That flying in economy is something ever to be recommended is a lie. We that have executive lounge passes congratulate ourselves on one degree of separation from the hordes in the airport because, quite frankly, flying today is no more glamorous than taking the bus.
As a fatty, the close confines on board are hideously embarrassing. Believe me, if you object to having my fat squeeze over my seat onto yours, I am even more mortified. But the reason we put up with it all: the squash, the wait, the increased cabin pressure, the person beside us who had garlic for breakfast; is that flying enables us to travel. The discomfort is the cost of the opportunity to wing our way across the world.
In the vast majority of cases, the decision of which carrier to use is based upon loyalty-programme rewards and cost. For my next local flight I'll choose to fly 1time. Why? The seats are roomier and I like the fact that they are covered in leather. More than that, however, I witnessed a willingness by their staff to be helpful, which I haven't noticed elsewhere, and really impressed me.
While waiting for our flight from Maputo to Johannesburg for an onwards connection to Cape Town, we were told that due to an electric storm in Johannesburg the plane's departure was delayed.
I liked that Maputo airports company staff kept us informed personally rather than making a PA announcement. The 90-minute gap between our intended arrival in Johannesburg and connection was shrinking by the moment. Usually the Sunday evening flight from Maputo is perfect as it allows for an entire day's leisure in the capital but in this case it meant it was the last flight of the day from Maputo and meeting our last Cape Town connection.
When I calculated that even if we arrived in Johannesburg in time to meet our connection that we wouldn't be able to clear passport control and collect checked luggage in time, I asked the 1time ground staff in Maputo if I could offload my case and rather take it on board. At first he was a little dismissive saying the flight would arrive in time but after I argued that it wouldn't, he agreed. It must have taken him about 20 minutes to find my bag among the pile.
We were one step closer to meeting our Cape Town flight. We landed in Johannesburg at 9pm and our connection was at 9.30pm. Fellow passengers let us jump the queue at passport control and we ran to the check-in counters. The flight was closed for check-in. We were referred to 1time Ticket Sales. The duty manager was not available but staff called to the gate and asked them to allow us to check in. It was now 9.25pm and we were still on the wrong side of security check at OR Tambo.
The next five minutes were like we see in the movies when an organ donor's heart is rushed to a waiting patient and there are teams of doctors at hand. 1time staff wearing those official-looking aprons came running towards us with boarding passes and then ran with us through a separate security gate and onto the plane. The near impossible had been made possible.
Fortunately for other passengers I was sitting next to another who had also sprinted to meet the plane - not only was I spilling fat but sweat as well.
