Don’t you just hate it when someone does something once then is automatically a self-proclaimed expert?
I know. It's so annoying. But I’m going to do it anyway.
Not as an expert, but as a person who just embarked on her first international flight and learned stuff.
First of all, pre-trip, try to ignore the naysayers.
I know most people are trying to give you the benefit of their experience, but for an anxious traveller, it isn’t helpful to know what could go wrong.
I had dozens of sleepless nights pre-flight — not because I was afraid to fly, but because of the airport horror stories.
I literally thought there would be nobody to assist with luggage, directions or information. That was simply not the case at Toronto Pearson's Terminal 3.
In fact, there was help everywhere. Many times, before I even had a chance to read the signs, there was a helper there to send me to the right spot.
Shout out to CIBC, which offers baggage trolleys for free in Toronto.
People had me thinking I would never fit into an airplane seat.
“The seats are narrow. Maybe you should pay for two seats. You could purchase a seat-belt extender.”
“You could upgrade for more leg room.”
"You might get a blood clot."
Surely, I thought I can’t be the only overweight passenger? I was not. The seats were actually pretty roomy on Air Transat and no extender required.
Also, there’s no point scaring people about what might happen to their luggage. Once it is checked, it's out of the traveller’s hands, so stop stressing.
I agree the airport is confusing and busy, but not as overwhelming as I was led to believe. Is there a ton of walking? Yes, but you can ask for a golf cart or a wheelchair. If you are polite and just explain this is your first travel experience, I found everyone was very kind.
My only complaint is the number of times a person has to show their passport and, even more so, the boarding pass. You think you are through inspection, but no, there’s another 10 spots where they need to see the stupid paperwork.
I was scanned so much I felt like it would have been easier to hop on the conveyor belt and go through like groceries!
If it comes to a time when we can vote for retina scanning or a fingerprint identification, count me in. Heck, tattoo me if it precludes me from digging out that stupid paper one more time.
Once on the plane, I did have a few questions about who makes the decisions.
So, who chooses the menu? On a long flight, we got a beverage, a snack and a meal spread out over seven hours.
If the airline knows it’s a full plane, and they know how many people are on board, how do they run out of certain meals?
Also, it seemed to be an odd selection. Lasagna, a bun and a three-bean salad in one of those fruit cup containers that you can’t get into. A person could literally die trying to open those plastic covers.
I forget what the dessert was — yes, it was that forgettable.
In the morning before landing, a slice of banana bread? Now, if you paid extra you could have a good snack, like Pringles or a KitKat. The rest of us just struggled with our protein bar made of cardboard.
I had been excited to watch a first-run movie. I even paid the $12 for the earbuds. It's 2023, so why are my choices Harry Potter, Home Alone, John Wick and a slew of little-known films? It was like scrolling through Netflix after you’d watched all the good stuff and then settling for something you’ve seen a million times.
There were 77 choices and none of them moved me.
There were music channels, but there were literally three country artists spotlighted — none of whom I knew.
Oh, Michael Buble was there under classics. Thank goodness!
Do artists pay to have their music offered on board? I wonder how that works.
All the medical advice says on a plane is move, walk, stand and hydrate. Hardly anyone was doing any of that. Are they camels? Isn’t anyone else stiff?
I know maybe my friend and I just got lucky on this trip, but I have nothing but heaping praise for the CAA Barrie office, Air Transat, Pearson Airport staff and the baggage handlers. Nothing lost, nothing broken.
On this trip, at least, the skies were indeed friendly.
