AUTHOR: JAY SHENK
Over the course of time some rare things tend to become more and more organized, but most things tend to become less orderly. This tendency toward disorder is known in science as “entropy”. A cute example of this is a litter of puppies, kept in a confined area when very young. It’s a nice stable situation. However, once they open their eyes and learn how to wrestle, play, and explore, the entropy of the “puppy system” increases dramatically, becoming more and more disorderly.
So what does this have to do with the Worcester Airport? Good question: Entropy also describes what’s happened to the airline industry. Believe it or not, flying used to be a luxurious way to get somewhere, similar to going on a cruise but faster. Not too many people look at flying that way anymore, with good reason, as the airport experience has gotten pretty chaotic.
My recent trip to New Zealand is a good example of how problems can snowball, making for a disorderly experience. Despite extensive planning on Jen’s part, the first leg of my trip went sideways almost immediately when a tornado shut down the Houston airport, resulting in having to find a hotel at midnight, and a new route to New Zealand through San Francisco.
However, the Worcester Regional Airport, where we recently boarded a plane for a quick round trip to Florida to visit Jen’s father and stepmother in The Villages, has somehow managed to avoid falling into disorder. In fact, flying in and out of the Worcester Regional Airport was an outstanding experience, both organized and smooth.
First, we had to park. As anyone who’s been to Logan Airport lately knows, parking at an airport is a first rate hassle. It’s quite expensive, you’ve got to be very careful to remember where you parked, not lose your ticket; and consider that where you parked might very well be so far away from the airport that you need to use a shuttle bus to get back and forth between the airport and your car.
In Worcester, we drove right up to the parking area in front of the terminal, got a ticket to park, parked about forty feet from the entrance to the terminal, got our bags out of the car, and walked to the terminal (there’s only one). Parking was free for the first day, and $7 a day thereafter, so our four day trip cost us $14 in parking (we weren’t charged for the fourth day either). At most airports you’ll be paying at least double that every day that passes, and here it’s actually quick and easy to find your car.
Next of course was the security check, at most airports an experience similar to a huge traffic jam except that you can’t sit down and you have to drag your suitcases and carry-on luggage through a long line, watch it disappear down a conveyor, and with some luck, you won’t lose anything like a water bottle that you forgot in your suitcase.
Compare that to the Worcester Regional Airport: about eight people were in line ahead of us when we walked into the terminal, so we waited in line about five minutes, sent our bags through and would have proceeded directly into the terminal, except that Jen had packed in a hurry, and the bag she was carrying contained both a scissors and a bottle of water.
The security person saw both the scissors and the water bottle via the X-ray machine, so asked Jen why she had a scissors in her bag. She said she didn’t think she had any scissors in her bag, but the security guy said, “Oh, you definitely have scissors in the bag”, as he showed her the scan of her bag. Her immediate response was “Oh no. Those are my favorite scissors”.
She apologized to the security guy, and mentioned that she was sorry that she had to lose both, especially since she’d need the water for her medication (her calm down pill for the flight). The security check fellow then actually said, “I probably can help with that. The scissors are actually of an allowed size, and I’ll test the water–assuming it tests like I expect it to, you can take it along, too.
I don’t use the word “flabbergasted” often, but it sprung to mind. We’ve flown a number of times recently, and that’s the first time anyone was helpful in security. The takeaway here is that the people working at the Worcester Regional Airport are pleasant, helpful, and very customer service oriented.
From there, we wheeled our bags about 50 feet to our gate, bought a quick snack in the store/restaurant, and about half an hour later we boarded, got in our seats, and had a pleasant flight to Orlando.
Being a smaller airport, direct flights to many locations aren’t available, but JetBlue, American, and Delta fly in and out of the Worcester Airport, with direct flights to NYC and Florida, and of course opportunities for connections to many locations.
There was only one problem: Sometime between then and the plane ride home from Florida, we both ended up with Covid.