drama at the airport
on my way to the airport in the coach yesterday/Thursday, i was a bit worried that at check-in i would be told that they would not accept the extra 2.5kg that i had (my weight allowance for check-in was 23kg but i had 25.5kg) and that i would have to throw out some stuff to get it down. so i had Johann on standby (because he lives nearest to the airport, has a car, and was very obliging to drive down and help if needed!) to come and get some stuff from me if it got down to that in the end.
upon arriving at the airport, i went to the sales desk to get my ticket re-issued. i was bumped up the the earlier flight (10mins earlier) as the flight that i had been confirmed on was full (panicked for a bit there!). once sorted i went to check-in. all was going well until i got to the desk and told the guy i had 2 bags. it was there that i was informed i could only check in one bag (a new BA policy since February 2007) because i was travelling in economy class. if i wanted to check in 2 bags, i would have to pay a flat fee of 120 pounds per extra bag, even if all the bags collectively came under the weight allowance. so i told the guy that i would try and repack my bags at the side and come back again. he said, yeah you should try that because it will be cheaper.
so i spent the next 5mins panicking (and calling Josh who stayed back in the office rather than driving home so that he could answer my calls) and trying to stuff everything from my backpack (all clothes) into my suitcase. once i expanded the suitcase there was a teensy bit more space so i was frantically trying to squeeze everything in (a mammoth task that took 20mins and a lot of sweat). in the end, success! though i couldnt fit the backpack itself into the suitcase. when i went back to the counter, i carried my bag onto the conveyor belt and the guy asked, how many bags? i said, just the one. he looked surprised and asked, what happened to the other bag? i said, i repacked it all into one bag. silence and a look of double surprise from him. and i think because i did it, he looked the other way with regard to the excess weight. phew! he even thanked me for cooperating and repacking it all into one!
next i had to find a bin to throw away my backpack (it's old and battered so i didnt mind chucking it out). bins are a scarcity in airports these days and i decided to try the covered bit box thingy near where i repacked my stuff (where you throw things into separate bins for different types of material). since my bag didnt fit into any category, i approached a cleaner who was checking the bins and asked if i could throw my bag into one of the bins. he replied, is it empty (with a look of surprise that someone wants to throw a backpack away)? i said, yeah it is. he paused for a while and said, oh ok sure. (what's with me atracting weird looks from airport staff?)
everything from there went relatively smoothly. other than the fact that it took me a good 5mins to repack my laptop bag because they make you remove your laptop to be scanned separately. every item in the bag had a specific position to accomodate everything and once the laptop was removed, it had to be systematically repacked. oh and my flight was delayed anyway since the plane came in late and we had to wait ages to get onto the runway.
on a lighter note, have you ever seen a white, middle-aged father of two practise yoga at the departure lounge while waiting for boarding? WEIRD.
upon arriving at the airport, i went to the sales desk to get my ticket re-issued. i was bumped up the the earlier flight (10mins earlier) as the flight that i had been confirmed on was full (panicked for a bit there!). once sorted i went to check-in. all was going well until i got to the desk and told the guy i had 2 bags. it was there that i was informed i could only check in one bag (a new BA policy since February 2007) because i was travelling in economy class. if i wanted to check in 2 bags, i would have to pay a flat fee of 120 pounds per extra bag, even if all the bags collectively came under the weight allowance. so i told the guy that i would try and repack my bags at the side and come back again. he said, yeah you should try that because it will be cheaper.
so i spent the next 5mins panicking (and calling Josh who stayed back in the office rather than driving home so that he could answer my calls) and trying to stuff everything from my backpack (all clothes) into my suitcase. once i expanded the suitcase there was a teensy bit more space so i was frantically trying to squeeze everything in (a mammoth task that took 20mins and a lot of sweat). in the end, success! though i couldnt fit the backpack itself into the suitcase. when i went back to the counter, i carried my bag onto the conveyor belt and the guy asked, how many bags? i said, just the one. he looked surprised and asked, what happened to the other bag? i said, i repacked it all into one bag. silence and a look of double surprise from him. and i think because i did it, he looked the other way with regard to the excess weight. phew! he even thanked me for cooperating and repacking it all into one!
next i had to find a bin to throw away my backpack (it's old and battered so i didnt mind chucking it out). bins are a scarcity in airports these days and i decided to try the covered bit box thingy near where i repacked my stuff (where you throw things into separate bins for different types of material). since my bag didnt fit into any category, i approached a cleaner who was checking the bins and asked if i could throw my bag into one of the bins. he replied, is it empty (with a look of surprise that someone wants to throw a backpack away)? i said, yeah it is. he paused for a while and said, oh ok sure. (what's with me atracting weird looks from airport staff?)
everything from there went relatively smoothly. other than the fact that it took me a good 5mins to repack my laptop bag because they make you remove your laptop to be scanned separately. every item in the bag had a specific position to accomodate everything and once the laptop was removed, it had to be systematically repacked. oh and my flight was delayed anyway since the plane came in late and we had to wait ages to get onto the runway.
on a lighter note, have you ever seen a white, middle-aged father of two practise yoga at the departure lounge while waiting for boarding? WEIRD.
posted by ade at
9:03 pm
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