DEPARTING JFK ON THE SECOND LEG OF MY TRIP

Up at 5:30 am, much earlier than the crack of dawn, to catch dear old Peter Pan Bus to Kennedy Airport – so begins my journey to Auckland. I was half an hour early, so I stopped into Amherst Coffee and sipped a strong, roast coffee while I waited patiently for the driver. My mind strayed to my luggage, knowing that it would be more than the 50 pound limit allowed for these cheap tickets. Poverty doesn’t gain one any favors, that’s for sure.

As I mentally ticked off all the sweaters, pants, shoes, and books I packed, I realized I could have probably done away with most of them. I prefer to pack light and I generally bring more than is necessary. Experience should have informed me this time that I would not use all that I bring, but as usual I thought into the future to the next three years, knowing there were items I might need and knew I didn’t want to buy in New Zealand. 

After checking in, I discovered that the damage wasn’t so bad, as the extra baggage fee was worth a mere USD$70.00. The ticketing agent explained that even though the itinerary was shared with United Airlines, the flight technically belonged to Air New Zealand. Therefore, I was spared the normative USD$200.00 fee charged by UA. What a relief! The differences in fees did get me wondering about how these airline mergers benefit the airline companies. Specifically, how do the financial benefits to the passengers benefit the bottom line for the airlines?

Departing from any airport in NYC is a pain, to be sure. Besides the human congestion, anything could have gone wrong. Peter Pan was slightly late in arriving. I had a brief visit with the USPS, which rendered some delay. And, with the heavy traffic, there was no telling whether or not I would reach the airport with enough time to check in and pass through security without the usual stress levels associated with using public transportation. The airport bus shuttle picking up travelers from Port Authority was also slightly late and weaving through traffic took an entire hour. Anything could have gone wrong, so I was grateful to finally reach Terminal 7 with some time to spare. Unfortunately for me, the interlude between boarding and being cleared by airport security for boarding was short and provided only a minor relief from the nervous adrenaline in my veins induced by the minor obstacles during the transfers. I so wanted to relax with a glass of wine and simply write, but no such luxury on this occasion.