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Albert knew he was dreaming. This time he didn’t worry about not knowing where he was going. That was normal, as he was dreaming. And apart from knowing that it didn’t matter, he didn’t even feel bothered by it.

He was used to flying now. He knew the routine. You checked in, you went through security and passport control and you made your way from the lounge to the gate when they called you. All of that had happened, and there he was, queuing up to board the plane with his fellow passengers. He had the impression that everything had gone smoothly and they hadn’t been waiting too long.   

A rather elegant hostess in a slightly old-fashioned uniform took his boarding-pass and smiled at him.

It was a small plane, quite near the ground, and so they had to walk across the tarmac and up some steps, like in all the old black and white films.

“Oh this is nice,” he heard someone say.

It was. He couldn’t argue with that. It was sparkling new inside. The wide seats with armrests were clustered in twos, threes and fours and there were several single seats. A thick petrol-blue carpet matched the colour of the seats’ upholstery.  There was plenty of leg room. There couldn’t have been more than eighteen seats altogether. Albert quickly counted the other travellers. They were only going to half fill the plane.

The normal routines followed: please fasten your seat belt, please switch off all mobile phones for the duration of the flight, please do not use electronic equipment during take-off, please follow our safety instructions.

Then they were taxiing down the runway.

“We expect to be airborne within three minutes,” said the captain. “I would just like to advise you that the V 751 only requires a very short run before lift-off and then she will turn through 90 degrees to ascend. You may experience a few seconds discomfort.”

Oh, so a bit like taking off in a rocket then, thought Albert. Sounds like fun.