Just when I thought I was a pretty unlucky person (never won at the Casino, lottery, etc), my wife and I get upgraded to Business Class on our 9.5 hour flight from Warsaw, Poland.

Let me explain what that means: no more being crammed into a tiny seat with dozens of other people. No more staying up for the duration of the flight because the seat is uncomfortable. No more screaming kids or lines to the lavatory. No more counting minutes until the plane touches down in Chicago.

We just got yanked out of the boarding line and told “you’re upgraded!“. We really don’t know why – probably luck, but maybe my Lufthansa points, or the fact that 2 seats were needed and we were 2 passengers with the same last name.

So here’s how Business Class is different from Coach:

• Room, blessed room. There’s room for your elbows, head, feet, laptop, drink; you can sit upright or stretch out in a kind of a bed you created by manipulating the robotic chair. You an stand up without creating a traffic jam or stretch out without slamming your arms into your sleeping neighbour.
• Food and drink. This airline food I can actually eat and enjoy. Tasty meat dishes, cheese platters, desserts, champagne for wife and Johnny Red Label for me, and so on.
• Service. The flight attentants basically kiss your ass non-stop. More drinks? Coming right up. More of anything? Certainly and with pleasure … sir.
• Entertainment. There’s a personal DVR with a choice of 10 movies, along with music videos, music, and games. No more squinting at the crappy coach screen with sore neck trying to make out what the characters are saying.
• Electronics. The seat is a robotic marvel allowing the passenger to adjust EVERYTHING. There are two 110V outlets for your appliances (very nice for my laptop). The overhead light tells lucky Business Class passengers whether the bathroom is occupied because God forbid they have to wait for 2 minutes.

So I didn’t sleep. I played Godfather (a sweet game if you like GF movie and GTA3) on my laptop, watched a couple of movies, and drank whiskey.  Nine and a half hours went by like a minute.

Next time – coach, of course. Back to reality, ya’ll.

Update:  I booked a similar flight, only this time in Business Class.  It’s more than double what we paid for coach ($2,700 vs. $5,400).  However, this new booking is not during the travel season, so I’d expect another grand to be tacked on to the price.

I doubt I’d ever buy Business Class.  The vision of all the investment money the three extra grand could make in 30 years won’t let me fly Business Class =) 

I doubt I’d ever buy Business Class.  The vision of all the investment money the three extra grand could make in 30 years won’t let me fly Business Class =)