I Sat in Almost The Last Row on a 8 Hour Flight and Loved It

There’s a rare saying that I’m sure you’ve never heard of that goes something like this: it’s about the journey, not the destination. Well, in this case, it was absolutely about the destination. As I moved further down the aisle to row 56 only to pause as fellow travelers settled in or to push their suitcase above, I wasn’t sure that Ralph Waldo Emerson was onto something. That said, my fiancé, Ben, and I were too excited to care with it being our first time going to Europe together. We snuggled into our seats, only 2 rows away from the back of the plane, and got comfortable.

We are surrounded by social media accounts flaunting elegance and luxury, eating the best foods — and often — or traveling around the world in first class and we forget that there’s still a lot of joy to be found even when not traveling that way. Or even, dare I say, that it’s necessary at all. Of course we looked at the upgraded seats, but the prices were a huge jump and the benefits of a little bit more leg room and an eye mask didn’t seem to be worth the additional few hundreds of dollars. So, we stuck with our seats and, like I said, were determined to make the best of it. The free wine extended to the back rows so it’s not like we were missing out there.

When sitting that far back, you also board almost last which is the first perk that we felt. Yes, I said perk. Sitting for most of the day is already not ideal so neither or us were eager to rush inside the plane to sit. Also, no matter where your seat is, it’s typically warm in the summer months as the plane sits idle on the hot tarmac and I’m not the biggest fan of tight spaces. While the gate attendant welcomed seven groups, you could find Ben and I stretching against the walls like we were about to run a marathon. We walked around as we chatted giddily about our plans for Spain and practiced our Spanish with our tiny pocket-sized translation book. Closer to the gate, we lunged and leaned, bent side to side and front to back until we felt incredibly limber. Caffeinated, hydrated, stretched, and having gone to the bathroom at least two times each we were ready to board.

I was in the middle of a rather suspenseful book so most of the flight I power read only to take breaks to talk until our favorite and most anticipated part of our travels: the meal and beverage cart. Most might not find this alluring, but I was intrigued by the chicken gravy and potato option that I had read about on my airline app as well as the massive bottles of wine that attendants were filling cups to the brim with. I paused mid-word while I was reading as a savory, warm smell swept from the back. Now, you can’t think too much about the quality of the food, you just need to enjoy it and honestly feel grateful that it’s a part of the experience at all. When my tray finally came and my cup of red wine safely secured in the cup divot, I was starving. The chicken was surprisingly tender and although salty I really enjoyed the gravy generously poured over the top. Most importantly, the meal was comfortingly hot. The bread reminded me more of a paperweight and was to be avoided. There’s always a salad side of sorts as well which in this case was a chickpea salad with chopped fresh vegetables which was a welcomed pairing to it’s meaty-saucy chicken companion. After we finished eating, our trays were collected and my cup of wine refilled — what service! — and I leaned back in my chair with just enough room for my legs and couldn’t help but smile. This was a pleasant experience indeed.

I tried to sleep but the flight was flying by and I was made aware that there was a breakfast course that I couldn’t help but be excited about. I read more and the drama in my book kept my eyes zipping from side to side down the pages, so I didn’t find much rest. Another perk of being towards the back of the plane is the easy access to the attendant prep area and restrooms. This area had plenty of room to stretch and stand for awhile and, wait, are those snacks? Yes, yes they were. I spent a good amount of time there when I needed a break from my seat and when the seatbelt sign was off. So, my leaning, bending, lunging continued unembarrassed within sight of row 56. A cup of ready water at the snack station and a bag of cheddar crackers then I was back to my seat to close my eyes. Before I knew it we were landing.

I curiously peeked at the business and first class seats as we de-planed only to find scattered blankets, eye masks, and a noticeably nicer headphone set but no signs of a fancy meal or upscale beverages or especially different service revealed itself. Our friendly flight attendants chattered amongst themselves on how they would spend their time in Madrid — our connecting city before A Coruna on the northwestern coast — and I overheard plans of partying and rest before their return home in two short days. They gave us advice on jet lag and then we were off into the unmoving air of the jet bridge. Kind and hospitable, no matter our seat number. We navigated the now Spanish gate signs to our next flight, where our seats would be just 4 rows from the back of the plane. No snacks for this quick flight, but I was excited all the same.