.jpg)
By Mihar Dias May 2025
There are many unspoken rules when travelling business class — like knowing exactly when to push that button for another top-up, and when to leave it alone lest you risk becoming that passenger.
You know the one. The one who, somewhere over the Bay of Bengal, decides it’s perfectly reasonable to request a menu 20 minutes before landing.
I happened to witness this exact diplomatic incident unfold on a recent flight.
My neighbour — a cheerful bloke whose blood type, by then, could only be described as “lager positive” — had, over the past several hours, heroically emptied what I can only assume was the entire forward galley’s beer stock.
And just as the cabin crew began strapping themselves in for descent, he summoned the Chief Steward.
Now, there’s a particular look that seasoned stewards have mastered. It’s a mix of mild surprise, polite concern, and the kind of glare you might reserve for someone who’s just asked to borrow your car to drive to North Korea. Arms folded, eyebrows arched, the Chief Steward leaned in.
“Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”
My neighbour, with the solemnity of a man requesting last rites, asked:
“May I have a menu, please?”
A beat of silence. A small ripple of turbulence. Somewhere, a wine glass trembled.
“But sir,” replied the steward, in that patient tone reserved for small children and drunk uncles at weddings, “we have stopped serving.”
Then came the twist. The man wasn’t after another lamb ragout or a final helping of cheese and crackers.
No, it turned out he was a collector. An airline menu collector, of all things. He had menus from over 60 airlines and needed this one to complete his set.
“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” said the steward, instantly transforming from stern gatekeeper to indulgent host.
A menu was produced, hand-delivered with a flourish, and world peace was restored at 35,000 feet.
And that, dear readers, is the subtlety of flying business class half-drunk: timing is everything, diplomacy matters, and never — never — underestimate a man with a hobby.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
