Today, I flew from Madrid to Tokyo. I started early in the morning, flew from Madrid to Paris, and got another flight from Paris to Tokyo.
I woke up before my alarm went off at 3 am, and I got up straight away, took a shower and then got dressed. I was a bit nervous about my Cabify taxi turning up, but I didn't need to be. I went outside at 3:25 am, and it arrived at 3:30 am. The driver put my luggage in the car and took me to Madrid-Barajas Airport and the International Terminal.
When I walked in, there were only a couple of people in the queue at the Air France check-in desk. I was quickly checked in, and because I had pre-booked assistance at the airport, I was then taken through to the gate the plane would take off from in a wheelchair. I was one of the first people to board the flight to Paris and was surprised when I wasn't given the seat I had paid extra for, but I still had an isle seat which had the same room as the one I had booked so I didn't complain, but I did make a note to get a refund for the extra I had prepaid for the seat.
When the flight arrived in Paris, I was met at the aircraft door and transferred to my next flight. This did seem to be a bit long-winded. I was taken from the plane to a bus, which took me to a room where I had to wait. It was a freezing room, and I wasn't given any information about my next flight, so I began to worry I would make it. I was picked up by another bus and driven to another gate, where I was transferred to another wheelchair, with a few minutes to spare before being taken to the plane. All the time I was being transferred, the French staff never said a word to me and seemed very unfriendly, unlike their Spanish counterparts.
The Air France flight to Tokyo took off on time, and I spent the next 13 hours watching films and TV series and reading my Kindle. I can't sleep on planes, and it doesn't matter how tired I get. My eyes may close because I can't keep them open, but I don't sleep. The service on the flight wasn't brilliant, and the food was quite ordinary when it arrived. I didn't get a choice of food, and I wondered what I had paid for an upgrade to as the seats didn't seem any bigger than any other seat on the plane. I did get lucky in that no one sat in the seat directly next to me, so I didn't have to worry about sharing an armrest with anyone.