How lucky for Sophia! :)
At tender age of 9 months 2 weeks old, she has experience her first flight (a long haul too!) on First Class! Thanks to daddy for purchasing a ticket for us to fly on FIRST CLASS using his much accumulate mileage for free upgrade. While we experience for the first time travelling in FIRST CLASS cabin (yeah, mommy 1st time at 32 years old!), poor daddy was seated at the back ECONOMY. His luck to be upgraded to BUSINESS CLASS was no success due to full load and Christmas holidays.
As for me travelling for the first time with an infant has already pressure up some challenge for me. I do not know what to expect, especially dealing with the hyper energetic baby but I’ve prepare for the worse to happen. We left the house 3 hours before flight departure, to gives us more time to check-in and loading/unloading our 6 luggage too! Going through custom in Singapore was a breeze. I brought on board bottles of water (6 milk bottles, each individually filled), a water tumbler, thermos flask and 2 jars of baby food.
The experience sitting is FIRST CLASS cabin are almost similar to BUSINESS CLASS as both has lie flat bed, but offered more space and privacy with lesser passengers in the cabin. The take off & landing can be quite loud as I can hear the ‘thud’ of the air craft wheels lifting off and landing. Awareness of the plan lift off are also felt more visible.
As for UNITED safety issue, I’m absolutely stunned by the lack of safety taken on infant travelling on board. To horror, before the flight take off I asked the crew to provide me with infant seat belt. They told me UNITED has no infant seat belt on board!! “Just HOLD your baby in your arms for take off and landing.” WTF!!! I’m so dumb folded to find out that UNITED never measure up infant safety in their airline. Upon impact or sudden turbulence, I think my baby will fly up in the air!! There’s no way one can prepared for accidents that may occur during flight and able to hold on tight to the baby when the plane suddenly drops! Gosh!! It’s just like driving in a car without infant being strapped in the car seat. When I try to tighten the seat belt with Sophia on my lap, it was not possible. The seat belt are not long enough to hold two person seated and it also has a shoulder strap (like car seat belt) across your chest. Which is impossible to strap both infant and passenger at once. I was holding Sophia almost the entire flight. Fearing for her safety!
I’ve worked with SINGAPORE AIRLINES, where safety are up most important part in flight. SIA provide infant seat belt, bassinet with seat belt and infant life vest. Whereas UNITED only provide me with infant life vest (FULL STOP!). Never mind that we don’t get children amenities like toys or diapers, the service on board even in FIRST CLASS was not much different in Economy. Well, what more can we expect from UNITED. Service was by the crankiest crew who are waiting for retirement. With all fairness, some are still nice and friendly. Just a few bad apples on board. Still, nothing can compare to SIA service.
{ This was taken on route from Tokyo to San Francisco, where we had a window seat }
December 17, 2011 : Our first route was leaving Singapore to Tokyo.
Thank goodness for the lie flat seat in FIRST CLASS, although it was still a little cramp to fit both of us sleeping on the seat –that’s because of Sophia's STAR FISH sleeping position that took up almost the entire seat! I’m so thankful we didn’t have to suffer in Economy Class with big size Americans squashed in between us, and mind the privacy to breast feed too. Sophia slept for about an hour during the 5 hours 50 mins flight to Tokyo.
We had the middle seat, with UNITED First Class configuration as 1-2-1. There was an old man seated next to us. The man appeared nice in the beginning saying nice compliments about Sophia. However all these niceties didn’t last long as soon as Sophia starts warming up to him. She mean no harm, but just loves attention (even from strangers) and curious fingers. For the entire flight, Sophia keeps climbing over to his side giving him loud greetings (ooohhAAAHhhh….Ahhhhhh!!!!) in Sophia’s own language which he finds annoying. Later Sophia did her favourite game that she played with daddy – plucking hair! She pulled the man’s arm hair (I guess a few strands must have came off!!) and I heard a LOUD –OUCH!!!!! Oh dear, I felt so bad, apologised to him. I tried to get Sophia to stay away from him but she keep on insisting to fight her way to the man’s side. Sophia dips her fingers in her glass each time she gets near him. Gosh! I wished UNITED First Class has a privacy divider to avoid such discomfort of space invasion! As the flight goes on, he gets more and more frustrated with Sophia, and gave us the meanest look! :( By the end of the flight, he said to us in the most sarcastic way … “YOU’RE A BRAT! Such a NUISANCE!!”, then walked off the plane.
My poor Sophia. So sad that she has caused such inconvenience to other passengers, which I dreaded what will happen, happened! On the flip side, the crews love her to bits! You see, Sophia was not a crying and screaming baby on board. She was just curious and ultra friendly. She waved her arms to greet “HI” to everyone, even to those who ignored her. She giggles loudly … always try to start a conversation with her babblers and loves every attention she can get. At the end of the flight, one of the stewardess offered my little first flyer a badge of honour for being a good baby! :)
After spending 2 nights in TOKYO, we continue our journey to SAN FRANCISCO and HOUSTON on December 19, 2011.
Again we target to reach Narita Airport with 3 hours allowance. The hotel bus dropped us off at 2 1/2 hours, which is still ample time to check-in. We went straight to First Class check-in, and hubby’s 1K membership also entitle him to special check-in counter privilege. We also had a special custom room, where there was no queue and away from the crowded lanes. It worked great for us, minding our travelling carry on bags are filled with laptops, cameras and baby stuff (including water). The Narita Airport security open each bottle and smelled the content. Overall no questions asked but just took us a little longer to get by custom. Lucky for the special express counter!
Having a little more than 1 1/2 hour time to spare before boarding, we head on to the Business Class lounge to chill while hubby needs to get some of his work done. A little surprise that our FIRST CLASS tickets entitle us to even more privilege to upgrade to the Private Lounge upstairs of Business Class lounge! Nice! :) :) And all these are free from the redemption FIRST CLASS ticket!
The flight time was about 7 hours to SAN FRANCISCO, and I was so tired the entire flight trying to keep up with the energiser bunny on board. She only slept the last hour before landing into San Francisco. Darn. What a bummer … and I have to wake her up to transit through the terminal (collecting our luggage and checking them in for the next flight) to Houston for another 3 hours 45 mins flight.
Our connecting flight to Houston was in ECONOMY PLUS. Sigh, the end of FIRST CLASS privilege!
Although Economy PLUS offer a few inches of leg room space, it was still cramp. By now, Sophia was already tired and cranky. Her fussing in the middle seat between two people in economy class was no fun at all. Luckily the lady at the window seat was very sweet. She kept playing with Sophia. While the man seated on the aisle was friendly as well. Hubby wanted to swapped his emergency aisle seat with him, but unfortunately he was also travelling with his family ; wife and two boys across the aisle. It was a painful flight to be in between two passenger, and I was so tired that I occasionally found my head flopped to my neighbour’s seat – which they didn’t mind at all.
Oh well … After such long journey and long flight hours, we finally made it to HOUSTON! Yay!
Collected our rental car at AVIS, and drive straight home for some good needed rest! :)
We had our first flight when K when about 8M old but not lucky enough for first class ;)
ReplyDeleteMerry CHristmas to you and your cute lil fam!