Fear of Flying

All the more incredible, then, when in my Lufthansa in-flight magazine I spotted an advertisement for airline seats. "Yesterday at 30,000 feet between Hong Kong and Frankfurt, tomorrow in you home or office". That's right, for the very reasonable price of 1200 Deutschmarks (about $600), you can have your very own row of three (economy-class) airline seats to take home! And that's not even including lifejackets.The fact the Lufthansa even considers their seats to have a resale value shows that that pre-war concept of airplane chic somehow remains with us. Back in the 1930s, when flying was the preserve of the rich and the foolhardy, airplanes modeled themselves on luxury trains. There were separate dining areas, cocktail lounges ? even bedrooms. Today, unless they take the corporate Learjet, not even the toppest top executive can hope for such treatment, while for those untouchables flying economy class such as you and me flying is an experience which, if it was imposed on prisoners, would be declared unconstitutional as being a cruel and unusual punishment.

Still, no point in complaining. Check out these dirt cheap airline tickets and at least you won't be paying very much for your ticket.