I know I vaguely refer to my hatred for the baggage claim a lot....but I'm going to get into it today.
Setup:
Most baggage claims are located near the passenger pick up zone of an airport. So, for example, in Denver, you take a tram between the main (ticketing/baggage) area...and the gate areas. So when you deplane, you have about 15 minutes of transport before you even arrive at baggage claim. This is an interesting idea...and i can see why they thought to do it this way. Obviously, the longer you're in transport, the less time you're sitting there thinking 'omg where the hell is my stuff'.
However, when you arrive in Denver, spend 15-20 minutes in transport....then sit there for 40 minutes waiting for your stuff...it's a little less charming a lot more annoying.
I realize the industry is going through some tough times, and I imagine it's diffucult to find reliable people to be baggage handlers (especially when you factor in that they aren't well paid AND have to pass security checks). i know they're short staffed. But why can't newer airports have built in conveyers that will literally transport your stuff from gate to carousel (thus eliminating the need for someone to drive the cart back and forth...they'd be freed up to unload more bags from other planes. Granted, it would be tricky and expensive to build a system of hundreds of individual conveyer belts (and a NIGHTMARE to maintain them) but it would work.
Something else that drives me crazy is when they unload 12 planes of luggage onto 1 carousel. This is particularly an issue at the Phoenix airport. In terminal 4, there are 8 luggage carousels, and usually 4 of them are barren...while the other 4 are crowded with literally....hundreds of bags pouring out, stacking, crushing, toppling, collapsing, and just a huge mess. The carousels are each 'claimed' by an airline...so for example if there happen to be 12 Southwest flights landing at the same time...and only 4 Southwest carousels...they'll triple-load each of them, while the Delta & USAir carousels are totally empty. Aren't airports sophisticated enough to have some sort of load-balancing software for their baggage? the PHX terminal literally has 2 ladies that sit at a podium and make all the decisions manually. they have a list of all incoming filghts, and they get walkie-talkied every time 1 lands. they make an announcement overhead about which carousel it will go on! it's completely manual! can you believe that!!
Anyway - i didn't realize that airlines were so territorial about their luggage carousels. Does anyone know why this is? Why cant' they share?
People:
Completely independant of the setup of Luggage Claim is the ridiculous behavior that people exhibit while AT luggage claim. My favorite 3 examples are:
1. The Lone Wolf
This is the guy who has been sent by his whole group (usually....10 people are standing behind way far away and they have sent their 1 representative). now, let me start by saying that i APPLAUD this behavior. this is smart. you dont need the whole family there to get everyone's luggage. you send a representative, then you use the kids as 'shuttles'. so when some bags come off, the kids run and grab them and take them back to the rest of the herd. then there's lots of space, no stray luggage is lounging around...THIS IS GOOD. what's NOT good...is when the kids (or other members of the party) dont do their job and the lone person just stacks the stuff behind them....basically surrounding themselves with a huge luggage FORT. then noone within 10 feet of the guy can get to the carousel! then....it takes the poor guy a year to clear out the fort, because noone is his family will help him! this is a frustrating experience for not only the other passengers, but this poor sucker whose family is lazy.
**the lone wolf scenario also works well if people rotate in & out of the 'hot seat'. realizing that not everyone in the gruop will recognize everyone else'e bags, of course.
2. The Family Reunion
This case is basically the total opposite of the above. when someone has come back from overseas....from a long trip....etc, usually the whole family greets them and then they tromp over to get luggage all together. Now...we're typically only awaiting 1 (maybe 2) bags here...yet there are approximately 45 people herding around the belt...basically preventing anyone else from getting their bags and getting on with their day. i dislike this behavior. if you have THAT much to catch up on that you can't split up for 10 minutes (ok...30 minutes), then you and your crew should retreat to the back of the area....have your catchup session..then when everyone else has gotten their bags and left, you can stroll up, easily ID your bag, and skedaddle! easy! and way easier for everyone else.
