The Longest Day

14 August, 2019

Our departure was eased once again by the friendly, reliable, courteous, and professional service provided by the staff of Eddie Manning. Their service comes at a fair price and, in my opinion, is not an extravagance based purely on the value for money they provide. From the front door of your accommodation to the airport curb all you need to worry about is getting in and out of the vehicle - they handle all the minutiae.

I was a bit creative when I booked our flights for this trip, opting for a more indirect route home (LHR-DFW-ILM) in favor of a significantly lower Business Class fare. Side note - in order to make my wife as comfortable as possible on long-haul flights I go through quite a few machinations to put us "up front" - yes, we could travel more frequently if we opted for economy, but if it takes a couple of days to recover from the flight then the savings is diminished. Sometimes I find excellent deals, sometimes I can book with miles, and occasionally I'm forced to choose between paying the fare or not traveling, and I bite the bullet. At the time of booking I assumed that a flight halfway across the country (DFW-ILM) wouldn't be in a regional jet, but I was mistaken.

That kind of day

Our flight from LHR to DFW was comfortable, but long. The food was good, the service was excellent, my noise-cancelling headset reduced the fatigue, and the napping was a solid 8/10. These days any flight that isn't remarkable for unfortunate circumstances is good in my book, and this was a good flight. Being gracious and polite to the flight attendants may be an obvious choice to most, but these simple acts are often discarded "up front" and people can be quick to express a sense of entitlement. If you paid full fare at the counter or booked a reward ticket months in advance it doesn't matter - just be nice and it will pay dividends. Sometimes it might get you an extra scoop of ice cream in your sundae, or maybe an extra bottle or two of your preferred adult beverage so you don't have to ask later in the flight. But mostly you'll earn the respect of the cabin crew.

Last leg going home!

If you've ever been to DFW you know that the gates are so far apart that you'd have to pass through immigration several times during the course of a connection if the airport were in Europe. Passport control was seamless, as were customs and luggage re-check. After walking several miles and taking an inter-terminal shuttle ride halfway to Oklahoma we arrived at our gate - thoroughly disoriented from the time change and a bit hungry, despite being served a meal and snacks on the flight from London. We ended up sharing a sandwich and chips while we battled the sleep monster waiting for our final flight. 

Once we boarded and I re-installed my headset I succumbed to the powers of Morpheus (Greek, not Fishburne) and napped fitfully for most of the flight. Arrival, baggage claim, and the ride home were a blur of exhaustion. Despite an epic level of fatigue and a warm shower before collapsing in bed, I was awake and alert by 3:00 the next morning, my body insisting it was time for coffee and breakfast.