On To San Francisco

After our brief stay in Anaheim, Los Angeles, it was off to San Francisco to visit my brother and his family and to do more sightseeing. It was a one hour drive to LAX and my other nephew Andrew drove us to the airport.

We were at the airport two hours before our United Airlines domestic flight (as advised by my brother and the hotel staff, even) but that time was almost not enough. The line for the paper tickets moved so slowly and only a few counters were open. The counters served both domestic and international flights.

We were in line at about 10:45am and got to the counter at about 11:50am. Upon checking in, the airport staff even checked his watch to see if we made it to the 45 minutes before the flight cut-off. After checking in, we discovered that one of the security check areas had just closed and so everyone had to go to this other single line for security checks! As usual, we had to remove our coats, shoes, etc.

People in line were getting antsy about the long process and the fact that their flights would leave in a few minutes that one of the airport personnel retorted during his discussion with one of the passengers: "Don't tell me how to do my job!"

After clearing security, we walked briskly even as we discovered that the gates were so far away! We got to the gate just in time for boarding.

What's the moral lesson of this story? When carrying paper tickets (our domestic travel agent said our route is not covered by e-tickets) and boarding a flight from LAX, it is better to be early. If you can be at the airport three hours before, that would be better. It would save you a lot of stress. Better to wait an hour or a few minutes than to miss your flight.