The good news about frequent fliers

Every few years, the Dieties of the Skies smile on me, and because of my super-frequent flier status, I am blessed with AN UPGRADE. This is most welcome on long hauls such as, say, the 14.5 hour flight from LA to Sydney.

Let me start by saying that on my Miami-LA flight on American, my only food options were a pre-fab muffin ($2) or a turkey croissant ($5) which had run out long before the cart got to me. Oh Joy.

And then, the upgrade.

All business class has the advantage of extra leg-room and hot meal service, if you can call it that. (On American, you'll be better off with a take-long sandwich.) Qantas is a different, cheerier matter. The highlights: sesame-crusted seared tuna, a beef filet that actually tasted like beef, and toasted sandwiches made to order.

As for the seats: Not only do they go entirely flat for sleeping (that's found only in First on many airlines) but the seats do a little rotational massage thing, like the pedicure chairs in a nail salon. Makes the flight seems so much shorter!