3. The overzealous chute guy
My favorite of the three (well, the fort-builder might be my favorite). This is the guy who stands literally 1 inch from the chute. although...you dont know which direction the belt is going to rotate, so it's a 50/50 gamble for him. but..you better believe that when the siren wails, the red lights flash, and that belt gets going, he's going to tackle you down to get that #1 spot. usually...he lines his children, wife, co-workers, or (the worst) his briefcase and other roller bag...right up next to him, so noone else can get too close. then other annoying people just snuggle up right next to him and they become the 2nd closest person. making a totally impenetrable barrier between you (and all the other normal, sane, patient passengers) and your luggage. so while you might be able to SEE your bag...you wont be able to go get it for about 50 yards, becuase you have to keep walking until you find a tiny opening.
however, the plus side of this overagressive guy is that 99.99% of the time, his bag is the last one out. so it's ok :)
that's all i got. i'm sure you guys have a lot of comments on baggage claims. it seems to be a popular source of frustration at airports around the world. I will say, ( and i think i've commented on this before). some of the terminals at DFW have individual baggage carousels for each gate, which is just phenomenal. you walk out of the plane, across the hall, there's a door...and there you go. you can see it from the plane. no sharing, no endless walking, and it's nice and convenient. i bet they even have conveyer belts taking the bags most of the way there :)
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Plane Crush!
So, I was kind of out of blogging ideas, but have been re-inspired by my dear friend IV. Thanks!
The idea of a 'plane crush' is something that i'm sure came from the movies. It's all very glamorous and exotic to think that while trapped in a flying pressurized tube at 35,000 feet, you could lock eyes with someone from across the aisle, and live happily ever after. I'm here to tell you that it's NOT made up....it's true!!!
Ok, maybe it's not TRUE, so much. but plane crushes are much more commonplace than you would think. Usually when i board a plane, there's at least 1 remotely attractive person in the crowd. if not, then that's when prison vision kicks in and you force the most attractive person (even if in real life, you wouldn't find him attractive) to be the 'hot one'. (note - this 'prison vision' phenomenon also happens at work, but that's another post for another time). Anyway - usually there is a very small chance you will end up sitting next to your plane crush, so it's pretty short lived, and dies when you board. although if you're lucky you can have a short resurgence relationship at baggage claim.
however, there are times when the plane crush sits near/next to you, and the whole dynamic shifts for the trip. let me explain.
a few times (less than 3) i have been lucky enough to be seated NEXT to plane crush. even more fortuitous, 2 of those were in First Class. Nothing fuels an unrequited crush quite like free booze, let me tell you.... anyway - when you can actually speak to PC (plane crush), then the flight is a much more pleasant experience! I've never actually gone out with a PC after the plane, but numbers & emails have been exchanged. It's like having a captive audience (literally) for 1-5 hours, and they're forced to talk to you! unless of course, they're totally boring and that's when you pull out the book, ipod, sleep mask, etc. but when they're interesting, it's a real treat.
another case of PC: When Jackie was flying back and forth to PHL every week....there was a SUPER cute guy who was always in 1st class with her. (i rode on this flight once or twice, so can attest to his hotness). anyway - when you have a flight schedule and you see the same people every week (or twice a week), you begin to make up little stories about them. (i'm sure those of you who ride the train/bus to work know the drill). anyway - jackie would always text me 'hot dude is on my flight again...' or something similar. it was a nice little form of entertainment for us and our otherwise boring lives.
when i was flying back and forth to phx every week (for 2.5 years), there were a lot of familiar faces on the plane by the end of my stint. 1 in particular - this extremely bitchy girl who would always run on the plane late....then complain about how there was no room for her bag, and she did this EVERY week. she was about my age, had a HUGE 'i'm a consultant' chip on her shoulder (*) and seemed really obnoxious. anyway - i had made up a little story about her - it wasn't nice.
so - back to the point. iv was asking me if there are 'rules' for PCs? like, what if you hit it off...do you email or call? do you stop for a drink in the arriving airport (assuming neither of you are connecting?). some people might think it's ok to make out on board...others would opt out. i mean...it's kind of trashy, and those pillows & blankets are SO not clean, no matter what the flight attendants tell you.
(*note - i want this tshirt BAD http://www.glarkware.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=2177)
The idea of a 'plane crush' is something that i'm sure came from the movies. It's all very glamorous and exotic to think that while trapped in a flying pressurized tube at 35,000 feet, you could lock eyes with someone from across the aisle, and live happily ever after. I'm here to tell you that it's NOT made up....it's true!!!
