Plane truth means enjoying every flight Andrew Moody

One of the drawbacks of being a journalist is that you generally sit in the back of the aircraft whereas the people you interview usually get to sit in the front.

When you have your notebook and recorder at the ready you might for a brief moment have the upper hand but all social order is restored when the people who view the world from 35,000 feet recline into their seats and avail themselves of a glass of champagne and, hopefully, a complimentary copy of China Daily.

Being a member of a number of frequent-flyer programs, I have to admit, however, to being occasionally upgraded myself.

In a rare moment of indulgence I even splashed out earlier this month on a discounted business return fair from Beijing to Bangkok with Cathay Pacific, which actual- ly lived up to expectations.

Some experiences of premium travel can leave a lot to be desired, however.

A well-known Western China politics expert of my acquaintance traveling on a Chinese airline, which will remain nameless, from Sydney complained about the onboard service to one of the aircrew. She just replied nonchalantly with a polite smile that everybody said that to her.

In another more gruesome incident, a friend traveling business class with a famous Middle Eastern airline pulled out his tray to find it covered in a thin veneer of what looked and smelt like a previous passenger’s vomit.

I sometimes feel there is actually something oxymoronic about the term business class.

If I have any serious reading, have an article to write, note making to do or just want to work on my Chinese, I find it much easier to do it in economy where the temptations are far fewer.

When traveling business class after the champagne on boarding, my usual aperitif of vodka (Stolichnaya, if they have it) and tonic and the carefully selected wines over a three-course lunch or dinner, I really can’t focus on anything other than a light movie.

That tome on modern Asian politics that I have to review will just have to wait.

Of course, many who travel business class regularly don’t actually indulge in any of the indulgences on offer.

A contact of mine traveled from London to deliver a lecture in Washington before giving another one in Munich the night after.

He abstained from any food or drink (apart from one light breakfast and coffee) and just took advantage of the ability to sleep on the reclined beds so he could remain functioning with such a schedule.

That did not seem the modus operandi for most at the business lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok I was in last week.

I was reminded of the English playwright Alan Bennett who recently complained about the “dispiriting greed” of people when it came to hotel breakfast buffets.

I was more amused than appalled that quite a few were piling up their plates and downing bottles of beer, despite it being early morning and that meals awaited them after boarding.

They certainly didn’t appear to be on any form of business but who am I to tell?

The late great British journalist Alan Whicker, famous for globetrotting, said that he coped with flying by drinking all the champagne on offer and eating everything put in front of him.

With having to deal with all the security and other hassle at airports these days, perhaps we should all actually follow his example whichever class category we happen to be in.