Trans Atlantic

May 31 2019

I asked Mears for a taxi to the airport to pick me up at 5:30 for my 8:00 pm flight. This started my oddessy to Eislingen in Germany. The cab arrived at 5:20. We got to the curb at OIA by 6:00. I was checked in, and in line at TSA by 6:15. Airport security was moving pretty fast, but they had a big crowd. Still, I was in the waiting area for Gate 86 by 7 pm.

I'm flying business class. This is a pretty big extravagance for me ($4500 vs $1000 for a round trip ticket), but I only visit Europe every two years, and the long flight is much easier to tolerate in business class. The seats are bigger and expand to form a little cocoon letting you lay flat. The leg room is more than I need and the meals are good.

Lufthansa does little things to make you feel special- you board thru a separate jetway and get priority at check-in. You are greeted when you are seated with a glass of wine and an introduction to your cabin steward. All very nice.

The Shortest Night

We took off from Orlando an hour late. The cabin crew spread around a little more wine and some snacks. I met my seatmate, a sports medicine doctor returning from a conference at the Convention Center. We got acquainted over some (by his account ) pretty good French red wine. The pilot announced that we would probably not be late into Frankfurt because of favorable jet stream winds. He turned out to be right.

Still, it was a long night...