The flight from Seattle departed at 0850. So what time does check-in start? You guessed it, 0230. And you must get there NLT 0530, a full three and twenty minutes before departure. The Marriott has a shuttle that runs to and from the airport every 15 minutes starting at 0415. I took the first shuttle and showed up at about 0430 to check-in, running the risk that I wouldn't get the seat I wanted but would get two more hours of sleep. My gamble payed off...I still got an aisle seat without showing up too early.
Check-in took less than 10 minutes. For the AMC flight, you check-in at a ticket counter like any other airline at the Seattle airport, and the plane departs from a gate like any other flight at the Seattle airport. So now it's 0440 and boarding starts at 0730. Gee, I hope they have enough time to load all the luggage. What to do now? I flirted with going back to the hotel, getting my room key back and sleeping for another two hours. I'm glad I didn't because I might have missed boarding because passing through security took nearly an hour. I eventually make it to the gate at 0530, and now I have two hours to wait. Suddenly it feels like I'm in the military. For those making this trip themselves, plan on about an hour and a quarter to get to the gate from the time that you leave the hotel.
Eventually, we board the aircraft, have everything ready for departure, and then the voice from above lets us know that we can't leave for another 20 minutes or we'll get to Japan too early. Wonderful. If only they could have done the math before loading us all up in the airplane. Off we go...let the fun begin.
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