the flying condo

the other week i was working in vietnam for a few days. over the past couple of months monsoon season has hit in full force in asia and the day i was due to fly back to hong kong was no exception. my flight was delayed by a couple of hours, though fortunately they kept us out of the airplane so we could walk around. the poor guys in the photo above kept trying to find a dry place to stand- finally they made a sprint for the underside of the airplane.

when i boarded the plane i was surprised to find that i had been upgraded to first class. even better, the plane was only a couple of weeks old and was fitted with the brand new cathay first class cabins.

the seat was at least 50% wider than normal and everything else was oversized too, including a 17" lcd screen that could be swiveled around on an arm. luxury!

the audio/video system was brand new and offered the usual array of on-demand music and movies.

the six first class suites shared a bathroom that was decked out in chrome and lots of shiny black surfaces that i'm sure are a real pain to keep clean.

the video i took above shows how large the cabin is- perfect for a long-haul flight. unfortunately i have about 13 hours in an economy seat to look forward to tomorrow. here's hoping and praying for another upgrade!