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France for the weekend? Yes, let’s go!
Working for an airline most definitely has many upsides and downsides. Being on the front lines, flight attendants sometimes endure our passenger’s cordiality and sometimes their wrath. There have been days that I have returned from my trips vowing to my husband that I was quitting my job. Why didn’t I, you ask? Simply put…I enjoy seeing the world.
Ever hear the phrase, “Marry me, fly free”? Well, it’s true…or almost true.
Each airline policy regarding employee travel varies. My airline, for example, offers free travel to employees and their families from the very beginning of their career. Domestic travel incurs no charge; however, taxes are paid for international travel, for the specific city. Italy’s taxes tend to be the cheapest, while England’s are some of the most expensive…about $160 difference between the two. That being said, paying the taxes versus buying an international ticket is definitely a plus! Travel, however, is not confirmed. Employees check flights for available seats and place themselves on an employee standby list for that flight. The employees are assigned seats just before departure in order of seniority. No available seats? No go! So, employees definitely must have flexible travel plans and travel in off peak time periods. But, having that ability offers us the chance to go to places on a whim that most people spend months planning.
Travel benefits are also extended to our immediate family. Again, while policies vary between airlines, my husband, parents and children are also offered benefits. Over the years, we have taken many wonderful vacations…some we could have never afforded if we had had to purchase five tickets. Unfortunately, as my children grow older, I realize that this will eventually come to an end. Our benefits are extended to our children until the age of 26, if they are actively enrolled students or in the military. If they graduate at 22 or 23 and do not seek advanced education, they will no longer be covered by my travel benefits. It is no wonder that many airline employees’ children seek airline employment later in life.
When the children were younger, it was much easier to travel when school wasn’t as much of an issue. On many occasions, we packed up on a Thursday night and went to Grand Cayman or some other exotic locale for the weekend. I remember the preschool teachers thinking that our children were making up stories about their travels. Not many people can travel to far flung destinations, just for a weekend.
Last week, my oldest son turned 19. He is currently in college and his benefits will run out in about three and half years, unless he opts to pay for continuing education. Trying to take advantage of his school break, I decided that he and I should try and travel somewhere that he has never been. Checking flight availability, I noticed that the flight to Nice, France had a large number of seats open on Friday and a large number of seats open three days later, returning from Nice. Standing in the doorway of his room, I offered to take him to Nice for the weekend. We would only be there for half a day on Saturday, the whole day on Sunday and would be returning on Monday. Take it from a flight attendant; you can most certainly squeeze in a lot of sightseeing in that time frame. I was shocked when he declined my offer, stating that he had plans with friends.
Nothing I said would change his mind. “You do realize you will lose your benefits in three and a half years?” “Don’t base your decisions in life on others.” “This is your birthday present!” and all the “Mom” things I could muster. His friends said, “Wow, I’d go to France in a heartbeat, if I were you!”
Still, nothing would persuade him.
Frustrated, I realized that an opportunity could pass by. Having been to Nice many times myself, my husband and younger sons had never been. Why couldn’t the four of us go without my oldest son? Secretly though, I was assuming that if my oldest son saw that we were going to go without him, he would alter his plans and come with us after all.
Securing hotel rooms, plans were quickly put into place. We decided to leave on Friday afternoon and travel to New York. Our flight would depart at 9:20 pm and we would be arriving in Nice at 11:10 am the next morning. My oldest, sadly, still refused to travel with us.
After departing New York’s JFK airport and a seven hour flight, we were soon standing outside of Terminal 2 and boarding a bus enroute to Gare de Nice-Ville train station. Arriving a quick 20 minutes later, the walk to our hotel was a quick five minutes.
Having only opened last July, our hotel was modern, clean and perfect for our short stay. The hotel presented us with adjacent rooms and was very helpful in providing us with information on local activities.
After quickly getting settled, we were on our way to explore Nice, Monaco and St. Paul de Vence.
Although, it was a quick weekend, I was so thankful to be able to give the gift of seeing a different city to, at least, most of my family. All too soon we were back on the bus, returning to the airport for our return trip to New York and Richmond.
My oldest held down the fort while we were gone, taking care of the dog and the laundry. He inquired about our trip when we arrived. He even asked to see the pictures from the trip. I thought that maybe he would have regretted his decision a bit and maybe he did…but we will never know. I just hope that he realizes what an amazing opportunity he passed on and doesn’t continue to do so in the future. It would be a terrible shame to be further in life and look back with remorse stating, “I wish I would have taken the opportunity to travel when I had it.”
My two younger boys, however, enjoyed the fact that they benefited from his passing on the trip. They posted pictures of their adventure on Facebook. They had a wonderful time and were eager to share their exploits with their friends. For them, it is thrilling to know that they have been somewhere where many of their friends have not. To quote a friend of theirs, “You went to Nice for the weekend? Who DOES that?”
We do!!!
Delta Airlines provides service to Nice three to four times a week during winter months and daily during the rest of the year.
Transportation from Nice to City Center
- Bus 99 departs Terminals 1 and 2 every half hour and travels directly to Gare de Nice-Ville
- For other transportation information: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187234-s301/Nice:France:Arriving.And.Departing.html
Ibis Styles Center Gare Hotel information
- Rates vary from high season to low season
- Located 4 minute walk from the Gare de Nice-Ville
- 15 minute walk to Old Town.
- 10 minute walk to Promenade Anglais and beach area
- Brand new hotel offering modern, stylish accomodations
- http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-9907-ibis-styles-nice-centre-gare/index.shtml
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