United Airlines: A US Domestic Experience
For 2$ a bag you can check in your luggage at the curb, if traveling domestically in the US. I did this for a Chicago - Boston flight recently. Inside the terminal, the lines were long. But for a fee that many others seemed to be paying also, you could, essentially, queue skip. Interesting process, the lines inside make you want to check-in outside. But, if there were no lines inside, a revenue-generating op like this might not be possible. Convenient? Then there was the plane. The first one we sat on, for about an hour, had engine problems, so another identical model was prepared a few gates down. Another hour on, all passengers had deplaned and replaned. Only two hours late into Boston, frequent flyers appearing unsurprised. Just a typical day with United? No fuss and no apology messages necessary? At least that’s what I perceived as someone who isn’t terribly familiar with US domestic aviation practices.
Please check out some of the other entries on this blog about airports and airline travel:
• BMI (British Midland): First Impressions, September 6, 2008
• Airport News Stands: Jennifer Aniston, “Straggler Single”: Uncommon Attention, Common Problems. (Poetry about Dating and Related Blog Entry Links Included), August 22, 2008
• Charter Flights, May 26, 08
• Planes: Flights of Feeling, May 21, 2008
• Traveler’s Poem: From Airport to Destination, May 18, 2008
