Human Writes: Airplane Mode

The tale of a simple upgrade illustrates how a story is not a report of an occurrence, but rather an encounter between our expectations and the mad world around us | Non-Fiction | Fresh Soup

Illustration by Noa Gana

The first time my friend Luke flew business class was on his fortieth birthday. His flight from London to New York was delayed, and every few minutes, a soft, seductive female voice announced that any passenger willing to give up their seat and take the next flight would get a $500 voucher from the airline. Luke could tell by the frequency of the announcement that the flight was overbooked and the airline was in trouble.

When the gentle voice called his name, he approached the counter with some trepidation, but the courteous agent greeted him with a smile and a cheerful “Happy birthday!” Slightly confused, he thanked her, and she explained that there were too many passengers booked for the flight, “so we’re going to have to upgrade a few to business class. When I noticed it was your birthday, I thought, who better to get an upgrade!”