As I always do, I asked the airline agent when I checked into my flight out of Ithaca if there was an exit row aisle seat available for my longer flight, from Philadelphia to Rome. She said there were no exit row seats showing at all, but she said the flight was half empty, and she saw several spots with the two seats on the ends of the rows (between aisle and window) both empty.

She couldn't give me such a seat for free, but she suggested I check with the gate agent when I got to Philly. In the meantime, though, she saw that there was no one sitting next to me in my block of four seats between aisles, and I was on the aisle.

I didn't do any better after I got to Philly, but the seat next to me remained open. No surprise; no one's going to intentionally pick a single middle seat surrounded by other passengers.

I ended up watching "The Spy Who Dumped Me," which was outstanding, tried to get some sleep, and then watched "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" for the last couple of hours of the trip. We disembarked just as the movie was ending, but I doubt I missed much.

Unlike my recent flights, the food was pretty disappointing. The "Cajun chicken" and rice was a faintly spiced creamy chicken stew. Maybe I should've gone for the pasta with pesto.