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Our October 9 flight from London to Washington D.C. Dulles is a mere 7.5 hours. The check in at Heathrow is not at a private terminal nor do three attendants rush out to help us navigate immigration and customs. However, there is a private area in the general terminal for United First Class passengers to check in, and our newly acquired pieces of luggage are sent on their way. We wait in the First Class Lounge until our flight is called and walk the red carpet yet again to our first class seats. The plane is full in the economy and business sections with one vacant seat in first. The economy section has 197 passengers with a 2-5-2 seat configuration. Consider the poor person in that middle of that 5 seat row for 7.5 hours! Contrast that with 12 first class passenger seats with a 1-2-1 seat configuration and you get the picture. While certainly comfortable, it's hard not to compare United Airlines seats, food, service and first class passenger giveaways with Singapore Airlines. In every category Singapore Airlines runs away with the top prize.

Strangely, jet lag hasn't been a problem for us as we move from country to country with changing time zones but it's finally caught up with me and I sleep most of the turbulent flight. Upon landing in Dulles, as passengers transferring to another flight, we are directed to Immigration in the United terminal. Non-transferring passengers proceed to Immigration in the main terminal. Although the line with hundreds of passengers moves along, there's a fair amount of frustration as passengers begin to realize they may miss their flight connections. Unlike foreign terminals the US does not have a FastTrack line for frequent fliers, business and first class travelers, much to the consternation of many travelers who keep searching for that special line.

Eureka! We get our passports stamped and must then pick up our bags and proceed to Customs. There's a fair amount of controlled chaos as passengers look for their waiting bags and run to the Customs line for another wait. As has been the norm for us, our bags are waiting for us, having been the first offloaded. After clearing Customs and putting the checked bags on a waiting conveyor belt it's off to another line for the security check. Oh my, people are really worried about making their flights now. As are we, since the two hour window for my Rochester departure is rapidly closing in.

My oh-so-knowledgeable travel partner tells a nearby security guard that we are transferring from an international flight in First Class and have the right to go to the head of the line. She inspects our tickets and waves us through. Imagine the looks as we walk to the front of the line! Priceless.

Bags checked, I race behind my son as he heads for the United International First Class Lounge. Wanting my experience to be first class from start to finish, he upgrades my seat on the Dulles to Rochester flight. Since my flight, and his to NYC, are briefly delayed, we have time to sit for a short while and say our goodbyes. What a trip!

His parting words are, "let me know when you want to do an around the world trip. I'm sure I can arrange it for about $2,000 for the air."

What a son!