on a plane. What I would give to turn left now!..wonderful comment.

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  12. This made me laugh out loud. Definitely no class on any budget airline! Except when I am on there of course daaarling x

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