Traveling

I'm on a business trip for a few days. A few years back, my job called for me to travel a great deal more than I do now. There are times when I miss the experience, but yesterday wasn't one of them.

I know that air travel is a more complicated affair than it used to be, at least from a security point of view. And to be fair (and when am I ever unfair?), going through security was probably the least painful thing I did yesterday. But when one is doing everything right, why is it that everything else goes wrong?

I generally like to get to the airport at least half an hour before the airline wants me there. I like having the extra time to go up to the lounge, have a coffee, read the newspaper or get a magazine before having to be herded onto the aircraft. Yesterday there was a lot of traffic coming from downtown, so I didn't get to the airport until just over an hour before departure. No problem, I thought to myself, since I had already printed my boarding pass; since my Aeroplan status allows me to use the executive counter, I should be able to breeze right on in.

I arrived at that section of the airport to find that the express check-in is so popular it has a line-up. Just dropping off one's bags - the part that should arguably take the least amount of time - has become the single most time-consuming part of the ritual. The queue was at least an hour long. Thinking quickly, I went over to the executive checkin queue, which was considerably shorter. Re-doing what I had already done, i.e. checking in, getting a seat assigned (or re-assigned in my case) and checking my suitcase, actually took less time than it would have just to check my bag.

As for the whole issue of checked luggage: I have a carry-on suitcase that I bought a few years ago, when I was traveling a lot. Its dimensions are precisely those set by all the major airlines for carry-on baggage. Why didn't I just carry it on, you may ask? Well, dear reader, I was carrying contact lens solution and deodorant and shampoo, which are verboten on carry-on these days. I have seen so-called dry shampoo, which is essentially cornstarch that you rub into your hair and then comb out. I also know that you can use talcum powder as an effective anti-perspirant/deodorant. And you know, for a few minutes there I was actually tempted to replace my liquid-and-gel toiletries with fine-textured white powders. In the end, I decided not to give the security guards any more excitement than they can stand already, and just checked my suitcase. Never let it be said that I'm inconsiderate.

Then I finally got to the departure lounge, mildly annoyed because now it was only about fifteen minutes to scheduled departure time. When, oh when will I learn that scheduled departure times now mean nothing to Air Canada? The 6 pm departure was blithely changed to 6:30, then to 7, then to 7:15. We were herded onto the plane, whereupon the very polite captain announced that the technicians had nearly finished replacing the tires on the nose wheel, but that the luggage crew had had to take their meal break and the luggage wasn't quite all loaded yet, and oh yes, there were a number of passengers who had checked luggage but who hadn't boarded the plane, and we all know what a bother that can be. So we sat around until 8. Mercifully the flight took less time than anticipated - lack of headwind, I'm guessing - so we got into Vancouver at a decent (ish) hour.

Ah, the excitement of cross-country travel.