The Flight

The Heckermachers were scheduled to leave for Thailand on a Friday evening that conveniently coincided with a massive snowstorm slated to cripple New York City and surrounding areas. The Heckermachers watched anxiously as flight after flight was cancelled - but not theirs. The day before, Qatar Airways called to inform Tim that their flight had been moved from 10 pm to 6 pm in an attempt to avoid the worst of it - later, it was moved up to 4 pm.

By the time the Heckermachers arrived at the airport, the snow was already coming down hard and JFK was nearly deserted, with virtually every other flight cancelled.

But their flight boarded, and the Heckermachers were in for their first treat: business class on Qatar Airways, voted the #1 airline in the world by Skytrax Magazine (yes, that's a thing) in both 2011 and 2012. (Thanks to your generous contributions to airfare and Tim's internet ninja skills, which landed us a seriously reduced rate.)

Look at all that legroom!

The Heckermachers enjoyed fine champagne, fully reclining seats, a restaurant-worthy three-course meal (ordered from an actual menu!) and (no lie) complimentary pajamas. Anna, who had been frantically wrapping up work projects until the minute she boarded the plane, also enjoyed a long-ass nap. 

Treats in the Doha airport.

Two flights (13 and 7 hours, respectively) and one 7-hour layover in Doha (it's the capital of Qatar - we didn't know either), they arrived dazed and confused in the city of Bangkok.