Flight #1

I can’t sleep. It’s 10:30pm Toronto time, and I suspect we are somewhere over the Atlantic. Marley & Me is playing on the overhead screen, so I don’t have access to that nifty little map that shows you where you are, what temperature it is outside the plane and how fast you’re going. So, I’m guessing over water, freezing, and really fast. (This 747 has a cruising speed of 920kmh, which I think qualifies as “really fast”.)

I am really lucky to have the most interesting seat-mates. One guy is works for a private travel agency, Kensington, and does all kind of made-to-order tours in the Middle East and the Mediterranean for the uber-wealthy. His final destination is Athens. The other guy is a young man who just finished studying Pharmacology at U of T. He is from Mumbai, and headed there for a visit. He made an interesting observation that 24 hours after meeting, we will all be scattered to areas far-flung from Toronto.

So far I’m impressed with KLM. The seat is somewhat cramped and their boarding process was ridiculous, but the service is good, the plane is clean, the food was tasty, and their magazine is actually interesting! Things I’ve learned so far (besides the cruising speed of a 747):

1. KLM has a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program that is built into everything they do. From what I can gather, it is focused on making their operations “green”, so much so that their customers become part of the process. (Customer checks in online, gets a boarding pass on their mobile to save paper, carries less weight in their luggage to reduce carbon footprint during flight, uses the recycled drinking glasses, etc etc). In fact, the company has made bicycles available to their staff for commuting to work or between office buildings. Cool.
2. Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport contributes 2% to the Netherlands’ GDP every year, and handles 48 million passengers during that same time.
3. The Netherlands has the second highest density of broadband internet connection in the world (#1 is Denmark).
   

I’ve also been reading my book on Uganda, skimming my way through its history and reading about flora and fauna and all the amazing activities that await anyone with an adventurous spirit. Sadly my spirit will not be tested, as I believe we are fully booked with work each day, but I’m crossing my fingers that we will end up with the opportunity to visit some cultural spots as well as a primate sanctuary that is quite near Kampala.

The sun is on the horizon out the port side here (does one say “port” on a plane?) and so my sense of direction is a bit messed up. I know we are flying east, yet the sun is on my left – the curvature of the earth must have something to do with it – I suppose we are actually flying south-east from Iceland by now.

And so I am babbling. And conveniently, the lights have been turned on, signalling breakfast. I love airline breakfasts. :)