Devon Dreamer

I asked the bartender if he had any beer. He said Heineken. I asked him if he had any real beer. He rattled off a few things that he thought were beer (Becks, Bud, Bud Light) but then I noticed an ale in the fridge behind him. Ignoring the fact that it was in the fridge, I told him I’d have one. He looked at me with a certain degree of scepticism. He told me it was bitter. I concurred, saying it was actual beer. Unimpressed by my sparkling wit, he gave me a bottle.

It was very nice.

And so our trip half way round the world began. In the lounge at Terminal 2. It’s very pleasant that Premium Economy passengers are invited to relax there as well. The biggest plus was that the lounge at Terminal 2 was directly opposite the gate from which we were departing.

“It takes ten seconds to get there,” We were reliably informed by the guy behind the desk checking tickets.
“That’ll be 20 seconds for you,” Mirinda informed me.

While the lounge thing was excellent, I am here to report that all Premium Economys are NOT created equal. The last time I was treated like visiting royalty. That time, following my unexpected Business Class upgrade, I realised it had been the same only without the bed. They knew my name, gave me champagne, the food was excellent and it came on plates and in courses and there was a selection of wines.

This time, because we’re travelling via Japan, we’re with ANA. Now don’t get me wrong, the seats are great: wider, more legroom, comfortably distant from the stranger sitting next to you. And the food was fine but I think it was the same as cattle class rather than Business. You could say the menu went back rather than forward. The biggest disappointment was the wine. A single selection of red or white. Though it was nice, a choice would have been lovely.

And the coffee was crap, though this is pretty standard across all airlines. I’m not sure why it’s so hard to make a decent coffee, even, dare I say it, using instant granules.

Other than that, the flight was nicely dull and I managed some sleep.

Our flight didn’t leave until 7pm so most of the day was spent eating everything perishable in the house and waiting for the taxi. Unfortunately I forgot to throw out the remains of the milk so I have that to look forward to when we return.

For entertainment on the plane I watched the final episode of The Walking Dead series 7 (not so much a cliff hanger as a preparation for war) and an episode of Game of Thrones. The rest of the time was spent dozing and reading and not getting irritated by the guy with the strange twitch.