This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Denny Balmaceda. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In February, I boarded my plane that would fly from Newark Airport in Jersey City to San Francisco. My business-class seat had been booked by a clothing brand I had been working for at the time. My seat on row 11 was a window seat with my own little nook, a treat for me, who usually flies in the economy seats.
As I settled in, neatly arranging my things in the compartment above my head and around my seat, a woman I didn’t recognize kindly asked if I would mind switching seats with her so she could sit next to her husband.
I quickly said, “Sure.” I know that in economy, this kind of question can produce mixed feelings, because if you’ve booked a window seat, you’re not going to want to switch to a middle seat. But in business class, all the seats are good, so I didn’t mind.
I hadn’t realized who her husband was
Just as I responded to her request, I looked up and saw Keegan-Michael Key. I was switching seats with his wife, so she could sit next to him. She continued, explaining she thought she had booked them to sit next to each other.
I took her seat in row 10, and she took mine in row 11.
So not only did I get to travel in business class — already a lot of fun for me — I also got to travel in front of a celebrity that I absolutely love. He’s literally one of my favourite actors.
Courtesy of Denny Balmaceda
His wife leaned over and said Key would be happy to take a photo with me. He did, and he was so nice. Throughout the flight, he was the same with everyone who came up to him — a real gentleman.
He was so nice
Every single person who came up to him got his time and never once seemed annoyed. He talked to everyone and let people take photos with him.
When his wife needed help with anything, he helped.
And as the flight came to an end, I asked if he could grab my bag, and he didn’t flinch — he was fine with it.
There was no sense that he thought he was above anyone on that plane. He was just a real person who happened to be a celebrity.
Working in the fashion industry, I know there are both celebrities who are rude and those who just have bad days. I know that sometimes, people just want to be themselves without the fame. They just want to travel on planes and not be recognized. But he didn’t fit into any of these categories.
After the flight landed and before we went our separate ways, I took a couple of photos of us together to show my wife.
It was a one-in-a-million chance that I’d switch seats with someone famous, and I was very happy and surprised to get to experience it.
