The Streak Is Still Intact...

Mrs. TBF's streak of not flying overseas in economy for six years, that is.

I'm happy to report that "the fine people" at BA upgraded us to Business Class BOTH WAYS on our recent trip to Chicago. That's a BIG high-five!!! When you're 6'5" like I am, BC makes all the difference. Sure, I still have to lie in a fetal position in order to sleep in the seat, but it's a helluva lot better than trying to squeeze into an economy seat.

Mrs. TBF has been informed (and has agreed) that I will, from this day on, never fly overseas in economy again. We've decided that we're going to sell our car, and the annual savings (about CHF 10,000/U.S. $8,000) will pay for about three Business Class round-trips between Basel and Chicago. For me, it's totally worth the extra money - better seat, Fast-Track check-in and security, use of the lounges, and not having to rub shoulders with the commoners (...take it easy, JUST JOKING!!).

Can you say TRAVEL DIVA???

Thanks for everything, BA! I even forgive you for "misplacing" Mrs. TBF's suitcase (just for one day) on the return flight home.

It could have been a lot worse...

Our flight from Chicago to London was delayed about 3.5 hours this past Thursday due to thunderstorms that passed through Chicago. Of course, it was completely sunny when we arrived at O'Hare, and everything seemed like it would be OK. While we were in the BA lounge sampling their various offerings, we heard an announcement that the airport was closed to arrivals and departures due to passing T-storms. However, the storms cleared, and we boarded the plane and it looked like we were only going to be delayed by an hour. Then, while taxiing on the tarmac, the airport was shut down again a couple more times, and we ended up taking off at about 8:20 p.m. instead of 4:45 p.m. We didn't realize how severe the storms were until a couple of days later when we found out that my sister and her family (along with 100,000 other people in the Midwest) had been without power for 2+ days.

Landing at Heathrow around 10:00 a.m. meant that we missed our 8:30 a.m. flight to Basel, and that meant we had to camp out in the BA Lounge for several hours because the next flight to Basel wasn't until 2:30 p.m. After wolfing down a bunch of lounge snacks, I found a comfy spot in the corner of a nice big leather sofa. I leaned my head back, and...proceeded to fall asleep for two hours with (according to Mrs. TBF) my face pointed up toward the ceiling, and my MOUTH WIDE OPEN!

I wondered why my throat was so dry when I woke up.

"You know, you could have woken me and told me to close my mouth," I told her. I guess she was too busy catching up on e-mails and making bid-ness calls! Too busy, also (unfortunately) to take a picture. Oh well, at least I didn't drool.

...I think.

Oh...and why am I writing this post a 6:40 a.m.? Well, that would be because I dropped Mrs. TBF off at the airport at 5:15 a.m. so she could catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to Frankfurt where she will connect for a flight to Atlanta.

It looks like it's just me and King until Friday. I guess it'll give me a chance to do some blogging...for a change!