Business

My latest trip to Mozambique begins today. There were no seats left in economy on the direct route from Dar es Salaam to Maputo, and rightly we are not allowed to book business class. On this occasion the cost of business class was still lower than a route via any hub, and the journey much shorter, so the ticket was issued.

When we say business class on Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (Mozambique Airlines), it isn’t a vacuumed sleep pod with an à la carte menu and posh toiletries. But I was grateful for the roomier seat and for the peace that came from being the only person seated in front of the curtain, separating myself from the riff-raff.

I normally feel uncomfortable in customer service situations when I am being pandered to in an overly demure ambience. Which is why I felt more at ease when the stewards started hollering at those who refused to sit during the temporary stop the plane always makes in Pemba in northern Mozambique. ‘What’s your problem’? one of them yelled at an unruly economy passenger. I enjoyed the interaction as it typified my experience of Mozambique in that people tend to be less submissive than in Tanzania, and they call out issues more publicly. If a customer is ignoring a safety instruction at the tenth time of trying, I think it’s fair to get feisty, even if you’re the ‘professional’. These economy passengers behave ever so uncouthly and need to be kept in check.