Wild Temperature Swings

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Geo: 39.0095, -77.4647

When booking our tickets on SAS, I learned that they have a unique system whereby you can "bid" for an upgrade to Business Class or their Premium Economy product, which is called "SAS Plus." You have the option of stating how much you would pay for an upgrade, and 36 hours before departure they'll tell you if your offer is accepted. I low-balled a bid for SAS Plus and was pleased when we received word the day earlier that it had been accepted. This would mean more legroom and a bigger seat for the overnight flight.

The lines in security were very long and, as we were flying a foreign airline, we could not use TSA PreCheck. Still, we cleared in plenty of time to spend an hour or so in the Lufthansa lounge before boarding. As I noted, it was near 100 degrees outside, and when we boarded the plane, the heat was stifling, even with all the window shades pulled. The crew was well aware of the heat, and apologetically explained that the ground-based A/C units just couldn't keep up with the heat. Luckily we left the gate on time, but by the time we took off, everyone was sweating. The cabin cooled off nicely at altitude, and as you can see from the pictures, we went through a wild temperature change from the ground to the air.

Our seats were nice, and Anna and I even ended up with an empty seat between us. I managed a couple of hours of sleep, but Anna and K stayed up for the duration of the flight.

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