In-flight: Crossing the million mile mark

I’ve probably already written about my million miler mark more than enough but, well, there’s going to be at least one more post, mostly because I actually managed to have a bit of fun flying in coach across the Atlantic Ocean and that’s a story which deserves to be told.

The flight itself was uneventful, really, though it was the first time I can remember taking such a northerly course across the pond. And it was a quick flight, with crazy tailwinds pushing us across the ocean. I’m always entertained when the pilots excitedly announce how much shorter the flight is going to be on redeyes, the one set of flights I’d rather actually be longer/slower. But none of that was really part of the “fun.”

As dinner was served I took the opportunity to celebrate a little, mostly with vodka. I also asked the FA if the sparkling wine they sell in coach was any good. He was (thankfully) honest about the situation and suggested I skip it.

I had a somewhat spiritual experience with the meal choice: the chicken apparently found religion though it is not clear whether that happened before or after it was battered and fried then reheated by steaming (it was not particularly good, unfortunately). Still, I laughed quite a bit at the name. I do wonder if that’s a typo or someone confused about the General or if I’m an idiot and have been spelling it wrong all these years as I’ve eaten it.

After the meal I headed back to the galley to stretch my legs before settling in for a few hours of sleep. I was chatting with the FAs when the one who waived me off from the bubbly suddenly appeared with a glass from the business class cabin for me to enjoy. I’m quite certain that it was much, much better than the alternative. We actually chatted for a while about a variety of things, some related to being a MMer and many not at all. I expressed surprise at how many of the old-style Continental drink coupons were still being used, for example, and was told that it is actually very common still. Apparently I’m not the only one with a collection of them at home, though I haven’t used mine yet.

I also asked the FAs to see if the pilots would be willing to part with the flight plan documents as a souvenir for me. Fortunately they were happy to comply, though more than once I was reminded that they needed them to fly so I couldn’t have them until after we landed.

I would also like to point out that United has apparently purchased the Tom Clancy box set for the IFE system this month. There were four movies from that franchise to choose from. Naturally I chose The Hunt for Red October.

Overall, nothing particularly amazing about the trip, but I was once again reminded that most flight crews are nice and especially so if you give them a reason to be. Drinking the premium cabin booze while ticketed down the back certainly doesn’t suck.

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