İstanbul May 2006

The flight.

The 6:30 AM Delta flight was somewhat full but I had an empty seat next to me so I didn't care. What I was dreading was the second leg of the trip from JFK to IST. When the time came to check in I saw a mass of people in front of the gate, a few tourists, but mostly turks. Apparently there was a holiday weekend and everyone was trying to get home for it. The gate agent made the announcement that the flight was oversold and asked for volunteers to give up their tickets. They offered a confirmed seat on the next flight out to Amsterdam and $399 travel voucher towards air travel on Delta. Oh, the seat from JFK to AMS was in Business class! Finally! I have been upgraded. As I was gettıng settled in, the stewardess asked whether I wanted Champagne or Orange Juıce? I said both! Mimosa time! Let me just say that it wıll be extremely diffıcult to travel ın Veal class ever again. I didn't take any pictures in the Business class because I thought it would have been too gauche. Oh Well. it was wonderful and makes a big difference towards how you feel the next morning on your arrival. I was actually rested and somewhat relaxed. This of course was greatly reduced for the 2 1/2 hour stretch ın Veal class for the flight from AMS to IST. Kerem met me at the Airport and we took a bus into the city.