KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

Jack Stine: We all deserve to be First Class

Feb 28, 2024, 9:33 AM | Updated: 2:34 pm

Flying First Class can be a special experience. (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty...

Flying First Class can be a special experience. (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

For the first time in my life, I flew First Class. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging about having John Curley levels of income.

I bought the ticket four weeks in advance, a few days after the Boeing ‘huge gaping hole in the plane at 10,000 feet incident, when no one was flying. Because of this, the price was roughly $200.

To be totally honest, it was amazing. My flight was delayed by an hour. When I went to the gate to check on the status of the flight, the gate attendant offered me a dinner voucher in the airport to ease my dismay and distress.

On the flight, I noticed that the tray table was located in the armrest of the seat and could be deployed by pulling a simple lever. I was offered a beverage in a glass.

Dave Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

When I was offered the selection for my in-flight meal, the flight attendant said, “Would you like the protein or the fruit and cheese plate?” I asked which one he liked, and he replied, “I will bring you both,” which he promptly did and both were amazing.

However, in the middle of the intoxicating experience of being treated like royalty, I was hit with a sudden wave of discontent. I can only equate it to Neo’s sensation when he was expelled from his goo-pod in The Matrix.

A wave of terror and dread hit me at 10,000 feet, and the sound this wave made was, “everyone on this plane deserves this…”

Regardless of where you are on a plane, we all deserve more room to stretch out. W all deserve beverages served in a glass, and we all deserve both the protein and fruit plate.

Travis Mayfield: New president deserves space to help SPU find way forward

Why? Because we pay for that service. Flying is an expensive experience no matter where you are in the plane – and being treated like a human being as opposed to salmon being airdropped into a lake is a privilege we should all be entitled to, regardless of the cost to the airline.

Sure, maybe some people would say ‘they need to make a profit’ and they do so by making the seats overpriced and expensive and having plastic cups and mini cokes, and carb sticks instead of fruit.

But wouldn’t more people fly more and more often if it was at least a pleasant experience instead of an exercise in self-administered torture? I think so.

Listen to Jack and Spike weekdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio.

KIRO Newsradio Opinion

MRI tumor...

Luke Duecy

Duecy: I thought I was just getting older. It sucked. Then an MRI revealed a pituitary tumor

In May, after a series of doctor visits, blood tests, and an MRI, I heard words I never expected to hear: "You have a benign tumor near your brain."

7 hours ago

pierce county school levy tax...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Pierce County forgot to charge me for a school levy, sent a letter blaming nobody, and wants $1,100 by November

I got a letter from the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer, informing us of a "discrepancy" on our 2026 property tax statement. Not a mistake. A discrepancy.

10 hours ago

inslee fires spokane...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘Virtue signaling’: KIRO hosts debate former Gov. Jay Inslee linking Spokane fires to climate change

Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee made a post on social media Sunday linking the fires raging in Spokane to climate change.

21 hours ago

cameras...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘She’s not turning them on’: Gee and Ursula split on whether $250,000 for Seattle cameras should be used for other resources

KIRO hosts Gee and Ursula were split on whether $250,000 set aside for Seattle surveillance cameras should be used for other resources.

22 hours ago

ask ursula advice stepson...

Ursula Reutin

Ask Ursula: My stepson never calls his dad, when can I get involved?

It's been years since my stepson contacted his dad to wish him a happy birthday or even a happy Father's Day. Should I intervene?

1 day ago

mayor wilson bite of seattle shooting...

Luke Duecy

The Spin: Why Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ‘different window’ answer raised more questions than it answered

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson repeatedly relied on the same phrase while defending her decision to seek former Police Chief Shon Barnes' resignation.

1 day ago

Jack Stine: We all deserve to be First Class