First Class…Right

I had to fly to Orlando on business and my friends at Delta were kind enough to upgrade me to First Class. I had not flown ‘up front’ for years and was looking forward to great food, special personal service, and well, you know, being able to ignore the folks back in steerage.

I was settling in, expecting my glass of champagne while the captain got the plane ready for our trip. Guess again, nada, nothing, zip. Well that’s ok… I realized that as soon as we reached ‘cruising altitude’ they would bring around the linen tablecloths and then the china with fresh coffee. Nothing yet. Well maybe the linen truck didn’t make the plane, surely breakfast was close at hand.

Guess again. What used to be a fresh omelet, fruit, and a fresh baked croissant was a little box filled with dried fruit, cheese and some rolled up lunch meat.

Well at least the cabin crew assigned to First Class would be at me beck and call. I saw no one for the entire four hour trip. No wine, no coffee, no hot breakfast, zip. Oh wait – they did bring around a basket of stale cookies about an hour before landing. Whoopie.

Understand that I did get priority exiting and was the second person off the plane.

I am fortunate that I didn’t pay the $500 surcharge to get First Class. I wondered what the folks who actually paid for it thought about being ‘up front.’ Maybe their egos were stroked so well because they could afford the front of the plane they didn’t miss anything else.

I can’t fault Delta for upgrading me based on the gazillion miles I few two years ago. Thanks for that. But I wonder what has happened to that special service one expects when one actually pays for it.

I’m sure there are some covid related regulations that cut off alcohol, and actually serving food not wrapped in cellophane. Fair Enough. But is it too much to ask for a kind word and maybe a pillow?

Oh yes, I was given a choice between the cold fruit plate and cold oatmeal. I guess that’s something.

JVH