Ok, maybe it's not TRUE, so much. but plane crushes are much more commonplace than you would think. Usually when i board a plane, there's at least 1 remotely attractive person in the crowd. if not, then that's when prison vision kicks in and you force the most attractive person (even if in real life, you wouldn't find him attractive) to be the 'hot one'. (note - this 'prison vision' phenomenon also happens at work, but that's another post for another time). Anyway - usually there is a very small chance you will end up sitting next to your plane crush, so it's pretty short lived, and dies when you board. although if you're lucky you can have a short resurgence relationship at baggage claim.
however, there are times when the plane crush sits near/next to you, and the whole dynamic shifts for the trip. let me explain.
a few times (less than 3) i have been lucky enough to be seated NEXT to plane crush. even more fortuitous, 2 of those were in First Class. Nothing fuels an unrequited crush quite like free booze, let me tell you.... anyway - when you can actually speak to PC (plane crush), then the flight is a much more pleasant experience! I've never actually gone out with a PC after the plane, but numbers & emails have been exchanged. It's like having a captive audience (literally) for 1-5 hours, and they're forced to talk to you! unless of course, they're totally boring and that's when you pull out the book, ipod, sleep mask, etc. but when they're interesting, it's a real treat.
another case of PC: When Jackie was flying back and forth to PHL every week....there was a SUPER cute guy who was always in 1st class with her. (i rode on this flight once or twice, so can attest to his hotness). anyway - when you have a flight schedule and you see the same people every week (or twice a week), you begin to make up little stories about them. (i'm sure those of you who ride the train/bus to work know the drill). anyway - jackie would always text me 'hot dude is on my flight again...' or something similar. it was a nice little form of entertainment for us and our otherwise boring lives.
when i was flying back and forth to phx every week (for 2.5 years), there were a lot of familiar faces on the plane by the end of my stint. 1 in particular - this extremely bitchy girl who would always run on the plane late....then complain about how there was no room for her bag, and she did this EVERY week. she was about my age, had a HUGE 'i'm a consultant' chip on her shoulder (*) and seemed really obnoxious. anyway - i had made up a little story about her - it wasn't nice.
so - back to the point. iv was asking me if there are 'rules' for PCs? like, what if you hit it off...do you email or call? do you stop for a drink in the arriving airport (assuming neither of you are connecting?). some people might think it's ok to make out on board...others would opt out. i mean...it's kind of trashy, and those pillows & blankets are SO not clean, no matter what the flight attendants tell you.
(*note - i want this tshirt BAD http://www.glarkware.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=2177)
Friday, July 20, 2007
No Airport News!!!
So I've been asked to work from home for a little while becuase my client is out of money. Reassuring, right? I thought so. I've also been asked to stop working so much Overtime...to which my response is, 'then stop giving me so much work'. Anyway - I've been at home, which is a real thrill. I dont know that i could work from home ALL the time, but it's been a nice week, and it looks like i'll scale back my travel to just 1 or 2 weeks a month!!! YAY!!!
What else? Me and Cara have an exciting night planned of....going to Happy Hour at this tapas place by our house, then goign to see Hairspray. I loved loved loved this movie growing up, and was so excited when I heard they were remaking it. I love all the actors in this movie - Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfieffer, James Marsden, etc etc. Also the 'hunk' is Zac Efron, from High School Musical. Does this all further prove that me (and Karee) are like....15 year old girls pretending to live our lives as adults? Haha. The nice thing about our place in Denver is that we live right on the bike path that runs ALL the way through town, so we can actually walk to the restaurant (to a whole cute AREA of restaurants) and then to the movies. and there's really no traffic since we're on the path which means we avoid roads. so convenient!!!
Last night we made a delicious dinner then played Wii for a good while. i think it's safe to say that the more wine we drank, the worst at Wii tennis we both got. i guess that's not a huge surprise. She is MUCH better at Wii Tennis (and real tennis) than i am, but we had fun. yay!
What else - I saw Harry Potter (ehh...not my favorite movie of the series) with some friends the other day. Looking forward to Cara gettign her new HP book tomorrow in the mail (the smart girl preordered it!).
I'll leave you with this...my mom sent me this story yesterday and i immediately fwded it to Karee. Her response: "were there any crackers handy????". hahahah.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/weird_news/story/156703.html
What else? Me and Cara have an exciting night planned of....going to Happy Hour at this tapas place by our house, then goign to see Hairspray. I loved loved loved this movie growing up, and was so excited when I heard they were remaking it. I love all the actors in this movie - Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfieffer, James Marsden, etc etc. Also the 'hunk' is Zac Efron, from High School Musical. Does this all further prove that me (and Karee) are like....15 year old girls pretending to live our lives as adults? Haha. The nice thing about our place in Denver is that we live right on the bike path that runs ALL the way through town, so we can actually walk to the restaurant (to a whole cute AREA of restaurants) and then to the movies. and there's really no traffic since we're on the path which means we avoid roads. so convenient!!!
