Bittersweet: My Last Emirates Flight With Toby

I flew from New York to Milan on Tuesday. While flying first class is always a treat, I took this flight because it would be my last flight with one of my best friends, before he leaves the company in a few weeks. This isn't the end of our friendship, though it is the end of Toby's perfect service on one of my favorites.

How I became friends with Toby

I flew first class on the A380 in December of 2012 This was back in the day when it was difficult to redeem miles for first class. The delay on the British Airways flight caused me to be re booked in the first class section of the A380. I think I was over the moon.

The most important part of this flight was meeting Toby. He had just been promoted to purser, so it was his first trip leading the A380 crew, and he was so professional.

He noticed that I had British Midland luggage tags on my carry-on and immediately hit it off. Toby had worked as a crew member for British Midland.

Toby was by far the best crew member and seemed to love his job. He was a huge av nerd.

We didn't exchange contact information on the flight, but we became friends. A reader of omaat told Toby that he recently read a review of first class. The review was from Toby's flight. I was connected with the reader at that point.

Toby is the most positive human being I know, and I am lucky to have him as a friend.

My friendship with Toby over the years

Toby has been in many countries over the past decade.

• Whenever practical, I love booking myself on the flights Toby is rostered on, because there’s nothing quite like flying with a friend
• When Toby has a layover, I love to see him if I’m in the same place (or similar area), as we’ve overlapped everywhere from Fort Lauderdale, to Frankfurt, to Melbourne
• I’ve taken several trips with Toby over the years, as he loves flying with other airlines as well, to see how their service compares; for example, he joined me on my recent return journey from Muscat to Miami, flying Turkish business class and SAS business class

Toby is an aviation nerd. He will finish working one of the longest flights in the world and then if he has a few days off he will still want to fly.

It has always been hilarious to get Toby's observations on other airlines. Toby takes his job seriously, so when there is a flight where that passion is missing, I enjoy hearing what he has to say.

Toby and I were sitting right by the galley on the American Eagle jet that we flew on. The flight attendant who was not particularly hard working was talking to her colleague about how she thought she wanted to go work for Emirates, and we both thought "good luck."

One last flight with Toby…

Toby is leaving the airline at the end of June. There was a May 31 New York to Milan flight on there when he sent me his last roster, which was a great fit for us because we needed to go to Europe. I assumed it was meant to be when there were two award seats on the flight.

One last time, Toby and I flew together. It's not just that it's fun to fly with a friend, but as someone who enjoys a good passenger experience, I love watching how he treats both passengers and colleagues.

Toby cares about every passenger on his flights and this is a huge loss for the airline. He motivates and supports his colleagues and makes them feel valued in situations where passengers act out of line.

I can only imagine the feelings he is going through. It is not easy to give up the lifestyle. He will appreciate being able to sleep and have a more structured schedule.

Toby has an exciting next chapter in his career and I am looking forward to taking many more trips with him... just not in uniform.

Bottom line

Toby will be leaving the airline after 15 years. The friendship started with my first flight on the A380, and has been going strong ever since. I am thankful I was able to fly with him one last time.