Only suckers check their baggage with Air Canada
“This is your captain speaking,” said the voice over the speakers in the waiting room at Victoria International Airport.
Surprised to hear this sentence any time but on a plane, I looked across the crowded room and sure enough, there was a middle-aged white guy in a white short-sleeved shirt with epaulets, topped by a captain’s hat.
We were already past the time we should have been boarding our Air Canada flight to Toronto, so I wondered why we had this unusual appearance.
“This plane doesn’t have much overhead space, so we really, really need more of you to check your bags,” the captain continued. “This will speed boarding and allow us to get moving.”
Ah, so the big gun on the aircraft was only here to repeat what the staff had been saying over and over for the past half hour, or more. “We don’t have space for everyone’s carry on luggage. We have a target of checking 30 bags. Please come forward.”
We’d heard this message from two different staff members, repeated in different ways. They even gave us updates on how few of us were taking advantage of the chance to check our bags for free — six, then 10, then 15, 16. The number stalled. Then, came the captain.
