I'll throw another trip report into this thread.
My plan was this: fly YYZ-YQM Monday morning, do a presentation in Moncton, and hitch a ride with my colleague to Halifax. Spend two nights there and fly YHZ-YYT on Wednesday. Two days later, return home.
I chose Moncton for starters because it's far cheaper to fly there than to Halifax. I go out west through Winnipeg for the same reason.
I've already posted my account of Monday's chaos at Pearson. I worried that this was the future of air travel in Canada--but it appears that I caught the end of the backlog.
However, passengers were quick to notice the metal knife in the cutlery bag (shock! horror!)--about as threatening as an angry Teletubbie.
It didn't help when, at the hotel where I conducted my presentation, the staff held a fire drill. I almost cried.
Wednesday in Halifax was a lot easier--I've also posted that story. Kudos to the AC and MLL staff for some extra help to me!
Things were quiet in security, and I had to prove that my cell phone, laptop and LCD projector work. Here's the problem though: first of all, most of these security people do not know what all our gadgets are (train them now!!), and secondly, after I spend a minute plugging everything in, I have to call their attention to see all the lights flashing.
There are enough people in the high-tech industry looking for jobs right now. Hiring technical people to assist with security would make a lot of sense. It's one thing for guards to see something working--it's yet another to understand how and why it works.
I upgraded on the flight to St. John's and took the meal because the FA (a cute young thing) said the dessert was awesome ... you can't say no to that! The meal itself was interesting--a cold plate with a slice of beef over some Asian noodles. The dessert was as good as promised--a rich chocolate mousse, mint-flavoured, in a dark chocolate cup. Decadent!
I didn't realize the St. John's airport terminal was in the midst of reconstruction. Essentially, they're building the new facility around the old one, and migrating from one part to the next. It's like building the bottle around the ship, and then removing the ship!
Our flight arrived at the same time as the one from Toronto, and to make things even more fun, it seemed like everyone was being greeted by at least 8 friends & relatives each.
For my return flight to Toronto, I made sure to reach the airport about 2 hours early. There was no need. Unfortunately, with the construction, the old MLL is a pile of rubble, and the new one is but a glint in an interior designer's eye.
Security was a bit crazy, but more because of the construction than anything else. The old departure lounge is still being used, and space is a bit tighter than normal. The guards there also don't know an LCD projector from a hole in the ground. But otherwise, no problems. There was one poor fellow who kept his camera and all his hearing aids in a metal tin, and he needed a few minutes to get things all sorted out.
I strategically positioned myself to be near the gate, as I always do, to beat the line-up. The call came for pre-boards, and a few elderly women went up. Then came the general boarding call, and I pounced. Going outside, I came up right behind one woman, with a cane. Respectfully, I stayed behind her until she stopped for a second, so I zipped past. Then I caught up to the other one (it's just like a video game!). The jetways are connected to the new part of the terminal, so we had to use the rolling staircase. This poor woman was lugging up her rollaboard one step at a time, so I lifted it up from the bottom, and pushed her onto the aircraft. We'd have been 5 minutes late otherwise!
The flight was normal (plastic knife this time), and I dozed off a bit. J was 2/3 full, and the back seemed reasonably populated too. They broadcast Robert Milton's message as well (I think it's a classy thing to do). Upon arrival, there was congestion on the ramp because nearby thunderstorm cells brought take-offs to a halt. But we made it. I picked up my bag (thank you priority baggage handling!) and waited for the Park 'N Fly shuttle. Note that along with renumbering the gates inside of T2, they've reconfigured the posts outside as well! Park 'N Fly is at Post 15 now (not the same Post 15 as before!). The shuttle took forever to arrive, but I was its only passenger, and the facility was dead. My car was waiting, so I drove home. The rain was heavy, and the other motorists were clueless--just because it's raining is not a reason to slow down, and the left lane is still reserved for faster cars! But that's for another forum ...
It appears that things are returning to normal in Canadian airports, and that arriving an hour before departure is plenty. But let's implement some security measures that make sense: ID checks in the right places, and scrutiny of gadgetry by people who know what these things are.
At least I've got two days at home before taking to the skies once again. More news as it happens ...
Tom