Daily Life - At The Airport (0089)

A: Next please! Hello sir, may I see your passport please?
B: Yes, here you go.
A: Will you be checking any bags.
B: Yes, I'd like to check three pieces.
A: I'm sorry, sir. Airline policy allows only two pieces of checked luggage, at twenty kilograms each, plus one piece of carry-on luggage. I will have to charge you extra for the additional suitcase.
B: What? Why! I am taking an intercontinental flight! I'm flying sixteen thousand kms! How am I supposed to only take two, twenty kilo bags? That's absurd!
A: I am sorry, sir, there's nothing I can do. You cannot board the flight with that large bag either. Carry-on bags must fit in the over-head compartment or under your seat. That bag is clearly too big.
B: Now I see. You charge next to nothing for an international ticket, but when it comes to charging for any other small thing, you charge an arm and a leg! So tell me, miss, how much will I have to pay for all of this.
A: Let's see... six hundred and twenty-five US dollars.
B: That's more than my round-trip ticket!

Key Vocabulary

next to nothing phrase very cheap, inexpensive
board verb get on the plane
intercontinental Adjective between continents
carry-on luggage common noun, non-variable the bags that one can carry onto the plane
piece common noun, plural piece of luggage; one bag
check verb register bags with the airline and give them to be put on the plane
passport common noun, singular a document showing the identity of someone when outside his country
an arm and a leg phrase phrase used to indicate that something is very expensive

Supplementary Vocabulary

metal detector common noun, singular A device that senses the presence of metal
boarding pass common noun, singular A pass that authorizes a passenger to get on an airplane
scale common noun, singular An instrument or machine for weighing
layover common noun, singular A short stop or break in a journey, usually imposed by scheduling requirements
round trip common noun, singular A trip from one place to another and back, usually over the same route