“See you in a few weeks” I said nervously, as I waved at my sister at the security area of London Gatwick airport, and walked through to find and wait by my gate.

I was 17 years old and flying by myself, on my first transatlantic flight, alone. I was meeting a friend at the airport in Philadelphia to be staying with her and her family, but I still had to navigate myself through a busy airport, complete all my visa forms, and find my way. I was nervous, but I was also excited. Everything about this experience was new for me. Up until that point, I had only taken a limited number of domestic flights, so getting to board a ‘jumbo jet’ was a big deal.

 

Now 10 years on, and quite a number of flights, and mileage later, sometimes it is hard to remain as excited as I once was then. At times, for me, boarding a flight is like boarding a bus. I walk through security, with my jacket and shoes off already, liquids sorted in a clear bag, Laptop already in its own tray. I get ready to be patted down (as happens to me often). I complete last minute shopping, eat and await my flight.

On board, I will have made sure I have been prepared prior to be comfortable for the flight, and do whatever I feel like for the duration of the flight. I normally know the security announcements by heart, I look out the window, I sleep, I occasionally chat to other passengers. It is all little routine.

Lately however, I have been reminded about the feelings I had on board my first transatlantic flight, when I took my youngest sister to New York. Her behaviours before and during our flight, filled my heart with gladness and nostalgia kicked in.

Jess was 21, and had only been as far as Italy (a 3 hour flight away). We arrived into Dublin airport, and she filled out our US customs form, which made her rather excited. She took several photos before we even got to the security point. We rocked up to US pre-clearance, were she was a little nervous about her upcoming interrogation (which turned out to be ok). She got her first passport stamp, which she immediately looked at and took a photo of.

We headed towards the gate, were I sat down, had a drink and got out my laptop to do a little work on some content I had been working on recently. In the meantime, Jess ran around the area, staring at all the planes – watching someone wash the windscreen of a plane, the ground staff loading and unloading bags, as well as looking at all the different aircraft (she is a little bit of an aviation geek).
“Look Abbi .. it is a 747, isn’t it beautiful?!” and out came her camera. Snap snap snap. “That is a fine bit of work there she smiled”. I smiled too, happy that I could be part of this journey with her.

 

After a delay, we finally boarded, and took our seats. Again, Jess was excited that the plane had three rows of seats (a 2-4-2 formation; an airbus A330). ‘Look, the people sitting in the middle have their own overhead cabin space, and it is in the middle!!”.

 

She was excited that we could watch movies, TV Shows and listen to music.

“Would you look at the wingspan on this bird” Jess said, snapping a photo to later add to her instagram profile.

Later into the flight, Jess was given a special meal (she is a vegetarian), and even this was a novelty before; having never been served a hot meal on board before.

What is this? She said as she picked up the small container of water.

“Water” I said. “It looks funny – why would they put it in a round container”.

“Easier to store I guess” – having never really thought about it.

So although all of the above are excerpts from our journey; it got me thinking about how I travel, and the feelings I have, and although I have become complacent in my journeys, it has made me want to get those feelings of excitement again, and to always be enjoying the journey, not just the destination.

Do you remember when your first flight was and how you felt?

I’d love to hear your stories.

 

Massive thanks to Aer Lingus for providing my sister with a wonderful first transatlantic flight to New York and back.