Fall from Grace - a Salutary Tale
Beware my Friends, beware....
Despite tears of outrage, ducking, diving and indeed hiding, the inevitable has happened. Strake is getting hitched..again.
For the honeymoon, the Future Mrs Strake has decided Thailand will meet her requirements in terms of sun, sea and outrageous amounts of hard earned cash.
Of course, on hearing this was the destination of choice, I beamed and said "No problem Darling!". FMS smiled softly and told me she loved me....
Later, when she left the house to meet with another of the money-grabbing vultures who gather for an imminent wedding, the flower merchant this time I believe, I rushed to the study and retreived that lovely letter from Amex/BA giving me a free companion ticket when booking BA miles. Eagerly I called BA and said, "Two of your finest business class tickets to Bangkok in August please". "Not a chance" came the reply. Stunned, I spluttered that it was me, Strake, hundreds of First and Business class flights over many years, Gold cards weighing down my wallet, air miles screaming to be set free and soar..this was payback time for my loyalty for God's sake..!!
My friends, I have to tell you, it was all to no avail. The sweet Scottish voice that usually soothed my desperate concerns over the availability of seat 1A or 64K had suddenly taken on a strident note. "You've been trapped laddie" she seemed to suggest, "marriage costs money, so get used to it".
With horror, I realised I would actually have to PAY for these tickets. But worse, they were in ECONOMY on Quantas and BA.
It is over ten years since I have even looked into the dark cavern that is the rear accommodation of an aircraft never mind sat there. Obviously, there must be some mistake in the seating plans because it seems hundreds of people sit in there..all together..next to each other. Half-heartedly, I have tried to request seats for me and FMS but my attempts have been sneered at both electronicaly on the internet and on the 'phone.
And so, as I reflect on the shock of rejection, I have come to realise that I am no longer one of the chosen..a premium asset..no, now I am just another Y-class drone fit only to be hurled into the gaping maw of the economy beast. I am beyond help it's true..but some consolation would be knowing there are those who will think of me kindly during my agonies......
Last edited by strake; 8th Jun 2004 at 15:48.