I have sevral unanswered questions this morning and I suspect the reason is that the convenience of the customer, who is paying for the service, is not high on the priority list of either airlines or airports.
Why do airlines expect passengers to arrive 2 - 3 hours before a flight is due to depart? Considering I live a 2-1/2 hour drive from the nearest international airport and must allow for possible traffic problems, this baseless edict suggests I must leave home 6 hours before my flight is due to depart. Hence I am sitting at my gate at 10:30, having manually checked in and passed through security, and will continue to do little but that until 1:37.
Are these people aware no arrangements are in place to accommodate smokers within the secure area?
Why must I fly west in order to arrive at my chosen destintion to the east? There are no direct flights from Pittsburgh to London. I must spend 1-1/2 hours flying to O'Hare in order to spend 1-1/2 hours awaiting a flight to Heathrow. I'm adding another 3 hours to my traveling day for no good reason. Surely it would make more sense for Chicago passengers to stop in Pittsburgh to pick me up on their way to London than for me to head west to Illinois then fly back over Pennsylvania.
Have I mentioned the lack of consideration for smokers who are trapped with an unsatisfied addiction once we've passed through security?
Having just learned that, if you approach the right member of airport staff in the right way, you will have imparted to you knowledge of the secret place where you can sneak off to have a cladestine cigarette within th secure area, I am now feeling remarkably happier with modern international transportation. After all, 100 years ago, this same journey would have meant at least a week at sea.
