First Class Treatment

I arrived at the airport by 7:00am for my 9:10am flight, just as planned, and began to wait in line to check-in. Inside my head I was running through all the things I needed to ask at the ticket counter, hoping I could make my impending 15-hour journey home as simple as possible. I would be flying from Dusseldorf (one-way ticket story here) via Ft. Myers to Atlanta. 

"Any chance you have a window seat available?" I said with a smile as I approached the counter.

Click. Click. Click. She was looking at her computer for a minute and glanced at me just long enough to say, "No. All booked up."

Flight route: Dusseldorf to Ft. Myers.

The next couple questions I asked didn't improve our rapport one bit, and by the time I stepped away from the counter (still without a seat assignment) I was visibly in tears. Yes, I was that girl. I admit, I sometimes cry when I'm flustered, but I don't think I've ever been so frustrated at an airport before. Boyfriend went back to ask her one more question for me and reported back that the counter lady would be at my gate too and I could get a seat assignment from her there. Great, I thought, just the person I want to see again.

By the time I got through security and to my gate people were already standing around ready to board the plane. I finally found someone to help me get a seat assignment and she took my paperwork asking, "You still don't have a boarding pass?"

She looked at my name and said, "Oh, we've been calling for you. We have upgraded you to first class. Here is your boarding pass."

I looked at the ticket in my hand for a minute before I could really believe it. Seriously? I was in shock. I found the lady from the check-in counter working at the door to the plane and thanked her for her help. She was completely pleasant and sincere.  With a smile I boarded the plane and found my way to my first class seat thinking the whole way about how people can surprise you sometimes.

First Class seat on Air Berlin.

While sipping champagne and putting on cozy slippers I settled into my home for the next 10 hours. It wouldn't even be close to the longest flight I've ever been on (it wouldn't even be close to the longest horrible bus ride I've been on), but I had still been dreading that time on the airplane. Now I was excited to enjoy it!

Nice meals, friendly staff, and a cozy chair. I was such a happy camper.

Delicious mealtime in first class. That's just the appetizer.

The flight arrived in Fort Myers right on time and I was one of the first people off the plane. After customs and baggage claim I followed the signs to Departures to check in for the next leg of my journey. Tanned tourists with golf bags were scattered throughout the atrium as I approached the Delta kiosk. I scanned my printed confirmation, smiled at my aisle seat assignment, and handed my checked baggage to an attendant at the self-check-in area. Then I went through security and sat down at my gate about two hours before my flight was scheduled to leave.  Even though I worried about things beforehand, it worked out perfectly with my separately-purchased connecting flights.

I arrived back in Atlanta just before 6:30pm, weary from my long travels. Even with first class for the majority of my trip I was exhausted and just happy to be in the company of my loving family once again.  Arriving at my house I had that two-sided sense of peace you only have when coming home after a long trip: A sense of happiness for building unforgettable memories and a sense of sadness knowing the trip is over.