above the clouds

this past weekend, we traveled to london with our moms. i'm always eager to go back to the city i love and couldn't wait to share the experience with two people who had not been before. my mom has traveled outside the country before, but this was g's mom's first time traveling abroad. flying on an airplane for a living, you would think the flight across the pond wouldn't be a big deal for us; well, it is. we look forward to flying on a large, wide bodied aircraft with multiple classes as opposed to flying on a mid-size single-aisle plane as we do for work. we try to choose the flights that will be operated by a boeing 777.

we almost always take american airlines from chicago to london. the service has always been great. as we do for any flight we take on another airline, we bring treats for the crew. it's just a nice gesture to say 'thanks' regardless if we've bought tickets or not. (hint: that's the #1 way for flight attendants to take EXCELLENT care of you on your flight! bribes go a long way!) in the many times we have flown from ORD-LHR, we have never been upgraded. sure we always hope for the extra space, but we've always been treated well with a few extra amenities!

recently, i was working a flight from cleveland to chicago. the flight was full and i noticed some american crew members coming on towards the end. typically these crew members are commuting to work or headed home. in this case, the flight attendant was going to work. as the bins were filling up, i moved and crammed my own bag into a smaller space to make room for the flight attendant's bags. she was extremely appreciative, but i assured her i will always make space for a crew member's bags...it's what we do! as she was getting off the flight, she handed me her business card and told me that she's a purser and only flies international routes between chicago and london. on the back was her cell phone number and she insisted that i call her the next time i was traveling to london. seriously, it was like being handed the golden ticket.



a few days before we were to leave, i called the purser and explained to her that i was traveling to london in a couple days. naturally though, she was working the flight that evening! (oh, my luck!) she got our seat information for both flights and said she would check to see who was working the flight. she was extremely kind, but i knew there was only so much that she could do!

we get to the airport, looking nice and purchase a couple large bags of chocolate for the flight crew. we got onboard and gave the gifts to the crew working in the front and the back. since the flight wasn't full, they told us we could move to the bulkhead row. ok, we'll take some extra leg room! then, a flight attendant tells g that there are two open seats in first class if we want to split up. being the good sons we are, we told our moms to go up there and enjoy the flight! a few moments later, a different flight attendant said that he was seeing what he could do. he moved g and i up into business class. he told us they were short on business class meals, but g and i didn't care! we were happy with the extra space to sleep! the crew was great and we couldn't have asked for a better experience on our flight to london.

fast forward to our return flight.

we had created monsters. our mothers were overly eager to get upgraded once again. i told them that it was truly a treat on the way over and not to expect such accommodations regularly. again, we purchased some nice truffles (thanks, duty free!) and gave them to the crew. they immediately came over to thank us and handed us a few 'goodies'! the flight attendant working our section was super friendly and was nearly forcing us to have a few drinks "on the house"! after lunch, a flight attendant from first class came up to ask g and i if we would like a tour of the 777. we were more than happy to have a look around! we saw the crew bunks, checked out the business and first class galleys. we stood up front and talked to the first class crew. we were handed champagne and yummy cherry garcia ice cream! we were told that our mothers were already given the special ice cream in the back! ;) so we just stood and talked for a bit. then one of the flight attendants calls back to business and tells them to reserve two seats for our mothers. g and i were told to take two seats in first class. okay! with nearly 6 hours left in the flight, we relaxed and stretched out! i don't think my wine class (and g's champagne class) were ever near empty. the only way i could stop was by taking a nap...completely flat!!!

here are a few pictures on the flight to london in business class:







and here are some pictures on the return flight in first class:








i cannot honestly thank these two crews enough. they were friendly, helpful, and extremely gracious. like a flight attendant has said before, "we all have to take care of each other." i always think there's little that we can provide for other airlines' crew, but they are always appreciative of getting on one of our flights to get to or from work. i suppose it's all relative.

if ever you have the opportunity to upgrade yourself, i highly recommend it. it's a great experience! do it at least once!