I had the wonderful opportunity to fly First Class for the first time coming home from NJ a week ago. I had a scheduled flight connecting from Newark to Minneapolis then to Salt Lake with a 2 1/2 hour layover. When I got to my gate in Newark though they had overbooked and asked if I would be willing to leave an hour later on a direct flight to Salt Lake. I was totally down with that, and would have been more than satisfied if that was their final offer.
They weren't done though. The lady then gave me a $7.00 food voucher and told me to go get breakfast (that was enough to get me a yummy breakfast panini) and a $200 travel voucher for Delta Airlines. When I went back to get my new boarding pass she was like "oh, and by the way I upgraded you to first class." I guess I'm better at negotiating than I thought I was! ;)
There was one problem with my upgraded seat. I was in the first row and on the isle, which meant the steward came to me first for everything. I managed well the first few times, getting myself a Coke before takeoff (in a glass cup not a plastic one) and pretzels to munch on (even though I wasn't really hungry because of the panini). After we got in the air, he asked if I would be joining them for breakfast, assuming it was free and pretending I hadn't already had a breakfast and a half I said yes.
I was next handed, via large tweezers, a warm wet rag. I wasn't sure what to do with until the guy next to me started wiping off his hands, I immediately stopped wiping my face and did the same. These were then collected and thrown away. I was then asked if I wanted eggs or cereal, I went with eggs, and a bagel or croissant, I was feeling fancy and went with the croissant. When I got my breakfast it was not just eggs and a croissant, it was a small spinach and cheese omelet, with country style hash browns, three small pieces of ham, a bowl of fruit, AND a croissant. I was eating off of nice glassware and eating with silverware, and was offered more drinks than I could possibly have had room for as I finished my second breakfast within 2 hours.
I enjoyed use of the "first class bathroom" as my bladder strained to contain all that it was given. The leg room was incredible. There were no fighting elbows or awkward head-shoulder collisions. I feel that I was able to blend in well, minus the towel incident, and enjoyed the ride. I did feel unsophisticated sitting next to a coffee drinking suit. As a people watcher I marveled at the devote Jew across the isle reading some book I assumed to be scripture throughout the flight, kissing it and putting it to his forehead each time he closed the book. I read Bossypants by Tina Fey between naps and considered doing the same.
