Determine your own “Travel IQ” with the following “true to life” quiz!
Here it is:
Q1. Kaspersky Labs invites you to attend a conference in Moscow and, much to your surprise, even agrees to fly you out from Austin, Texas through London to Moscow.
Do you:
a) Insist that they fly you Continental through Houston, because you know that that particular route is the least troublesome?
Or
b) Let them choose the route. Hell they’re paying?
Answer: The right answer is a). If you choose b) they’ll probably fly you through Chicago and that airport is subject to much greater delays, especially this time of year (December).
Even though a seasoned traveller, I chose b) hence question 2.
Q2. You arrive at Austin airport in good time for the flight to Chicago, but as you check in with United Airlines you are told “I’m afraid your flight to Chicago is delayed by turbulent weather in the Chicago area. You are not going to make your connection to London. We can fly you to Chicago tonight, but I recommend that you let me rebook you through Washington tomorrow. And by the way, we’ll upgrade you to Economy Plus.”Do you:
a) Choose to be flown to Chicago anyway?
Or
b) Book in to the Hilton Hotel at Austin Airport and fly the following day?
Answer: The right answer is a) and here’s why. Chicago is a hub from which you fly directly to London. You have already lost 1 day. if you stay in Austin it is possible (although unlikely) that you could lose another day.
I chose b). What was I thinking?
Q3. You have been upgraded from Economy on United to Economy Plus.
Are you:
a) Mildly Delighted: Bigger seats, more space, better food, better movies, etc.
or
b) Unimpressed.
Answer: b). I cannot help but wonder what does United think the “plus” actually means.
I was mildly delighted, I should have been nonplussed.
Q4. You arrive at Austin in the morning in good time for the flight to Washington. You notice that it has already been delayed by 1 hour. You are not worried because there’s 2hrs 40 mins time in which to make the connection to London. After you’ve checked in you learn that the flight is delayed a further hour – now it’s touch-and-go whether tthe connection is going to work. You board the plane and air traffic control then decides to have you wait 45 minutes on the runway. You’ve now missed your connection. You arrive in Washington 35 minutes after the London flight should have left, but you notice that it has been delayed and there is just time to go to the International Terminal and get to the gate. You arrive at the gate with moments to spare. At the gate you ask whether your bags will make it onto the plane or not, given that you only just arrived at Terminal A. They assure you that they will.
Are they:
a) Using their best judgment in respect of your bags?
or
b) Lying through their back teeth?
Answer: The correct answer is b). They know the bags ain’t gonna make it, but they are probably not even allowed to tell you that. (I might be a terrorist, there might be a bomb in my bags etc.)
I could have skipped that plane and taken the last flight out ensuring that my bags would be in London when I arrived, but I just took them at their word.
Q5. You arrive in London and discover that your luggage is who-knows-where. You fill in the baggage claim form and elect not to have it delivered to an address when it arrives (because you’re not sure anyone will be home at your sister’s house where you’re staying). Instead you elect to return to Heathrow to directly pick up the luggage, if and when it arrives. You receive a call from United to notify you that the luggage has arrived so you go to pick it up. When you get to Heathrow, you call United from the Information Desk.
What is the next step to retrieving your luggage? Is it:
a) They bring your luggage to you at the Information Desk?
or
b) You have to go into baggage reclaim, first having your passport checked and also having to send your jacket and your shoes through the xray machine – just in case you have a bomb in your shoes, which you intend to explode in the baggage reclaim area – before picking up your baggage?
Answer: The answer is, of course, b). But this is the easy question, which everyone gets right.
Q6. Finally, arriving in Moscow, you check in to the Grand Hotel and once you get to your room, you go through the process of getting an Internet connection. To your surprise the Internet connection costs – well how much?
Is it
a) Less than $5 per day?
b) $20 per day?
c) Over $40 per day?
Answer: It’s c).
I didn’t believe it either.
The Scores
Award yourself the following points for each correct answer:
Question 1. 45 points
Question 2. 35 points
Question 3. 30 points
Question 4. 35 points
Question 5. 3 points
Question 6. 35 points
If your Travel IQ is less than 4, you shouldn’t travel. You should stay home.
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