The trip home from Turkey
It was finally time to return home. For the rest of my trip, check these posts:
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1720&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1738&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1753&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1786&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1850&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1880&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1920&action=edit
https://lynntowin.ca/wp-admin/post.php?post=1990&action=edit
Tips for international air travel
Checking in
I couldn’t check in online to my flights. I also couldn’t see any emails on my phone suddenly, so no links to help me check in. A British guy in the lobby told me to log in through my email website, and that worked! I still couldn’t check in online, because the time of my flight had changed – by five minutes.
With help from the hotel staff, I arranged a taxi, then shuttle bus to the airport in Dalaman, an hour away, for a total of $7. The hotel offered private transport for $70. I’m sure it would have been nice, but for the cheaper fare I got to wait a few minutes at the bus station with a cat in my lap.
At the Dalaman airport, I asked for my preferred aisle seats for the three legs of my journey, and the airline attendant assured me that I had aisle seats. The seat designations didn’t look right to me, so I checked online, and could see that my final flight was a window seat. That was something I could change myself.
I checked again at the gate for the other two flights. I had one aisle, and one middle – the 12 hour flight from Istanbul back to Vancouver! Oh no! Does anyone travelling solo ever want a middle seat? I know I don’t.
The last row on the plane
That flight was full, with only one aisle option – in the last row. I took it. Anything would be better than a middle seat. I wondered if I wouldn’t be able to recline the seat, but it was great! I could recline, and do it without worrying about anyone behind me. And, if you want more wine it’s right at the back with you. Bonus.
My takeaway TIPS from this situation were –
- if airport agents may not be fluent in English, learn the word in that language for aisle, or window, or whatever type of seat you want, and use it.
- check each boarding pass with the agent, and double check yourself.
- don’t be afraid of the last row.
Huge airports
The new airport in Istanbul is one of the world’s largest. It’s a hub for travel to three continents – Europe, Asia, and Africa – so there are long lineups.
I arrived at the Istanbul airport an hour and a half before my flight time. Great, I can shop in the airport. But when I checked the flight board, GO TO GATE was displayed. So, I did a very quick shop at duty free, then raced to the gate. There, I got in a lineup to get in to the gate area. That lineup was one hour long.
As things worked out, I was on the plane waiting for an hour before takeoff. I could have spent that hour shopping. I mentioned this to my seatmate, who shared that she is in this situation often. She said you don’t have to worry until FINAL CALL is flashing on the flight board, just check often while you’re shopping. I get why it happens, there are a few hundred people to organize to get on this long flight, but you really don’t want to add an hour to the twelve hours you’re sitting on board.
Why not board close to last? Oh, and grab that last row where the wine is!