At the Airport, 05-17-15

Dear Roman Writers,

This post is for the many of you who will be on the group flight from JFK to Rome on May 17, and who have been asking about the general order of business prior to takeoff.

If you are on that flight, please take the time to read this post in its entirety.

As you should know by now, Dr. Spinner will have traveled ahead to Rome and gotten things ready for our arrival at St. John's. That means you should look only for me at the airport, where I'll be happy to greet you and your families and to hand off the audio equipment before we go through security.

I plan to take a series of trains to the airport starting mid-morning Sunday, departing from the Albany Rensselaer Amtrak station. If anyone wants to train it with me, they're welcome to join; just let me know in advance. Otherwise, I'll assume you're getting to JFK under your own steam, whether on the Albany airport shuttle or by other means.

I'm planning to arrive at the airport around 2:00 p.m. and to check in as early as possible. I'll linger in the check-in area, and that's where you'll be able to find me for a meet and greet with anyone of your family and/or friends. Hopefully you'll arrive around 2:00, too — within the three hours the airline recommends.

Meet and greet or no, please don't go through security without getting your audio device from me. As you know, it's probably not the best idea for one person to carry a slew of uncommon electronic equipment through the screening lines. Ideally, I'd like to have each one of us on the flight carrying on one device each, two at the maximum.

I'll probably go through security myself around 3:30 or so. Once I hand off the device to you, you're free to go through and proceed to our departure gate as you see fit. But, if you want to go through with me, that's fine.

If you arrive at the airport after 3:30, you should check in and proceed through security on your own. If you do plan to arrive that late, I'd appreciate a call or a text: I'll provide you with my number if you don't already have it.

If the catastrophic happens and you miss the flight, you should call our travel agent, Steve, who will work with you to find an alternate flight; his information should already have been provided to you. But the bottom line is, we cannot hold the flight if you are late.

I hope this all makes sense. In a future post I'll detail what to expect in the time after takeoff and on the ground in Rome when we land. In the meantime, please let me know if you have questions.

DC