Not everyone gets to have this experience, of course. Since some of my clients are very wealthy, I’ve flown private a few times on a small private jet.  

I love the miracle of flying, whether on a big commercial plane or a little puddle jumper. So I was really excited the first time I was flown on a private jet to do my work in an exotic locale.

There were 3 big surprises I thought you might be curious to know about.

1. The seats turn into real-deal beds with sheets and blankets and pillows, full size like a sofa bed!   The attendant is happy to make up the bed and fluff your pillow, and you get nicer slippers than you get on first class commercial flights.  It’s luxe.
2. Host eco-guilt.  I’ve never flown private where the host/client/organizer didn’t apologize for flying me private.  Yah, there’s carbon credits and all. But honestly, flying one or two people on a jet is still an eco-dirty practice that mucks up the earth’s atmosphere for everyone at a huge expenditure of money and petrol.  Thing is, flying private is so easy and luxurious and cool that the guilt rarely overrides the choice.  And yes I felt the guilt, and still enjoyed the ride I was given.
3. Secret Golden Toilet.  Not kidding.  I was trying to act “cool” the first time I flew on one of these lil things, but I didn’t feel so fancy when I had to ask the flight attendant to help me find the toilet in the bathroom.  See, you go in, and there’s this beautiful  big mirror, and spacious countertop, and a golden sink bowl with hot and cold running water of course.  But when you look around, there’s no toilet.  I seriously thought, “Wait, rich people still poo, right?” Um, yah, Mellissa. You’ve worked with enough well-resourced folks on their most intimate issues that you already know they still have all the same human shit as everyone else!  Well, where’s the toilet?  All I saw was a lovely upholstered bench.  “Don’t worry, I get this question  a lot from first timers,” said the flight attendant. And she lifted a secret door in the upholstered bench to reveal… the shiny golden toilet seat.