There is something about the airport travel experience. The drive to the airport and the feeling of leaving emotions and things behind or putting them on hold until we return. We get a sense of freedom beginning from the moment you enter the car to reaching your departure terminal. Here I am at terminal A with JetBlue in Newark. You get into the airport and you see people who are a walking accumulation of their own stories, their own life journey. I think; the journey of travel to a destination feels just like the journey of our own personal lives. We travel through time, through realities and stories, the story of our relationships; marriage, friendships, our kids, our career, our art, our business, goals and dreams.
There’s something about dropping off your bags, and the relief that brings. You feel like you dropped A BAGGAGE literally. While literal, it’s also emotional baggage drop. I dropped my bags conveniently at JetBlue mint check in.
This feeling of relief is usually elevated when you fly a premium service like JetBlue mint. You are greeted specially by a staff, it feels validating. You feel a sense of weight being lifted off your hands as your bag rolls off. The weight is lighter and you are left with a small carry on. You walk through security to confirm your identity, it brings a feeling of civilization, orderliness, and rules. You pass through security feeling like you have a mini break from the rigidness of civilization and back to the sense of freedom you started with when you got in the car. You proceed to your gate… then you see convenience stores that support you through this journey. “I should get a snack or water”. There’s something about stopping by the convenience store at the supermarket, it brings a feeling of support and availability, life is available to serve you through this journey. You proceed to your gate.
“I need to pee”…you stop by the bathroom for a wee to further reduce any possible bladder baggage, feeling lighter is the goal. As you pee you get reminded once again by the structure of civilization. You hear an announcement; a voice warning you about your belongings. “Let me make sure I don’t forget something”…you wrap your loo business and head to boarding.
You may sit at the gate or opt for a lounge relaxation or perhaps time is not on your side like it wasn’t for me; your boarding group is called. “Group A can begin boarding”, you roll the little baggage with you to your boarding status. With JetBlue mint you get priority status. Regardless of whatever status it is with JetBlue, You are either excited about the flying experience like I am or thinking about the destination. The reason or the story that got you on JetBlue.com to book the flight in the first place. Perhaps it’s about mum, or dad or the divorce or the graduation. Perhaps it’s for celebration or for mourning. Either way, a comfortable flight on JetBlue have a way to lighten the mood and refresh this Journey. You will be spending a significant amount of hours of your life with an airplane. Here I am walking into my little air home for the next 6 hours. I walk into my seat 4A that feels like a mini apartment.
There is something about seating on the seat of an airplane whether by the window, the middle , the aisle or a private seat like mine. You look over to the window or you look down or you look to the side….with thoughts going through your mind about the life you just left or the life you are headed towards. You are now being prepared to be lifted off the ground by this incredible gigantic bird. It is the most fascinating awareness that a machine is capable of transporting you through air, space and time. You marvel at this or perhaps “it’s just another flight for work”. You learn as you fly an elevated experience like mint that you are treated with royalty. The attendant proceeds to ask you what you want to drink. “Ah! So refreshing to drink a mint zero condition cocktail”. As you sip, you do some more noticing. The most profound one is that THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO DO!.
Perhaps you will find something to do later after take off, maybe do some work on your laptop. But you are left with “BEING” right now. You are left with SITTING WITH YOURSELF if solo, or chat with a companion or even the stranger next to you. It brings a de ja vu feeling of the pandemic. When we were all forced to BE. That is the beauty of sitting on an airplane and the background reason why we cannot wait for the next trip. You get to escape obligations for a little while. And the big one; YOU RELINQUISH CONTROL. You are left with no choice but to trust another life who mostly wears a white shirt with a significant design on its shoulders and a hat. They call him the pilot. This person is carrying a huge responsibility of transporting you and your history. You are left to not only trust this person but also trust the engines of this bird; a necessary consideration for flying a reputable airline like JetBlue airways. There is a lot to be considered, the plus, the minus, the logistics working behind the scenes for your journey; the air traffic control, the engines of the plane rolling, the pilot announcing take off, the attendants making sure you are okay and aligned with safety. I hope we don’t take all of this for granted.
But these are the background logistics that are all contributing to your journey through place, space and time. How often do we get to think of this? We mostly care about the seat , the packaged experience and getting from point A to B. You get comfortable in your seat now, the most critical moment of your life and all the lives on the plane has just happened. THE TAKE OFF. Anything could’ve gone wrong but you took off safely. Now you can turn on the square looking thing in front of you to watch something.
The good thing about JetBlue is; the square looking thing is mostly available on their fleet. I’m sure you know what it feels like on a plane with no tv….B for the O for the R for the I for the N for the G…BORING! or you find a way you entertain yourself. You grab your book, your iPad or your phone. Now that take off has happened; You get comfortable; you take your shoes off, perhaps wipe your make up off and settle into the magical experience of flying. It can sometimes feel like a tug of war between you, gravity and this white looking bubbles called cloud in the form of turbulence. Soon enough the attendant begins service.
Flying premium with mint JetBlue means super crafted delicious meals or perhaps you are in economy and get a snack and juice. But there something enjoyable about being served on a seat.
Your only job is to sit, eat, watch, read, play games and sleep….or perhaps you get no relaxing feeling because a kid is crying or your sitting neighbor won’t stop talking too loud or the guy at the window won’t shut the blinds or somebody let out a stinky fart. This presents a human choice. Something to appreciate or get relative with or something to complain about. At the end of it all, the person doing the internal interpretation of this flying experience is YOU.
I found many things to appreciate about this journey. The opportunity to simply BE, the food, the mini privacy shutting the door of my seat, the comfortable lie flat seat, it’s an incredible feeling to be able to lay down and sleep, even the mundane looking through my window to watch the moon and watching the view of the city of Jersey , the lovely attendants, and the intricate logistics supporting me through this journey to my destination. You pass through multiple states, cities, countries, weather conditions, air pressures; you know, the popping feeling in your ear, you ascended with this bird and you must descend with it. Another critical moment needs to happen, without this there is no arrival. The bird needs to land.
Your belly drops with its belly as it descends because you are in its belly. You get more popping sounds and may even get nauseous. The good thing about JetBlue, a pre arrival snack gets served to ease all of this. Everyone in this bird psychologically prepares for this descent. We follow the rules and protocols to touch down safely and the next thing you know you are right on the ground with gravity. This bird and all of its logistics and people brought you to a safe arrival to your destination. All of this; is the beautiful something; the beautiful revelation about a travel experience from the airport to the plane to the destination with a flight like JetBlue Airways.
I made a video for you to visually see what its like to fly JetBlue mint
