Travelogue England April-May 2023: The Flight

When going to Europe (or to England for that matter, since some would debate whether England is part of Europe, after BREXIT) almost everyone from the US flies. I have only met one traveler who has mentioned taking a transatlantic voyage on a ship. Of course, that person did say it was magnificent. And I ought to do it, if I get the chance.

I find the idea very intriguing, having seen many movies and series, set on a transatlantic voyage of a great ocean liner of the past (one episode of Poirot springs to mind, where bearer bonds went missing during the course of the trip.) But I’m afraid I made the more prosaic choice and flew. Although we did choose to take business class instead of coach (for the first time in my life) and chose Virgin Atlantic as our airline.

And I am very glad we did! Being a rather ample person myself, I am going to feel a bit squeezed on any flight. But the seats were reasonably comfortable and only two across on our side of the plane, so my husband was the only one I had to inconvenience, if I needed to get up.

We had a screen for watching movies on the back of the seat ahead, and an ear bud, to block any sounds around us. The touch screen seemed to be of an older generation, being a little hard to tap on properly, so it took longer than necessary to pick your movie. Other than that, everything was fine. All these conveniences are new to me, having not been on a longer flight like this in quite some time.

We were a bit concerned that we might be starving by the time we finished our eight hour flight. We had arrived by car at the airport in Orlando a few hours early and then had to manage the kiosk at check in. But having booked business class, we experienced only very short lines at the Virgin counters, and the staff was generally polite and helpful.

TSA (security) was as slow and crowded as you might expect, with 99% unmasked people (including us.) After these last few years of being cooped up, I could not help but wonder if we would pick up a case of COVID somewhere. Fortunately, we didn’t.

We sat in an airport bar to waste some time and toasted our finally getting away together. Alone. For more than a few days. Our time “off” was nearly three weeks long, all told. Five days with our daughter, ten days on our tour, and a couple on the front end (at the hotel in Windsor)and back end (at home)to help with jet lag.

My husband could feel the stress melting away. I, too was overjoyed, to be far from dish washing, laundry, errands and busywork.

We were greeted on the plane with a bubbly prosecco and allowed to settle in, until after the plane left the ground. The plane was very full, with maybe seven seats across in our section, and two aisles. I saw no empty seats. We, along with many Americans and some Brits as well, were taking full advantage of this window in time, to satisfy our pent-up urge to visit foreign lands.

Our window seat was just in front of the wing, but I still had a good view. We had two meals in the course of the flight and the food was good. There was a leaning toward dairy-alternatives, which included products with coconut. I’m not a coconut fan, myself. I’ve always been more a Snickers than a Mounds girl.

As for the absence of dairy, I was made to suffer the entire trip (except for at one especially accommodating hotel) for lack of half-and-half or cream in my coffee. Everywhere, they only seemed to have milk. And no matter how much you warm it or whip it, milk is not cream. This abstinence may account for the the three pounds I lost, at least temporarily. Or it may have been all the walking.

I brought along a bottle of water, purchased in the airport, after security. Bringing water is a good idea, since on planes the air is rather dry, compared to the usual Florida steam bath.

The wifi was not free. Being cheapskates at heart, we suffered through without it. This may have accounted for my discontent, slight boredom and general squirminess toward the end of the flight. It is not until you are without a thing, that you realize how much you rely upon it, both for utility and for entertainment. Next time, I’ll probably splurge.

Speaking of which, you might wonder, how did we manage the problem, that cellular services don’t stretch across the Atlantic, at least on most people’s plans, without additional cost? For us, it was a no-brainer. And it was very easy to set up.

My daughter has been on scholarship in England since September, at which time we had to activate, on our family AT&T plan, something called the International Day Pass. One merely had to go and check a box on the site to activate it.

Then, and at the time of our trip, the pass charged $10 a day for each day that you access cellular service from somewhere outside the US. These can be consecutive days or non-consecutive days. It maxed out at a charge of $100 total for the month for one person.

If additional people on the family plan were also abroad and using cellular, it charged an additional $5 per day of cellular use for each additional person (maxing at 50 per month per person, I believe). So my husband and I together racked up an additional $100 that month —or perhaps at most, $200 across two billing cycles, depending on when our cell bill came due.

Although this may seem like a lot, it is nothing, compared to the roaming charges my daughter had incurred on previous trips, before we installed the International Day Pass. My other daughter was in Japan shortly before our trip and also had only a $5 charge per day with the same maximum.

Most of the time we had a good cell connection. In the boonies, far from big cities, it was a bit less predictable, and sometimes we had to depend on local wireless. But that was rare. Touchless payment (ie Apple Pay) was a godsend and could be used in most places. We only went to an ATM for cash twice, on the whole trip.

The evening flight was uneventful. Despite a distressed baby in the distance, most people were sleeping or trying to sleep. My husband was able to nod off, but I wasn’t. Leg room is still at a premium, even in business class, and I could not stretch out quite far enough, for sleeping comfort. Still, the seats were much better than those I had experienced in past flights in coach.

The flight attendants were solicitous. Those passengers who had the foresight to order meals ahead were served first. The rest of us waited for the trolley to come by. There were two options for most meals and coffee or tea was offered as well.

In the wee hours, before breakfast, I was stubbornly awake in a silent, darkened plane. My eyes settled on the night sky outside, which was beautiful. I have never seen so many stars. You would think that high above the clouds, the stars would look closer, somehow, but they don’t. They just blanket the black-blue sky, uninterrupted, like tiny sequins in a shimmering quilt. A few hours on, the sun began sending its first sallies over the horizon ahead. Words entered my consciousness and I composed the poem Tomorrowland.

For those who don’t get the reference, Tomorrowland is a part of Disney World in Florida. It was one of the first sections to open, years ago. It is all about future technologies and features a monorail and Space Mountain. It was quite cutting edge at its time. I’m afraid I haven’t been back in almost that long.

I thought it ironic, that I should be coming from here in Florida, home to Disney (at least until she is completely evicted by our governor) and yet, Tomorrowland is my destination, not my origin. Tomorrowland, the land that literally experiences tomorrow before we do. Strange, that I should be traveling against Time, transcending and defying the authoritarian rule of Time, to join in that future.

Did I mention that the our flight has the nickname “Miss Sunshine?”

My next installment takes us to Windsor.

Copyright 2023 Andrea LeDew

For an airport-related poem read Airport.