Steve Hart: Check in early for a stress-free departure

COMMENT


Friends laughed at me last week (and not for the first time) when I insisted they get to Auckland Airport three hours before their flight left for London. Yes, I was following my own advice and that of airlines and holiday companies the world over.

Despite lots of ribbing, and an unfashionably casual and relaxed attitude (anybody would think they were going on holiday), they eventually fell into line.

We crawled along the motorway during the morning rush hour, but it didn't matter that we weren't travelling fast - we had left plenty of time to chat and listen to the traffic jam reports.

We arrived to a half-empty car park at the airport and found a good parking spot quickly. Inside the building it felt quite eerie. There was barely anyone around - in fact there were more security people and staff than travellers.

Okay, I overdid it. Check-in wouldn't open for another 30 minutes, we were way early. So we used time to weigh the luggage on the industrial-sized weighing machine by one of the airport's entrance doors.

Finding one suitcase was over the 20k limit, and the other was under, we had time to shift some of the contents around to even them out - thus avoiding a $10-a-kilo charge. Yes, with airlines hungrier than ever they have the option to charge $10 a kilo over the average 20k-a-bag limit for checked luggage.

Arriving early had given us the chance to save a few dollars. Just enough to pay for a fresh coffee and time enough to buy some magazines before we were able to start queuing.

Within moments of the desk opening the number of people behind my friends was 50 deep and growing by the minute. But getting in (almost) first gave them the choice of seats (window, aisle, back or front), and more importantly guaranteed them a boarding pass.

Some of their hand luggage was overweight and so more shifting of items took place, so all the three bags came in under the 10k hand-luggage limit for their flight.

"Boy, there are going to be some disappointed people arriving for this flight," said the check-in operator. "This flight is so oversubscribed, I can't tell you."

We know that flights are routinely over-booked by about 10 per cent, but with demand for flights outstripping supply at present it is more important than ever to check in as soon as possible.

I fear people who arrived late may have missed out on getting a seat - once the plane is full it's game over.

You may have a ticket but it's not a cast-iron guarantee of a seat.

It's a great feeling to be checked in. The large luggage items disappear on a conveyor belt leaving travellers with just their hand luggage and the all-important boarding pass.

Outside, the car park was chock-a-block with drivers looking for a space, no doubt getting more stressed by the minute.

Later, when I pulled out of my car park space, I left three cars vying for my spot. And while I was heading for the motorway, my friends were browsing the airport's second-floor shops. An hour later they were in the air.

That's how it is right now: travellers can't be too early to check in for their flights. If you are late you have a good chance of losing your seat. Somehow a compensatory food voucher doesn't make up for not being able to board the flight you bought a ticket for.

* If your ears suffer on aircraft because of the change in air pressure then a different type of earplug from the United States could help. Reports from people I know who have used them are positive.

Earplanes feature something called the CeramX ceramic filter which, says the manufacturer, works automatically to stop ear pain by smoothing out pressure changes.

"They do this by allowing minute amounts of air to leak through the filter, regulating pressure on the eardrum."

By all accounts the plugs are comfortable and work. They come in children's and adult sizes and are available from chemists.