| 17/11/2008 Since it's been exactly 2 weeks, yes the meal is tonight. I was right about Obama winning, but he won by way more than I anticipated, so no free food. Don't you just hate those people who rush to airports at the last minute and still expect to check in? And if they don't get their way, they get into hysterics? Earlier I was unfortunately one of those people, so before I tell my story, I'll admit something they should: it was all my fault. I'm typing this on the plane flying to Frankfurt from Vienna. It's an early morning flight. It left at 6:30. So when I garnered info regarding how to get to the Airport at ludicrously early times, there's a nice direct-to-airport train in Vienna called CAT. It's first journey sets off at 5:38 and takes 18 minutes (not 16 as they keep saying). So there was me thinking that quite a lot of passengers do last-minute check-ins. Turns out that at the CAT station they have terminal check-in desks. That baffled me to the extent that rather than ask one of them how it works and check myself in, I tried to use the check-in machine, which took ages to activate and then said 'hand luggage only'. So then I tried the desk but the cut-off time for check-in there was 58 minutes before flight departure. I had waited too long. So I made the decision to go straight to a check-in desk at Vienna Airport. And just like me I change my mind when I get there (just before 6). I saw a long line of baggage-drop desks and thought they had no check-in desks. This is why I hate rushing: I can never think straight. Instead of looking for a desk I anxiously wait for a machine to become free. Then the machine takes ages. Then it says check-in is no longer viable for that flight, so I'd have to go to a desk. And I can't help but notice how long the qeue is. So by the time I'm at a desk it's 6:15ish and I'm bordering on hysterics. The woman sternly tells me that if check-in is closed there's nothing she can do. She rings them at the gate to see if I can be let on. I show her my 1 piece of luggage, a travelbag, and ask if I could bring it on as handluggage. She wasn't given an affirmative answer so she told me to go to the gate and see if they'll let me on. So I had to run along all those long corridors to C54, arriving panting and hot (I never realised airports were such overheated places, that comes with never having travelled in the winter) and there I'm told to relax, 'cos 3 minutes more and they wouldn't have let me on. I don't think I'll ever take early-morning flights again. If you're wondering why I did it was the cheapest flight, just like how the flight to Vienna was the last one on Friday night and I got the day's last CAT. I'll just be thankful that it all worked out and I can't help but take note of the following factors for the result: Vienna is a relatively small but also logical airport. The security checks are done right outside the gate here, rather than between the shops and gates. There was also my easy-to-carry luggage. I've also decided I really love Lufthansa right now. |