I always look forward to going back home after a trip, but dread the actual journey. The adrenaline and anticipation that I felt on the way to my destination is gone, leaving only antsiness. I certainly was not excited about spending 24 hours to travel from South America to Central America to North America.
My flight from Santiago, Chile, left just before midnight on a Monday. After picking up my bags from storage at my hotel and riding to the airport in a taxi, I had some tasks to take care of prior to checking in. I went into the bathroom to change my clothes and then found a quiet spot in the airport lobby to rearrange some stuff between my suitcase and carry-on. I had a few things to throw away, and was flabbergasted that I could not find a garbage can anywhere in the airport lobby/check-in area. I had to go back into the bathroom to use the trash can in there.
Seeing as it was so late at night, I was surprised to see that the check-in line was very long. I allowed myself some buffer time, but wasn't expecting there to be that large of a crowd. Since I have Silver Status with Star Alliance, I was able to use the Premier Access check-in lane instead of the general lane. No one else was waiting in that line. That was definitely a huge bonus.
For my flight from Santiago to Panama City, Panama, I was flying on Copa Airlines. The rest of my flights home were on United. I was happy that the check-in agent in Santiago handed me all of my boarding passes, though my United ones did not indicate Premiere Access or TSA Precheck. (More on that later.)
Next, I headed to the Immigration check point. The line was long and moved very slow, so it made me feel even more relieved that I didn't have to wait in the long check-in line. If not for that, I possibly would have ran out of time or at the very least would have cut things very close. Once I reached the Immigration counter, I handed the agent my documents and she did not ask me any questions. The security screening area was after that, and there was virtually no line here due to the slowness of the Immigration line.
The airport itself seemed to be fine. Most stores and restaurants were closed, so there wasn't really anything to do but sit and wait. When we boarded, the gate agents only ripped our boarding passes, and did not scan the bar-codes, which I thought was odd. Sure enough, the seat in front of me was actually assigned to two different people. (I guess Copa has some catching up to do when it comes to technology and organization.)
I lucked out yet again and ended up in a row with only one other person (a teenage girl), so the middle seat between us was empty. I tried to sleep as much as I possibly could since this was an overnight flight. The flight attendants came by shortly after take-off with a snack, which was a choice of either a cheese and ham empanada or a hamburger. I decided to pass altogether. Prior to landing, they came by again with breakfast. The offerings were eggs or french toast with blueberry filling. I chose the french toast. It tasted alright.
My hearty breakfast.
Once again, like my previous Copa flight a few days earlier, the fasten seat belt sign remained illuminated for the entire flight even though there was not any turbulence. I do not understand this at all. Obviously, the sign was ignored by everyone since this was a six-hour flight.
I arrived in Panama City at 4am. Nothing in the airport was open yet, so I found a quiet seating area and plugged my phone in to charge it. When a group of old people began blabbing loudly, I decided to move. I saw a few people sleeping on the floor in another area, and figured I would do the same. I put my travel pillow down and laid my coat on the carpet, and slept as best I could. (Side note: This probably wasn't the best idea since my head ended up feeling quite itchy the next two days. Better think this through better the next time, and make sure there are more layers between me and the ground.)
I slept for one to two hours and got up around 8am. By this time, I assumed the Copa Club lounge would be open. It took me a little while to locate it, because the entrance had been moved due to renovations. I was glad to find out that my United Club day pass worked at the Copa Club. (Side note: United and Copa shared the Mileage Plus program at this time. As of July 2015, they will have separate award programs, so I am not sure that Copa would still accept United Club passes after that.)
Inside the airport, trying to locate the Copa Club entrance.
There it is, hidden away.
It was nice to sit in a comfy chair and relax for a little while since I still had a few hours to kill. The breakfast area had bagels, packaged muffins, cereal, milk, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Juice was available at the bar area, and my Spanish skills came in handy there. An American man asked the bartender for pineapple juice, and the bartender had no idea what the man was asking for since he didn't speak English. The bartender kept holding up a bottle of apple juice. Both of them were totally confused and frustrated. I chimed in, saying "piña," and the bartender said that the only juices they had were apple or orange.
