Toronto | Mama Cormier

I was worried. I was told that it might be noisy, uncomfortable and turbulent. It wasn’t any of things.

The night before I heard that traffic in the city was expected to be heavier than normal on Saturday and to count on delays. I ordered my Uber to pick me up two hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. I had to be at the airport 45 minutes before take-off.

My ride arrived promptly at 8:30 and 17 minutes later I was dropped off at the airport. No delays whatsoever. I made my way to the tunnel which is under the lake to the island airport. Again easy peasy.

Security was also a piece of cake and by 9:05 I was in the lounge area. I ordered a coffee and a croissant. Here I experienced my first disappointment. My croissant was stale. No big deal.

*Foyer before security at Porter Airlines*

Luckily I brought a book to read to pass the time. Finally, about 10 minutes before the plane was to depart we were given directions to go to our gate. I was worried that my carry on luggage would be too heavy but no one questioned me. Instead I was given a special luggage tag because it turned out that my bag didn’t fit in the overhead compartment. Turns out that at least ten of us were given these special tags and they were placed in the baggage hold. No extra charge.

The plane was by no means full but I discovered that my chosen seat was next to an occupied seat. When I chose it there was no one next to me. I had a feeling that the woman next to me would be happier and more comfortable if I could move. I politely explained to the attendant that we were not travelling together and was it possible for me to take another seat. No problem, I was allowed to move to the empty row in front of me.

Fifteen minutes late, we finally took off. The seats were comfortable, the noise was quieter than a jet plane and the flight was smooth and without turbulence.

Despite the delay the flight landed in Moncton on time. Our luggage was delivered to us on the tarmac and after a short walk I found myself at the pick-up area outside the airport. Day one of my adventure in Moncton was about to begin.