On 9/1/06, Joseph Tainter, discombobulated, unleashed: >This one goes into my "How did the human species ever survive?" file. > >Yesterday I got to Heathrow Terminal 4 early for my flight.
[rantus snippus] Hi Joe, sorry you had a bad time at Heathrow. One point worth noting IMO is that check-in staff are pretty much the same wherever you go, whichever airline you fly. They are in the front line against unbelievable odds - people travelling back to third world countries have tried to carry on everything and anything you can think of - including large screen CRT televisions ! They are under constant pressure to be firm and accept nothing less than their brief. The problem with cattle class is that more and smaller bags will fit better than fewer and bigger bags. I don't think it's anything to do with the 'British class system'. Also, attitude is everything - if you take an adversarial position, and a of people do, then likely they will be just as adversarial. the difference is, they can obstruct you passage! Check-in staff are not the best paid employees in the world, let alone the airline industry. It follows that patience threshold may well be lower also. My attitude is 'I know you're having a bad day, let's see if I can make it any easier'. Based on my experience, which is a lot more limited than some here, I avoid letting check-in staff see anything at all other than what they are going to check in. Tricky if travelling alone, I know. It may be worth carrying a sturdy but light, rolled-up carrier bag for dissecting large carry-on contents until past the last hurdle. Last GFM, I carried a Lowe-Pro Stealth backpack absolutely filled to the gunwhales with photo gear and computers. It weighed more than the carry- on allowance, but is within size limits. At check-in, despite the pain, I let it hang nonchalantly from one shoulder during the process. It never once attracted attention. If it looks heavy, it is heavy :-) I find the service aboard BA flights second to none, and would choose to travel BA as a first choice always. Have a better one ! HTH Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
