Well, this is a first. I’m writing this blog post on a Virgin Atlantic flight somewhere over the UK. Our family vacation around the world–which isn’t a first–was scheduled to start this upcoming Thursday for all of us, but I’ve departed a bit early in order to spend a couple of days in England with members of my future / new team.
That requires some explanation: I’m starting a new job in a new industry in mid-June with a company based in England. Like most of my professional career, I’ll be working remotely from my home office in Florida, as well as traveling pretty extensively — including probably monthly trips to the UK once I’m established in the role.
So, this week will be a preview of that (and my future professional life) for me.
Since there wouldn’t have been time to participate in these meetings, fly home, and then immediately return to Europe, I rearranged my travel so that I’ll meet Libby, Emerson, and Mom in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday morning. From there, we’ll be off on a drive through Germany and France. We’ll spend a couple of days in Paris. Then we’ll fly to Dubai (despite it being summer and the holy month of Ramadan, neither of which are optimal for travel to Middle East). Finally, we’ll end our trip in Tokyo, which will include a visit to Tokyo Disneyland (something that thrills the girls).
I should mention this flight as it was my first time in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class. The airline recently updated the cabin on their A330 fleet, which now has three rows of single seats that are angled forwards (so, you take off and land at kind of a 45 degree angle to the direction of the plane). The seats and bed (though short) are very comfortable. The food and drinks were just alright. And, while the space in your “suite” / seat module is used very well, it’s used a little too well for my liking. That is to say, there’s very little room on either side of your seat and essentially no storage space other than the overhead bins. Overall, I like Delta’s business class product better — even the much maligned 767 product.