It would have been critically important during football season, but was only moderately important since it was in the spring. :hihi: I don't recall exactly how long the flight was, but I think it as between 12 and 15 hours, which is torturously long if you can't sleep, eat, or watch movies. I finished all reading material about halfway in. I too pack like a librarian on trips. I simply cannot walk into an airport newsstand. I try to go to Barnes and Noble ahead of time, and save myself about $20. I don't typically drink on flights since I normally need to hit the ground running. However, I was returning from Taiwan and it was my co-worker's last project. SO, we decided to celebrate in business class on Eva Air. We were having a great time with gin and tonics, and really being quiet. We were standing in the back by the stewardesses and finally one said that we had to have at least one non-alcoholic drink. I asked if we were being loud and she said, "No, no, not at all. I can't even hear you two." While saying this, she was waving the empty 5th bottle of Bombay. "Our regulations require at least a juice drink at some point." We both laughed and headed to our seats. I passed out within about 3 minutes and woke up in Seattle. I was hungover by the time I got back to Jersey, and had my first (and only) jet lag that lasted more than 2 days -- it lasted TWO WEEKS.
I flew on a chartered flight for an Aspen ski trip in the 70's on old Trans Texas Airlines (also known as Tree Top Airlines). Anyway on the flight back, we had to land in Kansas to deal with a technical problem (radio) and was delayed on the ground for 3 hours. When we took off again the stews started carring around big baskets full of 12 oz bottles of red wine and handed them out freely for the rest of the flight. I mean as much as you wanted. People drank 3 or 4 and were stuffing extras in their bags. Everybody got completely snookered. By the time we got back to Baton Rouge, all of the complaints about the delay had vanished. TTA knew how to properly compensate a plane load of college-age travelers.
Ah Tree Top Airways. Brings back memories. I finished basic training in Amarillo and flew TTA to Houston. I think we made 6 or 7 stops along the way. Since I was in uniform the stewardess's (as they were called back then :lol: ) didn't card me and kept the beer flowing.
