176 Edinburgh-Geneva (Easyjet); another of my regular commutes, albeit this time with my friends Kirsty and Derek as companions for a change as we headed off to Geneva to see La femme at the famous Alhambra. We clubbed together for a single checked bag beforehand purely to have space available to bring back goodies, as well as saving a bit of hassle with liquids at security. But I was concerned enough about last month’s check-in experience to convince Kirsty to make our taxi half an hour earlier, especially as it was a Friday morning. Turned out dropping a bag for Easyjet at their self-service machines was considerably less time-consuming than KLM had been last month, and security, though chaotic, was reasonably quick.
Having flown into Geneva five or six times already, I graciously offered to give up my usual window seat to let someone else enjoy the fine views over the Alps on descent, which Kirsty accepted. The flight was pretty routine, but I was slightly surprised on arrival to be passing through what seemed to be a completely new airport. This turned out to be the new East Wing, which had only become operational in December last year. There was one other less pleasant surprise in the arrivals hall, where it turned out the machines with free public transport tickets had gone. These complimentary 80 minute tickets had always been one of the good things about arriving at the airport, especially in a relatively expensive country like Switzerland. But we already had our day tickets for TPG sorted, so it was no major problem.
177 Geneva-Edinburgh (Easyjet); The departure time for this flight swung back and forth by half an hour or so throughout the morning, but we just headed to the airport at the original time anyway. Whist the automatic bag drop at Edinburgh for Easyjet had been quick and simple, the bag drop at Geneva for Easyjet was lengthy and difficult, with just a few desks manually handling over a hundred passengers. When we were finally in sight of the desks after about half an hour, it was reassuring to see one of the counter staff stop serving passengers and taking a few minutes to put his tie on, as we clearly wouldn’t want to be served by a scruffy agent after waiting so long.
The most frustrating thing about the wait was knowing that post-security, today would be my first time in an airport lounge, courtesy of some mysterious privelege on Kirsty’s credit card. With several to choose from, we headed to the Skyteam lounge first, since I was a loyal Flying Blue member and would be flying KLM again in a few days. We were promptly turned away as the lounge was full with passengers for the Amsterdam and Paris flights, which was fair enough. So we ended up at the Swissport lounge, where a fine selection of cheese and tomato or tuna sandwiches was available, along with some fruit, crisps, and a small selection of drinks. There was even a toilet available, just out the door and a hundred metres down the hall. Frankly it was all a bit of a letdown, and I would have been a bit pissed to have paid thirty or forty quid for the privelege. Still, a few free glasses of Heineken was no bad thing, especially given my next flight in just a few days. And I very kindly loaned my Swiss plug adaptor to a fellow traveller, which made me feel a legitimate part of the international jetset.
Gill 9A 