First Time Flying
Can you even remember what your very first flight felt like? How about a flight where just about everyone else on the plane was a first time flyer!
August 24, 1990
I can’t remember what my very first plane flight felt like. So, I vicariously felt what a first flight is like. Neither Russell nor Richard, my two inexperienced traveling companions, had ever flown, and I couldn’t imagine another endless train ride back to Hangzhou, so I bought us plane tickets from Guilin to Shanghai. Most everyone else on the plane was a first-time flyer. Excitement literally crackled in the air when the plane started down the runway. There was a communal “Oooooooh” when the plane lifted off. When the plane leveled off, people started taking pictures of each other on the plane. Next, they opened up the little gifts the pretty flight attendants handed out with a snack. When the time came to land, there was an air of nervousness on the part of the first-timers. Richard gripped my hand. Safely down, everyone applauded loudly and immediately stood up to get their luggage from the overhead bins before the plane could stop. Of all the flights I’ve taken, this will definitely be one of the ones I’ll remember.
Tags: Flying in China, Travel
May 19th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Great story: ) As a Flight Attendant for a major US carrier…I would loooove to see that kind of excitement in my passengers: )
May 20th, 2009 at 2:03 am
Everyone who flies has a first-time experience, but being in a plane with just about everyone else being a first-time flyer is a rare experience - especially these days. I loved traveling as a way to experience not only new things, but to experience things anew.