Heading across the globe can certainly be a daunting task but when you choose the right airline and hotel, everything else simply falls into place and you haven’t a care in the world.

Our journey started with Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777, a plane that has quickly taken over the spot of the famed 747. While it may be missing the second floor (actually the 777 has a full second story commonly reserved as flight crew rest and sleeping area), the airplane seems to go on and on and on. While I was certainly filled with excitement, there is, of course, that reluctant anticipation of sitting on a plane for 15 hours in a cramped premium economy seat. Thankfully, my concerns were put to rest as soon as I stepped on board. 

Cathay’s premium economy was actually perfect and more like a domestic business class seat. The section was secluded in its own private area and my seat had all of the amenities that you would expect. The best part for me was that the foot room and reclining space was suburb for someone who is six feet tall. As we were getting ready to take off, I started flipping through the channels on my personal entertainment center and came across what I call the ‘real time flight experience’ channel. The plane was equipped with an underbelly camera that I’ve seen more on private jets than commercial. Being a huge airplane buff, this was the best channel for me, although since my flight was at night it was pretty much like a TBS sports blackout for much of the flight. But being able to watch the takeoff without straining my neck to look out the window was a major plus. Then there was the sudden chuckle outburst as watching the takeoff from this angle reminded me of the movie Airplane!