12/25/08

Christmas In Mid-air

Christmas season is a busy time for traveling. It's Christmas day and here I am at Dallas-Forth Worth Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Burbank, California. Like the thousands of others in the US (and the rest of the world), I'm flying to meet with my family on this very important Christian holiday. I would have wanted to fly much earlier but you know how difficult it is to redeem a frequent flier miles ticket: desirable dates are hard to come by, especially during a holiday period. I spent a good deal of time checking the American Airlines website for those precious free seats and when I saw one on business class - bingo! - I booked it quickly.

I took the first American Airlines flight out of New York La Guardia this morning at 6 am. The pilot cheerfully greeted everyone onboard a "Merry Christmas" (as opposed to a generic "Happy Holidays"), something which I did not expect to hear given the way some people think of it as an insult. After being served a mug of coffee, the meal service began. I left home 4:30 this morning without even a sip of water so my Christmas breakfast 30,000 feet above the ground is something I look forward to.

If there's any advantage in flying during the actual holiday itself, it's that airports are not as packed as Christmas eve when the lines to check-in counters and security checks are horrendous. Even the flight attendants - the ones on American Airlines - are less grumpy and more accomodating. My felllow passengers are certainly happier today even as we arrived a few minutes late at Dallas-Forth Worth.

There's still another hour of waiting at this behemoth airport in Texas before I board my California-bound plane. Everywhere around me is a scene of people hurrying with their carry-ons (presumably loaded with Christmas gifts) but here I am trying to find my own peace and solitude, trying to find a way to be productive. Thanks to T-mobile Hotspot, I'm doing just that: an update on this blog. To everyone at sea level and yes, those who are in mid-air, Merry Christmas!

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