Saturday, June 11, 2005
The Toronto Airport Sucks
Before I post anything having to do with our recent trip to Cuba, I just wanted to point out that Toronto Pearson Airport sucks it. I should know, having spent over 28 hours of my life there. Here's some background: when Mike and I flew back to Canada from England in '02, we got stuck in Toronto overnight because there were no flights to the West until the morning. We were there for at least 14 hours, maybe longer -- we lost our photographic evidence at airport security so it's a bit muddy. But the bench seats were decent, and even though Mike was constantly woken by the backfiring of a giant floor polisher that worked its way back and forth in the giant corridor that was our temporary home, it was possible to get a decent amount of sleep.
When we arrived in Toronto on the way to Cuba on this last trip, I noticed that the seats had been replaced with seats with arms, thus making reclining impossible. However, we were inside a terminal -- perhaps they had only replaced certain chairs. I made a joke about how they changed the seating after we were there last because our presence had convinced the transit authority that transients had taken to the airport as a place to stay in lieu of the airport hotels.
Apparently I was right, because when we went to find a spot to park our tired asses for the night we could not find any un-armed chairs. Anywhere. And that really sucks it. It's bad enough that one gets stuck in a bloody airport for seven hours because Air-friggin-Canada can't be bothered to book a red-eye from Western Canada, but now we can't even recline in half-assed comfort. It's not like anyone staying overnight in an airport is keen on staying there. I know that people with more money might shuttle away to a hotel, but when you're waiting for an international flight you have to check in for 2 hours prior anyway, $170 for 5 hours in a hotel isn't worth it.
Eventually we snagged some padded benches near the only cafe that was open all night and established a makeshift home. We weren't so lucky on the way back, however, and had to pull together various chairs to try and create beds. Which was very uncomfortable.
Really, the decision to make a long stay at the airport even more uncomfortable is just plain mean. So to Pearson Airport I say: you suck all kinds of ass.
When we arrived in Toronto on the way to Cuba on this last trip, I noticed that the seats had been replaced with seats with arms, thus making reclining impossible. However, we were inside a terminal -- perhaps they had only replaced certain chairs. I made a joke about how they changed the seating after we were there last because our presence had convinced the transit authority that transients had taken to the airport as a place to stay in lieu of the airport hotels.
Apparently I was right, because when we went to find a spot to park our tired asses for the night we could not find any un-armed chairs. Anywhere. And that really sucks it. It's bad enough that one gets stuck in a bloody airport for seven hours because Air-friggin-Canada can't be bothered to book a red-eye from Western Canada, but now we can't even recline in half-assed comfort. It's not like anyone staying overnight in an airport is keen on staying there. I know that people with more money might shuttle away to a hotel, but when you're waiting for an international flight you have to check in for 2 hours prior anyway, $170 for 5 hours in a hotel isn't worth it.
Eventually we snagged some padded benches near the only cafe that was open all night and established a makeshift home. We weren't so lucky on the way back, however, and had to pull together various chairs to try and create beds. Which was very uncomfortable.
Really, the decision to make a long stay at the airport even more uncomfortable is just plain mean. So to Pearson Airport I say: you suck all kinds of ass.
