In St. Louis, Jerry and Elaine are flying back to New York. George is picking them up at JFK Airport, to pay off a bet he lost against Jerry: failing to jump high enough to touch an awning. To make up time after missing an airport shuttle, Elaine and Jerry hurriedly drop off their luggage with a skycap, but Elaine balks at Jerry tipping $5 per bag. Accused by Elaine of ripping them off, the skycap covertly redirects her suitcase to Honolulu.
With their flight canceled, Jerry and Elaine are put on a flight taking off immediately for LaGuardia, with no time to notify George. One of the seats is in first class, and Jerry snaps it up, refusing to downgrade his lifestyle. He unapologetically relegates Elaine to riding in coach, where she is walled in by a cheapskate passenger with many carry-ons. Elaine reluctantly and awkwardly clambers past the passenger to use the bathroom, where she must hold her breath against a powerful stench. The meal cart blocks off her seat until meal service has ended, leaving only a kosher meal for her.
In first class, Jerry sits next to a glamorous model, who recounts her sultry photo shoots, and becomes charmed by his knowledge "about nothing". They flirtatiously indulge in complimentary face towels, slippers, champagne and wine, potpourri in the bathroom, haute cuisine, chocolate fudge sundaes, comfy pillows, and cookies. Elaine sneaks into first class to sleep in an empty seat, but is evicted despite her pleadings. Woken by the commotion, Jerry is callously unsympathetic.
George's meticulously timed pickup is derailed when Kramer changes route and gets stuck in traffic. They arrive late, but get a reprieve from the flight change. George gets the last copy of Time magazine, hoping that Jerry namedropped him in a blurb inside. A convict being transported demands a copy because he is featured on the cover, but, being restrained by police, he has no recourse as George taunts him. On the way to LaGuardia, Kramer belatedly fingers a passerby at JFK as John Grossbard, a roommate who stiffed him out of $240 for rent 20 years ago.
When the LaGuardia flight is rerouted back to JFK, Kramer jumps at the chance to collect his debt. Since the passerby has boarded a flight, Kramer plots to buy a ticket just to get onboard, then get a refund. Wanting frequent flyer miles, George lends his credit card to buy two tickets, but Kramer is enticed by the cheapest fare, forgetting that it is non-refundable.
On the plane, the passerby does not recognize Kramer, who demands his wallet and is taken away by security. George gets trapped in the plane bathroom with the aggrieved convict as the plane takes off. As Elaine waits for her suitcase futilely, the model, mobbed by photographers, gives Jerry her number. Kramer pops out of the baggage carousel, having shaken off security by running under their plane as it landed.