Today Lisa and I are driving to Fife to get squared away with TSA Pre-check so we can get through the screening lanes faster next month.
We aren’t sure we’ll need it on the way to New Zealand. We have a 3-hour-plus layover in Los Angeles and we don’t need to go through customs here in the States or in New Zealand. But we might need it when we get into San Francisco on the way back. We have two hours and 40 minutes in SF if our plane gets there right on time, which should be sufficient to get through customs. But if the plane is late or the line is long, TSA precheck should help us (I hope!) get through customs faster so we can catch our flight to Sea-Tac in plenty of time.
MY FIRST AND PROBABLY LAST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT
Lisa flew a lot internationally as a child and teenager. I have never flown international, and probably never will again.
We bought economy class seats; anything better would have bankrupted our “vacation cash.” Lisa will probably be fine — she’s petite. I may have a little harder time, but I can withstand just about any inconvenience for 13 hours.We’ll be asleep for most of the long flight to Auckland from LA. On the way back, we leave Auckland at about 3 PM, so we will probably sleep for at least half of the 12-hour flight to San Francisco. That will help “shorten” the time I’ll feel “crunched” if I do feel that way. I don’t think I will, though, since I divested myself of breasts and my panus since the last time I flew. I’ve never felt particularly “crunched” — legroom-wise –when I’ve flown in the past. But it has been 20 years since I flew last time, and seating may have gotten “crunchier” since then. I’m gonna find out, for sure!
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get!” — Carolyn Kelley
If I mention to a fight steward that I’ve just celebrated my 73 birthday and have never flown internationally and probably never will again, we might get an upgrade to economy plus or better. I will try that and see what happens. It couldn’t hurt! It isn’t like they’ll throw us off the plane for asking!
Recent BOEING 737 quality issues
I am aware of the issues about some of the Boeing 737 Super Jets. But none of the recent issues have happened on the precise type of jet we’ll be flying on over the States /Pacific Ocean. So, I’ve put those niggling concerns into the “catastrophic fantasties/delusions” category in my brain. Air travel is far safer than the vehicles that take us to and from the airports and to the grocery store and other places. I can override “worst-case scenario” thoughts quite readily in most cases. This is one of those cases. The odds are greatly in our favor.
