GUITAR strings and HAPPY things: Traveling Etihad Airlines

1. Two 50lb luggage allowance

2. STRICT carry-on allowance (one 7lb and one 5lb, and not 1lb more PERIOD or it's $50)

Forget about the above information for a moment.

Etihad Airlines is AMAZING! The plane was HUGE and had universal outlets, comfy pillows and a thermal blanket (not that thin mess Delta gives you). They also supply you with headphones, which you have to return at the end of the flight and a small "make-up" bag that has socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and more! The flight was smooth and the 13 hours flew by...it did not even seem as if we were in the air. The flight attendants had cool uniforms, were multi-lingual, and very friendly. Oh! And the movies were free, so of course I took advantage of that and watched all the new DVD releases :)

I did have an incident on the plane with the person sitting next to me, but with the assistance of one of the other teachers, I just changed seats...it was extremely disturbing but lesson learned...stay away from CREEPERS/old men.

Back to the STRICTNESS:

Considering we, the teachers, are moving our lives overseas for two years, I think the two luggage allowance is outrageous! But I made due. When I got to the airport, BIG SHOUT OUT TO UNCLE RANDY AND AUNT CAROLE, all my luggage was overweight so I had to adjust and all was fine. I met a few lovely ladies in the same program and with the same itinerary, so we stuck together. We had a 5+ hour layover in Chi-town and once we went to get our boarding passes, we were met with DRAMA! The Etihad website says carry-on allowance is 15lbs...well THAT'S NOT TRUE! The carry-on can be no more than 7lbs without your laptop inside, and your personal item can be no more than 5lbs...Where They Do That At? Well, I had to check my carry-on and it was my lucky day/someone knew it was not in my budget to check ANOTHER bag and Pay ANOTHER $50, because the lady did not charge me :)

Here are some pictures of the flight: