International Flights

I have always loved flying- not sure what it is- the sense of glamour of it all. It doesn’t matter if I’m flying back home or some international destination. However, flying internationally is always a bit more interesting because of the little differences in protocols across airlines.

Today I’m flying Avianca. What I discovered during check in and boarding is a pro-family approach. There was a separate check in line for minors traveling without their parents. Check in was relatively easy and quick and I got to my gate with an hour to spare. Announcements were made regarding boarding but I couldn’t really follow because it was in Spanish. I asked a fellow passenger what they said. He said they were boarding travelers with kids first then would call out by zones.

It actually makes quite a bit of sense from an efficiency standpoint. Families with children always take the longest to get settled in because the kids have so much extra stuff- toys, bottles, games. Then the other passengers don’t have to wait in the aisle as the parents do so.

I have always felt fortunate that I am not prone to motion sickness and have an uncanny knack of falling asleep, sound asleep, on moving vehicles be it plane, train, bus, or car. Today was no different. I slept through the majority of my 5 hour flight from NY to Bogota, waking up only to eat and drink. That’s another nice thing about Avianca compared to some American airlines is that even if you are asleep, the flight attendants will still serve you food and drink.

I am now sitting in Bogota with 8 hours to kill before my flight to Lima. I walked the entire wing but there are no shops or restaurants. Just two vendor stands serving hard liquor (nice) and snacks. Good thing that I don’t really feel like eating with my sore throat, otherwise I’d be in a bind. Across the way there are two massage chairs where travelers occasionally stop and get massaged with bizarre looking contraptions.