45 Minutes after takeoff from Heathrow and Virgin Atlantic flight 5 is flying over a cloud covered Southern Ireland. As usual I'm at the back of the bus - but I got my preselected window seat and there's a gin and tonic on the tray table in front of me - so I'm chilled!

I'm on my way to attend the Airline and Travel Industry Payments Summet in Miami - a 2-day conference in an airport hotel. Main topics under discussion are payment card fraud and new approaches to online payment. This might sound dry and dusty, but is right at the top of the agenda for any online travel business. My hope is that I can jumpstart our efforts to make Alternative Airlines a more customer friendly experience than it is today.

Lunch is served: spicy pasta starter; chicken, vegetarian pasta (to match the starter) or Richard Branson's Special Beef Cobbler; Gu chocolate pud. All very tasty (I had the chicken) but tiny. It's a long tome since breakfast! The trouble is I remember the days when we got nibbles with the drinks ... A second drinks round .... Cheese and biscuits ... A quarter bottle of wine with lunch ... A refill of tea or coffee...

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