If you're a Canadian flying to the states, save yourself trouble by checking in your flight at home.
Log on this site and print out your boarding pass before you arrive at the airport.
Terminal 2 at Pearson International was abuzz with activity at 7:00 in the morning. The lines at the self-serve computer check-in were five persons deep at each of the thirty terminals. The new security procedures have made the check-in an even more arduous task. Our neighbor to the south now requires each passenger to type in the name and full address of their hotel, including zip code. This practice duplicates the information filled into the blue customs form.
The couple standing in front of me tried in vain to answer all the computer's questions.
- Honey, what do I add in here?
- I don’t know… I don’t know… what’s the postal code for the Bellagio (hotel in Las Vegas)?
- Can I have my passport? It’s now asking me for the passport number.
- But I gave it to you five minutes ago. Are you sure you don’t have it?
- You did not give it to me. You had it the whole time.
- Could we switch the seats so that we’re all sitting together?
- Oh no, I think I pressed the wrong button.
The gentleman standing behind me in a three-piece suit and a neat black pea coat glanced furiously at his watch. Like myself, he had already filled out his customs form and he held everything except his boarding pass in hand. He distracted himself by flipping through messages on his blackberry.
In the next line, a middle-aged man had difficulty with the kiosk as well. He could not control the trembling in his hands. At a rate of
four letters per minute, he exerted a considerable effort to type out
NETHERLANDS
as his nationality. The five people standing immediately behind him gritted their teeth and peered impatiently over his shoulder.
Having memorized the passport number, expiry date and the hotel address, I printed out my boarding pass in a little less than two minutes. I jammed my thumb at the screen so hard that I thought I would have knocked the kiosk over. I had to show the touch screen display who's boss.
Ironically, I work for the company that designed and created these computer kiosks.
Three travel tips I have learned from reading your blog
1)The quickest customs line at Terminal 2 in Pearson International is always the leftmost line.
2)Checking in your flight online
3)If your ever in trouble with Canadian customs, talk to them about the greatness of Sidney Crosby.
Stop acting like you memorized all your info when entering it into the computer kiosks, I know about your techieness, you probably have memorized the keyboard shortcuts, like you said, you work for the company that builds them.