On travelling in Executive class

On account of my restlessness and long legs, I generally angle for an aisle seat. However, the seat in Executive was a window seat and I really wasn't going to argue. Also, the increased legroom makes one of arguments moot.

As well, it was a clear day and therefore, lots to see. This is an understatement as it was very clear from take-off to nightfall. Our flight path took us along the Border. Had I been on the port side of the plane I could have seen much of the route I took across the Rockies three years ago. As it was, the only bit I recognized was the mountains near Creston.

I took pictures but as usual with photos from airliners, they never do landscape justice. Someone should work on making windows on planes photo-transparent. Or maybe have a passenger-controlled camera turret on the underside of the plane. You would be able to download pictures onto your electronic devices.

Somewhere over the darkening Prairies, I saw a flash of light below. Looking more closely at the land below, I saw it repeated further on. I began to see it was light reflected on small water bodies. However, I couldn't determine the source of the light. I theorized that it might be a low flying search-and-rescue helicopter with a search light but it didn't look quite right for that. Then I figured out that it was the reflection of the moon I was seeing. A very neat effect, if slightly spooky.

Dessert was ice cream and freshly baked cookies. Freshly baked as in they baked them on the plane. Delicious, but somewhat over the top. I should have asked what they did with the leftover cookies.

The older woman beside me had been on standby for the previous flight. Like me she was given a upgrade, but not for obvious altruism as in my case. It turns out Elaine, my seat mate, was from the City I work in and is in the neighborhood watch, the HQ of which is in part of the basement I work in.

The section had been largely disused, except for storing various files until the watch program took it over. The City renovated that section. At some point in the process, I chanced upon the plans and noted that it included a shower. As that section of the basement adjoins the Library's, I have been trying to figure out how to work out a system that the Library employees would be allowed to use the shower. Particularly cycle-commuters, i.e. me. I was a little annoyed to hear from Elaine that the shower is unused except to store files!

We were in the last row of the Executive class section. I doubt this was an accident. I have read that Air Canada deliberately serves that section front to back. If you are in the last row, you may not get your meal choice. For that reason, I suspect they put any "unwashed refugees" from Economy class in the back of the section.