To recap: I am flying in a Lufthansa jet 34,000 feet over the Atlantic.
OK, couple of observations from high in the sky. And hey, remember it’s late on a Sunday and I just finished dinner
and the guy next to me finally went to sleep. So I am curious about a few things that relate to high-altitude
travel.
1. Why haven’t they come up with a decent way to sleep on airplanes? It is agonizing to try and sleep on a plane.
Sure, some folks up there in First-Class have extendable beds, while those of us in the proletarian section have to
make due with sitting bolt upright as the clock turns into the wee hours of the morning. And the guy next to me, his
head is lolling around in every direction like he’s got Tourettes.
Can’t all you brilliant engineers come up with some way for folks in coach to catch a little shut
eye?
2. How does the airplane toilet make that magnificent sucking sound? Sure, I’m on a plane, we’re at 34,000 feet. But
that sound, that rapturous whoosh! It sounds like a small door opened in the bottom of the plane and everything is now
tumbling into the cold Atlantic. But what a wondeful, satisfying sound. Shouldn’t all toilets make that sound?
3. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get a brief history of the world below as you were flying over it? How cool to
have a GPS-based system that knew where you were and then could access a database somewhere and tell you that, yes,
right below a major battle of WWII took place. Or right down there, at this very moment. the annual cheese rolling
festival is taking place. Here’s some video. Do I ask too much?
Alas, the things that cross the mind at 34,000 feet.