Playing Airports

I have a friend who is a very successful owner of an international airline. He's very hands on, selecting all new craft, designing routes and choosing airports. He has designed the branding, colours and logo, and makes the tricky decisions that balance customer experience with pricing to ensure full planes. Of course, he does all this through the use of a computer simulation game, but I doubt Richard Branson puts in as much thought. I have a strong feeling those who work within the Interislander Ferry organisation all have a similar fascination with air travel, and are really frustrated pilots and cabin crew, immigration and customs officials. They play the role, in the same way children set up shops or doctors clinics and open for business.

"Tickets, please."

Checking in for the ferry looks much like an airport check in, but with none of the security. No ID or proof of ticket purchasing is required, just say a surname that is on the list and the boarding pass is yours. Someone named Martin Harper came very close to losing his tickets to my travelling companion before we remembered we had actually booked in my name. It was possibly pure luck that no other Collins or Collins impersonator hadn't already collected our tickets before us.

Then on to baggage check in. Anyone can heave a suitcase on the counter, where it is given a tag and the owner a small proof of ownership ticket. No one will ever ask to see this baggage check again, nor indeed will they even check that the owner of the bag is actually travelling. It seems to me that the most cost effective way to send items across the Cook Strait would be to pop it into the baggage at one end and arrange for a friend to meet it at the other side, approximate cost - zero. It's here at baggage check- in that we see the another interesting aspect of airport role play.

Does a ferry leaving Picton ever unload passenger luggage anywhere other than Wellington? Has a bag ever mysteriously arrived in Auckland at sailing's end, necessitating much clearer labelling? The barcode does match my wee ticket, but we know no-one will check this at the other end, and the other end is always Wellington if one sails from Picton, and vice versa. But it all makes the staff look very busy, efficient and important - just like at an airport.