I Love Volcanoes

So we all know there was a little hiccup in the aviation industry in Europe caused by a little volcanic activity out of Iceland. Okay, so it wasn’t little and it was more than a little hiccup. Anyway, I flew back to Edinburgh on the 26th, the target for having cleared the list of backlogged passengers. I had anticipated an offer of compensation to not fly, but no such offer was presented, likely do the funds lost during the ash cloud fiasco. Anyway, what this meant was that the planes were absolutely full.

To me, the planes being absolutely full meant a little upgrade to first class on the Des Moines to Chicago leg. Then, there was a mechanical issue and we took off 60 minutes late. Now Des Moines to Chicago is a 52 minute flight, so a good tail wind wasn’t going to be sufficient. I landed 27 minutes after my flight for London had left. At first, I feared this would be a significant setback as they might move me back from economy plus to the standard economy seats. In the end, to my pleasure, my star alliance silver status instead bought me an upgrade to business class for the transatlantic flight.

When I was rebooking, they offered me business class for $800 which I refused. So, the volcano was kind enough to score me an $800 upgrade. Is the upgrade worth the $800? My frugal (i.e. cheap) nature instinctively wants to say “no” but then I sat there. First of all, each seat has many levels of adjustment like a good lazy-boy recliner. The best part is that with the push of a button, the seat goes to 180°, a complete, flat bed. I have never slept this well on a plane. It alone was worth $100 if being rested upon arrival is important (which, really it wasn’t for me).

Oh, did I mention that I didn’t try to go to sleep until after the three course meal? There was Champaign upon boarding, followed by an aperitif just after takeoff when I ordered my dinner from the menu. Then, I selected wine from the wine list which came just before my appetizer. Bread was brought around in a basket for you to select from. I was asked if I would like to switch wines for the main course, but I stuck with my selection for the braised beef. This was seriously good airplane food. For dessert, I selected the assorted cheese tray (rather than the cheesecake) to accompany the port they offered. I declined the selection of liqueurs. I considered ordering an after dinner Scotch, but decided I didn’t really need to get introduced to any of the hidden air marshals.

So after the little dinner, I talked with the geneticist next to me for a while and then hit the “bed” button. I slept for about 4 hours straight… on a plane. When I woke up, I was served breakfast consisting of a lovely fruit plate, yogurt, and endless croissants. During this time, I watched an episode of The Mentalist on my 24 inch on demand TV. I arrived at Heathrow, in high spirits.

Of course I had also missed my connection to Edinburgh, so I was rebooked into row 6. This time dumb luck rather a volcano was on my side. The scheduled aircraft had a maintenance failure and the planes were swapped out. The new plane had exactly 6 rows of first class.

Is it worth $800 to fly business across the Atlantic? I say certainly not on a western journey. On an Eastern Journey, in my opinion it is definitely worth $150-$200. Therefore, having experienced it now, I would say that $800 is a tangible example of a good pricing strategy. A cheapo like me doesn’t value it enough to do it, but enough people will value this as a good deal to make it profitable.

Also, all the folks flying First and Business class are actually paying for roughly half of our economy tickets. They should be thanked as you board. Everyone in first class likes their ego stroked, so the next time you pass through first class, just say sincerely, “Thanks for paying for most of my ticket!”