My second hearty breakfast.
My flight was scheduled to depart a little after noon. I went to the boarding area about an hour in advance. I was surprised to see that in order to enter the boarding area, everyone had to pass through another full security screening. They called passengers by zone number to the security screening area. I should have been in zone 2, but my boarding pass did not have any zone on it. Since I had the United app on my phone, I looked up my electronic boarding pass, and that one did show I was in zone 2. So, thanks to that, I did not end up having to wait in the long lines of zone 3 through 5.
Tip: If you fly United more than occasionally, get the United app for your phone. It can be very helpful and informative.
Keeping with tradition, I ended up in a row with just one other person again. I was getting quite used to having the middle seat open. It appeared that there were a lot of open seats, at least toward the front of the plane. The flight from Panama City to Houston, Texas, was a little more than four hours long. Even with this being an international flight, there was no meal service.
When I landed in Houston, no other international flights were arriving at the same time so the lines at Immigration and Customs were very short. Since I am enrolled in the Global Entry program, my wait was even shorter. I had nothing to declare, and I was in and out of the area in five minutes. It felt weird being able to speak English with everyone after getting used to struggling with Spanish for the past few days.
The exit led to the arrivals area, so I was annoyed that I had to go through security yet again. Since I was near the check-in counter for United, I decided to find out if it was possible for me to switch to an earlier flight. I was told that I could pay $75 to try to fly standby. I had no interest in paying for that, so I just used the kiosk to review my seat assignment and reprint my boarding pass, which now reflected "TSA Precheck" at the top. That made going through security whole lot easier.
Tip (mainly for American travelers): If you plan to travel out of the country more than two to three times in the next five years, I highly recommend enrolling in the Global Entry program (http://www.cbp.gov/global-entry/about.) It costs $100 to apply, but makes life so much easier. You get to bypass the long lines at Immigration. It also includes TSA Precheck (http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck), which allows you to go to a special security screening line (when available, with certain airlines) that is much faster and simpler. You just need to be sure to enter your "known traveler number" (Global Entry card number) when you book your ticket.
I had a little more than four hours until my next flight departed. After buying and eating a salad, which I had been craving, I went to the United Club in Terminal C (near gate 33.) This lounge was actually a little bigger and better than the one I went to at the beginning of my trip in Terminal E. It had a TV room with plush chairs arranged in stadium-style seating, and also private study cubes.
I asked the front receptionist if I could reserve a shower and was told that I could go in right away. I had never used a shower at an airline lounge before, so I had no idea what to expect. It was much nicer and bigger than I thought it would be. It included towels on a warmer, Philosophy toiletries, Kleenex, and a hairdryer. It basically was a like a hotel bathroom.
Shower. (Yes, I took pictures in the bathroom.)
It was very spacious.
After nearly two days, it felt so nice to clean up and refresh. I have no idea how long I was in there, but it seemed like an hour. I don't know if there is any time limit on use of the shower rooms. I was just told to leave the door open whenever I was finished. As stupid as it sounds, being able to use this shower room was definitely the highlight of my day!
Tip: If you have the ability, time, and need for it, use the shower in one of the airline lounges!
The snacks available in the lounge were the same as usual in most United Clubs in the US: Tillamook cheese, Pepperidge Farm crackers, baby carrots and ranch dip, cookies, snack mix, bananas, apples, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Of course, most people come here for the bar. But when I'm traveling, I am already so groggy and tired that alcohol is the last thing that I would want.
Snack time.
Coincidentally, look what was on the cover of the December 2014 issue of United's Hemispheres magazine. (This was due in part to United just starting direct flights between Houston and Santiago.)
The United Clubs have free Wi-Fi, so I broke out my laptop and caught up on a few things. Thankfully, the lounge didn't get too crowded or loud until it was about time for me to leave.
My flight for Phoenix, Arizona, left at around 6pm, and by this time I could not wait to finally get home. Once again, the middle seat next to me was open, and this was only due to my strategic choice in seat...and luck, as this was the ONLY open seat on the entire plane.
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