A Case for Bringing Back the Concorde

Upgrade List #20: Business Airline Intel & How to Build a Hotel.

Hey guys, Julien here.

The first time I flew business class was also the only time I flew business class. I was 10, heading to see family in Boston over summer vacation, and I was playing FIFA 14 on the iPad back in row 33 (or near there, probably). A nice flight attendant came and chatted to me about the game – and then exposed his true intentions:

“Are you the Strick family?”, he asked. Utter betrayal, he wasn’t truly interested in my game. But I was also relieved he wasn’t going to ask for a turn. Airplane rides were a sacred sanctuary of screen time my parents granted.

My dad also felt betrayed. You guys don’t know him, but he’s an anxious guy. Get-to-the-airport-4-hours-early anxious. His anxiety only dies down once we’re seated on the plane, and this unexpected questioning was causing it to flare back up again. Facing the unwelcome visitor, he identified himself as being the patriarch…the one holding (or rather, insisting on holding) all four family members’ passports and boarding passes. You know how that goes.

“Please follow me, your seats have been changed”.

We got up, gathered our coats and carry-ons, and shuffled through the aisles. We passed rows 30, 25, 20, 15, and even that flimsy curtain that separates us economy flyers from the snazzy folks up in business class. Our attendant stopped in front of a row of four private cubicle design seats with plush leather upholstery and a nifty little nook you could kick your feet up into. (FWIW: Air France’s business class is nice nice.)

Witnessing our looks of confusion, he announced to us that these were our new seats.