Option Plus with Air Transat

On our flight to Paris for our honeymoon, we took the Option Plus package with our airline, Air Transat, in addition to our seats. This was an additional cost for us but we rationalized it as "we are only on our honeymoon once". The cost is $169 per person per round-trip (if you are flying to Europe, if not it is cheaper). If you are considering adding this option to your flight then read this post to see if it is really worth it.

With Option Plus, you get the following per person:

• A small bottle of good quality Prosecco or Champagne (worth 2 glasses) after take-off
• 1 snack (chips, chocolate, etc.)
• 1 heated meal with better food than Economy Class meals with 1 alcoholic beverage (good quality red or white wine)
• 1 heated snack with beverage
• Priority meals, beverage and snack service (in other words, you are the first in the cabin to get asked) 
• Beverage service (soft drinks, juice, coffee, tea) at least two times
• 1 comfort kit (blue bag with a blue blanket, earphones, thermal socks, inflatable neck pillow, earplugs, eyeshade)
• Separate check-in line titled "Option Plus"
• Priority sticker on your luggage so it comes off in the first round
• Priority security screening like First Class, cabin and crew in some airports
• Priority boarding of the airplane in the "Option Plus" line
• Priority seating in the cabin behind first class with an "Option Plus" tag on your seat (which means that the stewards are much nicer and accommodating to you)
• Priority deplaning of the airplane as you disembark close to the cabin
• 10 kg extra on the weight limit of your luggage

Is it worth it?

If you are flying overseas on a flight of 5 hours or more and you can spare $169 per person, take this package. It really is worth it. The flight is long, dry and crowded with people. There are only so many bathrooms and you start to go a little batty after four hours. This package not only made our flight enjoyable but it made it an exceptional experience. Air Transat is not paying me to say this, I am writing this after our honeymoon. I believe this was money well spent -- just for the priority screening at the security line-up alone.

Things to note:

• You do not have a private bathroom though like First Class passengers -- you use the same bathrooms as everyone else in Economy Class
• We did not get priority security screening in Paris but we did have priority check-in with Air Transat.
• In Paris, the planes are not boarded through the terminal as they are in Canada. In Canada, there is a long pathway that is extended to the door of the aircraft and you never set foot outside. In Paris, you queue in line and board a bus which takes you to your aircraft but you board it outside and up stairs. With this package, we were the first in line thus the first on the bus and the first on the aircraft. 
• After our trip to and from Paris, we amassed four comfort kits! That's four of everything that was listed above and I plan on making the most of it.

Ideas for the comfort kit:

• Reuse any of the items in the comfort kit in any other trip that you take (car, flight, train, boat, etc.). 
• Use the blanket from the comfort kit at work, in your bedroom or the living room if you get cold. It would also make a great car blanket for you or your kids.
• Use the earphones with your iPod (or, your kids' iPod) for whenever you loose a pair or they wear out.
• Use the ear plugs for sleeping at home on noisy nights.
• Give the ear plugs (unused, of course) to someone who works with loud machinery for extra comfort. 
• Use the inflatable neck pillow at your desk in the office or in the car. 
• Use the eyeshade for sleeping in the summer. 
• Use the entire comfort kit for camping trips.

Ideas for other extras:

• If you don't drink all of the wine, Prosecco or beverages during the flight, take one anyway and take it with you. This works best on the flight to your destination because if you are bringing alcohol home with you, you will need to claim the drinks that you don't consume on the airplane and this can take you over the limit. 
• Take the snacks that they offer you and if you don't eat them, pack them and take them with you.