Last night we made a delicious dinner then played Wii for a good while. i think it's safe to say that the more wine we drank, the worst at Wii tennis we both got. i guess that's not a huge surprise. She is MUCH better at Wii Tennis (and real tennis) than i am, but we had fun. yay!
What else - I saw Harry Potter (ehh...not my favorite movie of the series) with some friends the other day. Looking forward to Cara gettign her new HP book tomorrow in the mail (the smart girl preordered it!).
I'll leave you with this...my mom sent me this story yesterday and i immediately fwded it to Karee. Her response: "were there any crackers handy????". hahahah.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/weird_news/story/156703.html
Thursday, July 5, 2007
4th of july!
Hi Hi Hi!
Last week was pretty tragic in terms of work, so sorry for the disapearance (again). Was in Phoenix all week. I have been lucky and been at home in Denver all of this week, which has been fabulous.
Movies Seen:
1. Ratatoille - super cute. dont go if you're hungry.
2. License to Wed - umm...pretty terrible. but i do like Jim (from the Office) so it was ok.
3. Transformers - was taken to this by Cara (roommate) and Dan (her boyfriend). Jackie joined us (thankfully). it was...interesting. Funnier than i was expecting, but WAY too long. also, i didn't watch this as a child, so I didn't enjoy it as much as i think some people will.
We also had Catherine's Bachelorette Party last weekend, which was great great great. Catherine & I also took a cooking class last weekend, so now we're prepared to make fancy brunch items, which is OH-so-useful.
I'm flying to San Francisco this evening for a few days, then to Dallas for a few days, then back to Denver. Then i'm picking up lots of our friends at the airport then driving up to the mountains for Catherine & Phil's wedding. VERY exciting!!!
Ok I Promised you a write up on Charlotte's Airport, and here goes.
Pros:
1. cute southern boys
2. cute rocking chairs everywhere
3. Charlotte is adorable (this is not airport-specific, but the airport is also cute, so i'll leave it)
4. They have specific rental car company buses (vs. the generic 'rental car shuttle' system that i despise)
5. Airport is close & convenient to town
6. Baggage claim area is very confusing.
Cons:
1. No status line for security
2. General sense of chaos in the check-in, baggage check, security line area
3. Lots of NASCAR apparel & signs everywhere.
4. When i was there at 9am, nothing was open. this was odd to me- 9am isn't early...???
Celebrity Spottings:
None
Last week was pretty tragic in terms of work, so sorry for the disapearance (again). Was in Phoenix all week. I have been lucky and been at home in Denver all of this week, which has been fabulous.
Movies Seen:
1. Ratatoille - super cute. dont go if you're hungry.
2. License to Wed - umm...pretty terrible. but i do like Jim (from the Office) so it was ok.
3. Transformers - was taken to this by Cara (roommate) and Dan (her boyfriend). Jackie joined us (thankfully). it was...interesting. Funnier than i was expecting, but WAY too long. also, i didn't watch this as a child, so I didn't enjoy it as much as i think some people will.
We also had Catherine's Bachelorette Party last weekend, which was great great great. Catherine & I also took a cooking class last weekend, so now we're prepared to make fancy brunch items, which is OH-so-useful.
I'm flying to San Francisco this evening for a few days, then to Dallas for a few days, then back to Denver. Then i'm picking up lots of our friends at the airport then driving up to the mountains for Catherine & Phil's wedding. VERY exciting!!!
Ok I Promised you a write up on Charlotte's Airport, and here goes.
Pros:
1. cute southern boys
2. cute rocking chairs everywhere
3. Charlotte is adorable (this is not airport-specific, but the airport is also cute, so i'll leave it)
4. They have specific rental car company buses (vs. the generic 'rental car shuttle' system that i despise)
5. Airport is close & convenient to town
6. Baggage claim area is very confusing.
Cons:
1. No status line for security
2. General sense of chaos in the check-in, baggage check, security line area
3. Lots of NASCAR apparel & signs everywhere.
4. When i was there at 9am, nothing was open. this was odd to me- 9am isn't early...???
Celebrity Spottings:
None
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