Parents who have experience in both airport security, and trying to get kids to do literally anything.
fr if your flight is at 14:00 you better be in the airport by 10 am and you might just about make it in time
I got to the airport 1hr before liftoff last week and made it before boarding started. Layovered in vegas and didnt see any lines at TSA there either. Maybe theyve improved?
That’s just a ruse to make you think you can cut it closer next time when there will be inexplicable delays
TSA in Vegas is relatively fast for me, precheck was like <4 minutes. Some airports feel like a coin flip on if it’s fast or not
Yeah, same with LAX. I find that TSA gets the most backed up when it’s families or infrequent fliers. When you fly for business you’ve got a system down and that helps the line move faster.
My record at Detroit airport from stepping out of the bus to stepping into the plane is 7m43s. What is going on at your airports?
7 minutes? i can’t even walk from the entrance to the gate in 7 minutes
What is going on at your airports?
Looking for check in, waiting in line to check in, checking in, looking for the correct place to drop off your bags, waiting in line to drop off your bags, dropping off your bags, looking for the security check, waiting in line for security check, taking everything out of your bag for security check, security check, putting everything in the bag again, looking for a snack since it’s already been two hours, waiting in line to take a snack, taking a snack, looking for where your gate will be, walking to the gate (often quite a long walk), waiting for boarding to start (if you got there in time), waiting in line for boarding, boarding.
Honestly? Every time I’ve had a hard time it’s been because of security. Not the drill, that’s fine, but the line. And it’s but the TSA, they’re working hard. It’s closing checkpoints so only precheck travelers can go through them. Even to where regular travelers had only one of four checkpoints to go through. Which also caused massive chaos in the ticketing area.
Then there’s the sheer fuckery that is LAX international. It is just incomprehensible without being there. For starters you get dropped off on the side of the road with a vague hand waive to walk “that way”. No signs, no helpful people nearby, just 50/50 on walking the right way.
More security theatre. And more traffic. Also difference between Domestic vs International flight requirements.
Arrive FOUR fucking hours early??? I’ve flown A LOT over the years and that is just crazy. Is the extra 2 hours because of the kids or what
I am the kids. No, I’m 22 now but my experience with airports is you’re going to spend at least two hours there if nothing goes wrong, most of that spent waiting in lines.
You must not have kids.
Heed this warning.
s/airport security/security theater/g
there’s only one instance, no need for iterative
gYes, just for all future and past instances
What is this ?
airport securitysecurity theaterSomething very sed.
Airport security when you forgot to take off your belt:
The belt in question:
As a parent myself now, I completely understand this behavior.
Gotta budget 15 minutes for tying their shoes, 20 if they are doing the tying.
Don’t forget the 15 minutes of inexplicably staring out the window, when you sent them to put something warm on.
That’s only after taking away all the toys they pulled out instead of doing anything to get ready for the last 30 minutes.
I will happily sit at a gate for 2 hours waiting for a plane, instead of rushing to catch it.
Yeah same here, also airports are the only place I allow myself to drink regardless of the time of day, so there’s that.
If it’s anything like Toronto Pearson International Airport it’s a crapshoot.
Step 0: With kids, corralling the children takes a while and can be like herding cats.
Step 1: Just getting to the airport, from 40km away if you are driving/Taxi, it will take from 20 minutes or 2 hours+ to get to the airport. People who use YYZ often live further than that so add any additional time from that. The Union Pearson Express train is only useful if you are trying to get from Union to Pearson or somewhere between. The 900 bus from Kipling, local TTC routes, Go Bus, MiWay, Brampton Transit all feel second class and you get the same rush hour traffic.
Step 2: Check-in. Domestic flights are fine because not as many people check bags and the counter is quick or you can often skip it entirely. International flights have long, long lines at the counter so add an hour.
Step 3: Security. Another crapshoot depending on whether you are there at peak time. Could be 5 minutes, could be an hour or more to get through.
Step 4: Attending to food and washroom needs. Since it’s not possible to know exactly how long this process will go, if unprepared, random food and bathroom stops may be necessary.
So all in all preparing for the worst by leaving/preparing to go at 6:30 for a 14:00 flight is not unheard of when flying via Pearson.
People who use YYZ often live further than that so add any additional time from that.
…ah, that explains the rush…
Ah yes the 401 game, where everybody loses.
