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Checking in in China

Date: Dec 09 2005

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

U.S. airlines are a mess. Many of the major carriers like Delta and USAir haven’t turned a profit in a long, long time. They are nixing amenities like snacks and meals in order to cut costs, but they are still struggling to stay afloat.

John was recently in China and flew on two Chinese carriers. Listen to him and I talk about the experience.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Dave

John

Dave: What airline did you fly?

John: I flew United there, but then once I was within the country I flew China Eastern and Air China.

Dave: Okay.

John: And both of the check-in procedures were just like here at the U.S. and everything was in English. You know, they asked me if I wanted a window or an aisle seat, or asked for my Mileage Plus number with United, because there’s a partnership with Air China.

Dave: Yeah.

John: So, yeah, I found it to be very easy.

Dave: Were there complimentary drinks and food?

John: Yeah, there were complimentary drinks on the flight, you know, the alcohol, as well.

Dave: Great!

John: And, ah, full meals, which is something you don’t see here in the U.S. anymore.

Dave: What about security checks? Did you get the pat down, body cavity search? Anything like that?

John: No, there was nothing like that. The metal detectors seemed to be a little bit more forgiving than here in the States.

Dave: Oh yeah?

John: I could wear my belt and my shoes and, ah, there were no problems. You know, here you have to take all that off.

Dave: Yeah. What about fingerprinting? I know they’re doing that now in the U.S. for any foreign person visiting, they fingerprint them.

John: There were no fingerprinting, ah, machines, but there were cameras everytime I went through security.

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Discussion

Since September 11, 2001, security at airports in the United States has been very tight. People have to take off their shoes and belts, empty their pockets and get a pat down. It’s very uncomfortable.