I have discovered the perfect combination of travel accomodations/documents to get you through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, then over 784 nautical miles over the South China Sea, and through the Hong Kong International Airport in the fastest, least stressful way.
Allow me to share this information with you:
1. Travel Business. This gets you to the head of the line to check-in. No need to mingle with the hoi polloi in coach. Those guys spend almost an hour in line just to check-in. Plus on business, you get preferred baggage status when you get to HK, so your bags come out first (that is, if you checked-in a bag).
I admit, this is a rather costly component to my proposed scheme. But hey, The Firm pays, so I don't really give a flying rat's ass about how much it costs.
2. Be a registered OCW with a valid Overseas Employment Certificate. Being an official "Bagong Bayani ng Bayan" gets you perks. Like a special line to pay the terminal fee (i.e. because we don't pay). Also, if you wear a suit, you get waived through immigration with no questions. But I think this special treatment is a result of the suit, not of the OCW status.
3. Be a card-carrying HK Resident. Have you seen the immigration lines at the HK airport? They are ridiculous! You literally wait 40 minutes to get to the counter. If you have one of them smart HK ID Cards though, you swipe it through a turnstile and you're through. Saya.
4. Always remember to book car service in advance. Airport transfer is key. You cannot take the bus or other public transport to or from the airport. Neither can you afford to hire a car a couple of hours before you fly or when you just land. It is just too stressful. Make previous arrangements for a car to bring you to and from the airport. This will save you a lot of consternation (or inversely, make you one happy camper).
No comments:
Post a Comment