This is also to avoid having to deal with Air Canada support in you do miss your flight.
Both extremely salient points.
I mean… those airport lines do be annoying though:-P.
And you still missed the flight because the airport decided to run a single security checkpoint and the line for it wrapped around the entire ticketing area. The desk agent looked at her watch when you checked your bags and said, “good luck”. There was still four hours to take off at that point.
i still remembe needing to wait literal hours at the gate every damn time. we were never even close to late. they were always panicking. i don’t understand it…
it’s not just parents either. some people are just like that when they travel. I’ve tried going places with friends that made it absolutely miserable as an adult because they were fucking panicking the whole time until we sat on the plane. i swear some people have never dealt with a deadline before or something. don’t know how to deal with a clock ticking down i guess.
it’s not just parents either. some people are just like that when they travel.
Dude I flew out somewhere for a work training and it was 11x easier than my parents ever made it out to be. Just read the signs, follow the directions and get there about 1-2 hours before boarding. The biggest hassle was finding coffee in the Orlando airport (I ended up finding it tucked in the back corner of a bar)
The whole experience was more enjoyable than I ever remember flying being and it just comes down to going with the flow and being ready to roll with the punches
You flew by yourself, without taking care of a child, and you’re surprised it’s easier? Everything is easier without a kid. Your parents flew all over the place before you arrived. Planes weren’t invented when you were born.
Nah they would get freaked out by the smallest inconvenience and just getting to the gate was an odyssey for them somehow. With my own kids I’ve got plenty of things I look back on and go “oh yeah I understand why my parents did that now” but also plenty of things where its 100% “how the heck was this such a challenge for my parents to handle?”
It’s the complete loss of control which panics me. It’s quite understandable that people also get anxious over maybe forgetting to remove stuff (from their bags which the security wouldn’t let through) or rechecking if they’ve everything. Because if not, you have to run around a lot and potentially miss your very expensive flight with likely no monetary compensation
Well put. Also, it’s not like there’s 1 single sky zeppelin that you won’t see again for weeks. Admittedly, I’m a bad about deadlines and preparing. I traveled for work for years and missed several flights. Not fun, but as long as your actual schedule isn’t too tight, it’s usually no big deal. I talk to the airline, they put me on another flight later, I wait around a bit or go home and come back for the alternative flight.
At one point I lived like 15 minutes from a smaller airport. I could literally get there 30 minutes before departure if I overslept or something and usually made it through the quick security and onto my flight…
My guy, you’re missing flights. That’s exactly what the panicked people are trying to avoid.
I traveled the world for years and missed several flights
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just off of that line I would assume the dude’s made way more flights than missed
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he went on to say it’s not the end of the world if you do miss a flight. As it’s not. Since there will be more flights soon; so there’s no need to panic
Most people wouldn’t agree with 2 imo. The hassle of rescheduling a flight dwarfs the hassle of showing up a little early by a lot.
I disagree
Depends on if they make you pay to reschedule
Luckily, so far, I never had to. Although I only arrive like an hour before my flight and only missed a couple due to traffic. Both times I was rescheduled on the next flight no problems.
No. Definitely not.
Sorry, to be clear these were all domestic flights. I could absolutely see international being a bigger deal if you missed them, and would prioritize accordingly…
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Meh. I get that, but my point is it’s by no means the end of the world, only a minor inconvenience.
When I fly, I fly from Oklahoma City. Getting through OKC is a dream. Hardly anyone flies out of here. Tix are usually cheaper flying from DFW. In my experience, you have to leave really early, maybe get a motel room, and it costs at least another $70 worth of gas to get there. It’s so much extra cost and inconvenience. It’s actually been cheaper overall for my wife and I to fly from OKC since we live here.
It’s like 30-45 minutes getting from your car to your boarding area. Getting through TSA is always pretty quick and easy. I can’t imagine the place is solvent.
I’ve just about keeled from trying to catch a plane, stressed out and with hypertension. I have and will wait for a full 8 hours outside my gate.
Lol, I always try to spend as little time as the airport as possible. I’ve only missed 1 flight ever, and they just put me on the next one for free. It was like 30 minutes later.
I wish I could have done something like that. Strangely enough, that time I was technically early, because after I got to the empty gate way past departure time, I hadn’t realized I scheduled my flight a week later than I thought. I didn’t think I could get it moved up, and I ended up buying really expensive tickets same day.
