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Flight Discussion Thread

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Posts

  • Certain.shade.of.greenCertain.shade.of.green Registered User regular
    Decius wrote: »
    Air Canada
    about an hour ago
    Travel Alert:
    -March 18, Toronto (YYZ and YTZ)
    -March 19, Montreal (YUL), Ottawa (YOW) and Boston (BOS) Change fees waived. Details, Flight Status and rebook online at http://aircanada.com/.

    Everyone keep a close eye on those flight statuses. Things seem to be getting nasty in the east.

    Yet there's not flight warnings for the west...hrm....

    Wouldn't worry too much about Thursday to Boston just yet. We'll be getting decent amount of snow tonight into tuesday but most likely flights will be landing again in the evening and on Wednesday morning. If you fly in tomorrow morning there will in all likelihood be issues.

  • DeciusDecius I'm old! I'm fat! I'M BLUE!Registered User regular
    I'm coming in tomorrow afternoon. Many others will be doing the same.

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    I never finish anyth
  • embraceternityembraceternity Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Thank you for the heads up, Decius. I'm flying to Boston on Wednesday from the West coast, and I didn't think about checking for any delays or issues with my flight due to the snow Boston's supposed to get on Tuesday.

  • KythosKythos Mister. Registered User regular
    I fly in tomorrow night so hopefully the snow clears up before then

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  • elleecstaticelleecstatic Registered User regular
    Im really really praying that it stops snowing by thurs. morning. Carrying 4 suitcases through 5ft of snow is no bueno D:

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    I think at worst there will be a few inches...

  • NickzillaNickzilla Nottingham, UKRegistered User regular
    I had my first ever flight yesterday and now here I am in Boston! So I thought I'd share my experience for anyone who is anxious or who has not flown before. (warning: really long post, I'm writing this for people who are as neurotic and worrisome as me so it goes into pretty excruciating detail)

    If you're reading this and making any effort to prepare whatsoever, you're already ahead of a lot of people. So that's good. If you can use an online check in and print your own boarding pass; do that. It saves time which means you spend less time baking in the intense heat of the check in line behind people who don't pay attention to the airlines rules.

    I checked in online and printed my own boarding pass, so the first thing I had to do was go to bag drop. I looked at maps of the airport beforehand so I knew where to go but it was all clearly signed and I'm sure yours will be too. Bag drop is where you leave the stuff that goes in the storage compartment of the plane, so don't leave anything in this bag that you'll need on the flight and research what stuff you can bring and how big your bag can be, etc. The person at the desk asked for my boarding pass and passport and then weighed and measured my bag. He then asked to make sure I had no forbidden items in my hand (or carry on) luggage and he then weighed and measured that too. He put a sticker on my boarding pass then sent me to departures which again, wasn't hard to find. There's a sort of lounge here for people who want to get a break before going through security, so I took a leak and then went to security.

    Security was fairly simple. Wait in a big old line, reading the signs and getting rid of any forbidden items in the bins provided. When it comes to your turn there will be a pile of plastic trays and a conveyor belt going through the x ray machine. You have to put your hand luggage in one (or several) of these and let them roll through. I used one tray for my bag, another for my coat (by the way you have to empty your pockets into your coat and take your belt off) and another bag for my laptop because large electrical devices need to be done seperately. (this does not include handheld games consoles. I asked!) The next step is to have your watch or whatever set off the metal detector that you need to step through and get frisked by the grumpy security guards. After that, gather your stuff and it's off to the departure lounge.

    The departure lounge is toilets, seats and shops basically. There are monitors with a big list of flights that are leaving in the next few hours. You need to wait for the gate to your flight to open. My flight and the time its gate opened was on the monitor so it was just a case of killing some time until then. When your gate opens it tells you what number gate your flight is, so you need to make your way over there. There should be maps and signs, so it's all simple stuff. When I got to my gate I had to flash my boarding pass and passport again and then sit and wait until you're asked to board. They usually board in increments, so seats 10-20 first then 21-31 blah blah blah, so just wait for yours to be announced over the tanoy.

    When it's time to board you walk across the bridge thingy and onto the plane. An attendant will tell you roughly where the seat is. The only parts that confused me regarding the flight were when you could use your mobile phone and laptop again as they ask you to switch these off and didn't tell me when I could put them on again. My friend told me it's at 'cruising height', so I guess that is neither going up nor down. Attendants came along with trolleys periodically to serve noms and drinks. I kept swallowing to stop my ears from popping when going up/down and had a walk to the toilets every few hours so I didnt get DVT. Not too hard.

    I landed in Logan and just followed directions. Everything is really clearly signed so getting lost is nearly a non issue. First stop is passport control, where they check passports and take fingerprints and a photo of you. I think this is just an American thing, but I'm not sure. They also ask why you're here and how long you're staying. Which reminds me, if you're a foreign national flying to the USA they'll give you a form to fill out either on the plane or before the plane just to say you're not smuggling anything freaky in. You have to flash this form at US customs a few times so don't lose it. ALSO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP A NOTE OF YOUR HOTEL'S ADDRESS FOR THIS FORM! I think if you remember the name and street of the place it's ok, because city and state should be obvious.

    After passport control, you pick up your bags. The tannoy will announce which bag conveyor belt your flight's bags are coming off on, so keep an ear open. At Logan they have a sign above each conveyor saying which flight these bags are for. So you pick up your bag and then go through secondary inspection, which for me was them taking my customs form off me and wishing me a good evening. They might need to check your luggage though, so be prepared to have a grumpy security guard rummaging through your underwear looking for contraband. After that, welcome to the land of the free! And snowstorms!

  • embraceternityembraceternity Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Congrats on your first flight ever, @Nickzilla! Especially one as long as from the UK to Boston! As a very avid flyer, it's interesting to read it from someone who's going for their first time on an plane - it sort of reminds me of my first time, although I was a kid. :) Also very useful for anyone else who is flying for their first time as well!

    Enjoy Boston! I'm excited to fly out at this time tomorrow. Still need to pack, though.

  • MagnusCarterMagnusCarter Registered User regular
    I came through Logan from the UK yesterday as well, glad you had a good trip. One thing I'll add for anyone staying at the close hotels is that silver line from the airport is currently free inbound stopping at world trade centre for westin, seaport etc.

  • PurpleBekPurpleBek Manchester, EnglandRegistered User regular
    Avidly awaiting my flight from England which is at 6AM GMT.

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  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    We're on our way! 200 lbs of cookies, beer and games packed and ready.

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
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