#48: ode to flying

First came the plan to permit the use of mobile phones on flights. Next came the proposal to allow smoking. No, I did not just make that up. See my blog "flying chimneys" if you doubt me. Now the Mile High Club offers "a bed behind privacy of curtains on the airplane, with new sheets and complimentary bottle of champagne; for privacy, the pilots don headphones." Price: $299 plus taxes for 60 minutes. What's next?

The Economist adds spice to this mix. What we see, hear, and are made to believe is far from what is. That schpeel about life-vests and inflatable rafts in the pre-flight instructions is bunk. No wide-bodied aircraft has made a successful emergency landing on water .... ever. So here's the absolute truth, humourous but not sugar-coated, on what it is to step into the airborne cylinder.