Rio Airport
Oh my.
First line at 8:45 pm
This line was dauntingly long and even though we asked folks in the queue whether this was the United Air lineup Hans thought it would be smart to double check, so off I went. The office confirmed that we were in the proper line as they had only one flight that evening and in fact, everyone I could see was going to Washington, Dulles. The good news was that it was only 8:45 and they had just opened up the check-in wickets at 8:30, so we weren’t late. More passengers were streaming in behind us.
Second line at 9:15 pm
Alas, the lineup in which we were caught was only a fraction of the passengers. From here, we were led into a zig zag line. You know, where the floor is sectioned off by ropes and you walk back and forth like a lab rat. The three of us went together so we’d be seated beside each other however, when we finally got the check-in counter, the girl wasn’t issuing seats. We did, however, get our three bags checked but it took awhile since our final destination is Phoenix and Teddy’s is Calgary. We were flying together only to Washington, then Los Angeles.
Meantime, while Teddy and I were getting our bags checked, Hans was filling out the US customs declaration form. There was another long line building to go through security and it occurred to me that we would be going into that line next, so I asked Hans to get a spot while Teddy and I finished up with the bags. Too bad this idea didn’t occur to any of us 10 minutes earlier.
This line seemed to come to a complete stop until a senior person got 2 additional women to assist with the check-in. They didn’t look happy. One of them took 5 minutes to take off her jacket and fold it carefully. Then it was time for her to log in and it took so long Teddy thought she might be writing an email to her mother.
Third line, Security
This queue was adjacent to line #1 we were in earlier and was no shorter.
Fourth line
Now we were in the zig zag portion of the security line that eventually let the throng through one of three, count ‘em, *three* x-rays!
Fifth line
Got our hand luggage x-rayed and then joined another zig zag taking us through passport control. Here there were four agents available to move us through more quickly, LOL.
Sixth line 10:15 pm
So far we had a boarding pass but still no seat assignment and I was asking at each stop. “No,” was the consistent reply. “Later.” The crowd of passengers was huge and I worried we might not get on the plane. You know, first you think to yourself, “Please just let me get a seat.” Then once you get one, it’s “Can I have a window?”
But from passport control we went directly to our gate where I told the guy we didn’t have seats yet. Quite by chance, because we were together, Hans and I were together and Teddy was right across the aisle from us.
Finally. In the plane. It’s now 5 minutes before take off and we’re not seat yet because there’s a bottleneck near the front. Turns out several passengers had been given the same seats. Luckily we were okay. Or maybe not, because they got bumped up into Business Class. That would have been nice since the flight was 9 hours 45 minutes long.
I really hate plane travel.
First line at 8:45 pm
This line was dauntingly long and even though we asked folks in the queue whether this was the United Air lineup Hans thought it would be smart to double check, so off I went. The office confirmed that we were in the proper line as they had only one flight that evening and in fact, everyone I could see was going to Washington, Dulles. The good news was that it was only 8:45 and they had just opened up the check-in wickets at 8:30, so we weren’t late. More passengers were streaming in behind us.
Second line at 9:15 pm
Alas, the lineup in which we were caught was only a fraction of the passengers. From here, we were led into a zig zag line. You know, where the floor is sectioned off by ropes and you walk back and forth like a lab rat. The three of us went together so we’d be seated beside each other however, when we finally got the check-in counter, the girl wasn’t issuing seats. We did, however, get our three bags checked but it took awhile since our final destination is Phoenix and Teddy’s is Calgary. We were flying together only to Washington, then Los Angeles.
Meantime, while Teddy and I were getting our bags checked, Hans was filling out the US customs declaration form. There was another long line building to go through security and it occurred to me that we would be going into that line next, so I asked Hans to get a spot while Teddy and I finished up with the bags. Too bad this idea didn’t occur to any of us 10 minutes earlier.
This line seemed to come to a complete stop until a senior person got 2 additional women to assist with the check-in. They didn’t look happy. One of them took 5 minutes to take off her jacket and fold it carefully. Then it was time for her to log in and it took so long Teddy thought she might be writing an email to her mother.
Third line, Security
This queue was adjacent to line #1 we were in earlier and was no shorter.
Fourth line
Now we were in the zig zag portion of the security line that eventually let the throng through one of three, count ‘em, *three* x-rays!
Fifth line
Got our hand luggage x-rayed and then joined another zig zag taking us through passport control. Here there were four agents available to move us through more quickly, LOL.
Sixth line 10:15 pm
So far we had a boarding pass but still no seat assignment and I was asking at each stop. “No,” was the consistent reply. “Later.” The crowd of passengers was huge and I worried we might not get on the plane. You know, first you think to yourself, “Please just let me get a seat.” Then once you get one, it’s “Can I have a window?”
But from passport control we went directly to our gate where I told the guy we didn’t have seats yet. Quite by chance, because we were together, Hans and I were together and Teddy was right across the aisle from us.
Finally. In the plane. It’s now 5 minutes before take off and we’re not seat yet because there’s a bottleneck near the front. Turns out several passengers had been given the same seats. Luckily we were okay. Or maybe not, because they got bumped up into Business Class. That would have been nice since the flight was 9 hours 45 minutes long.
I really hate plane travel.
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