I'm here wondering if there will be any Busch Gardens coverage? Honestly my favourite park and I'm Jonesing for a peek.
That there will be. We enjoyed a full day at BG, our first visit to that park ever, on our January trip. Did the Serengeti Safari and the new Cheetah Encounter. I took tons of photos so that entry will be several posts long for sure.
This made me laugh and laugh. I'm glad you're able to enjoy First Class.
Common sense would be to load the plane from the back to the front so that people didn't have to try to maneuver down skinny aisles, with bags and family members, while trying desperately not to knock the elbows and avoid the glares from the first class and people already seated. Yes, there are absolutely some oblivious people but most of us try very hard to get to our spots as quickly and efficiently as possible in what is a very stressful situation. Nice to know we are being judged by those who got to board before the plane was full of people. Off soap box now.
Ouch. You've made some heavy assumptions about me as a person, and I'm not sure I deserve that harsh a judgement.
The fact that we were flying first class and were seated early has nothing to do with my stance that passengers could do MUCH better at the boarding process. This has been a pet peeve of mine since we started flying more than 11 years ago.....and NONE of those flights were first class until May of last year, so I've seen plenty of folks unnecessarily hold up other passengers behind them for a variety of reasons that don't include the "good excuses" (some good excuses can be things like first timers truly not knowing what to do, older folks struggling with a bag that's too heavy for them to hoist up to the overhead bins on their own, etc.). Things that hold others up that don't need to happen? A family of 4 that decides to argue, once their are on the plane, about who is going to sit where among their booked seats (mom and dad can easily have kids prepped as to who is sitting next to each parent well before boarding....those spats do NOT need to occur on the plane). People who decide on board is the time to argue about the fact they don't like their seat assignment. Folks who board, put their carry-ons in the overhead bins, and then get up 3, 4, 5+ times afterward (while others are now trying to get by them in the aisles) to put stuff in and out and in and out of the luggage.....keep out what you might need, stow the rest, and have the courtesy to leave the aisles open for boarding to continue. All the people who insist on turning their carry-ons the wrong way in the overhead bins, despite the constant overhead announcements of how to properly load them *and* (in our experience) the direct instruction of the flight crew
("Sir, you MUST turn your bag so that the wheel are facing out! This is a FULL FLIGHT and we need ALL the space) ..... or those that get the rotten luck of boarding near last, and refuse to put their bag anywhere .... even when open spots are pointed out to them by the flight crew .... because those open spots are not directly above their seat. All avoidable. All which hold up everyone else behind them.
I don't consider us better, or privileged, for flying first class. We put our pants on the same way as everyone else in the morning. We choose to splurge on certain upgrades while other folks splurge on different kinds of upgrades for their trip. Anyone who has a husband who is 6' 4" and 300+ pounds will know why first class is a good option for us. It's not a status thing, its a way to ensure comfort in an otherwise uncomfortable situation.
Perhaps we are the oddity, but all the Delta planes we have flown on (with the exception of 1) have all had the first class section to the left of the plane door on boarding when the other classes are all to the right......so there's no "glaring" at other passengers as they pass. The one and only aircraft where this was NOT the case? We sat and sipped our pre-flight cocktail and actually commented on how the other passengers were judging
US. I lost count of the snarky
"oh, it must be nice to be able to afford to sit there" or
"oh, so that's where the rich sit!" remarks that we heard. Judgement, sadly, often runs both ways.
I'm a tolerant flyer. I've been a parent, so I get how difficult it is to fly with littles. I'm unbelievably nervous (and never seem to lose "the fear", regardless of how many trips we have under our belts), so I get how anxious people can be. I am fully aware that the person sitting next to me could be emotionally wrecked, on their way to a funeral or to see a sick relative rather than on their way to the Happiest Place on Earth. Our son has worked with special needs individuals for the past 8 years, so I am well versed on the extra challenges those individuals face in new and unfamiliar circumstances. I'm not an entitled shrew.......but I also expect the bulk of people to *think* and be courteous. Or even, just follow directions. Those that need extra time, have very young children, or have other special circumstances are all boarded first anyway.....so the remaining balance of passengers SHOULD be able to board somewhat efficiently.
In case anyone ever doubts my tolerance for the in-flight experience, ask me about our most recent Frontier flight where my purse -- which was my personal item -- was puked on not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES by the person seated in front of me. We happened to be on our way to Orlando with friends that trip, so
@DontRushMe can verify the details of the "experience". The flight attendant who ended up dealing with the mess looked at me, after the second round of vomit, and said "I can't believe you're not losing your mind right now". But you know what? That passenger and her family needed grace, so that's what I gave them. It might be easiest to believe that I feel somehow "entitled", but the reality is that we cut corners in some places a little more throughout the year (and make full use of the Delta American Express card for Skymiles) so that we can enjoy a first-class flying experience on our trips whenever possible. I don't judge, but I DO expect people to board efficiently and listen to instructions unless they have a darn good reason not to.
I'm glad I gave you a good laugh today, though.
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Between that kid and Hubs oldest living in Florida...wellfor the first time hubby was the one who brought up perhaps we should look into a condo in central Florida...he always just laughed before
He know I’m gonna be there a lot.
