Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Scuba Show report, & more
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This will be relatively brief (at least in terms of number of articles) . . .
SCUBA SHOW REPORT - It was a busy and successful weekend. I'll be the first to admit that I may not be the best guy to give you a report on the show because a lot of my time is taken up with giving a few talks - many thanks to those of you who attended the three talks I did - and I walk around solidifying some friendships and business relationships with people I know. But I did get a chance to walk all the aisles on Sunday.
If you went, Saturday by far was the busier day. Saturday's always a bit busier than Sunday but a lot of us regulars felt that this Saturday was one of the busier ones we've seen in years. That was reflected in the seminar attendance as well. I gave a Fish ID talk at Noon Saturday that attracted 65 people (yes, they do a room headcount). Normally, we'd expect around 30 people. And our 4PM "Why Divers Die" talk, usually the #1-attended seminar and attracts a little over 100 people, this year clocked in at 175. Even today (Sunday) my 4PM talk (Fish ID again) attracted about 40 people which is impressive given that the show closes at 5PM.
Walking the aisles, the shows seemed even a bit more travel-heavy than usual. That's terrific if you were looking for vacation ideas. But it seemed some of the mfgs weren't there or had scaled back a bit. There were displays from TUSA, Huish (Bare, Atomic, Oceanic, and more), Sherwood, and Scubapro. A couple of stores who usually have a booth were noticeably absent. But Scuba Schools of America, Beach Cities, and Oceanside Scuba & Swim (Temecula) all had multiple booth space.
It also seemed to me this year, we had more non-profits than usual and that's actually nice touch. Such entities as our Chamber, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Get Inspired, Dive Into the Pink, Women Divers Hall of Fame, Spotting Giant Sea Bass, and many others were well-represented, although it seemed that most of them were in the 600 and 700 aisle, which are usually the last aisles that people go through. (Most people seem to explore the show in numerical aisle order.) Might be nice next year to spread them out more evenly through the rows.
I did get to spend some time with Anthony's Key, Manthiri, Manta Ray Bay, and Atlantis Resorts who represent four of our next five trips. (Our fifth destination, Murex Dive Resort, doesn't exhibit at this show.) And we touched base with our local providers in the form of Catalina Express and Catalina Divers Supply. Surprisingly, none of our local dive boats had a booth.
But overall, it was really nice to see so many people interested in diving under one roof. There were some parking issues on Saturday, especially if you arrived around 10AM but those seemed to dissipate on Sunday. But ours is a unique and wonderful sport and it's nice to see it seemingly healthy and a bit more robust as we get further away from the COVID years.
UNITED AIRLINES CHECK-IN IS NOW EARLIER - Effective this Tuesday, the check-in time for any United domestic flight is 45 minutes, with or without bags. From United's website: "[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)]Check-in opens 24 hours before a flight’s departure time and can be completed on an airline’s website, mobile app, or in person at the airport—either at a self-service kiosk or at your carrier’s check-in desk in the terminal’s ticketing area. The process usually takes just a couple minutes or less."[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)] The key thing here, it seems, is boarding-pass-in-hand. You can get that on-line when you check in as well as at the airport. Unclear to me personally is what happens if you check in on-line in plenty of time, so you have a boarding pass, but then arrive at the airport to check bags less than 45 minutes from the flight. None of this seems to mean you have to be at the gate 45 minutes ahead of time. You simply need to be checked into their system. But they're very clear that they have the right to refuse your bags or deny your boarding if you're cutting it too close. So play it safe and give yourself plenty of time. International check-in remains at 60 minutes ahead of the flight but personally and for Reef Seekers trips, I always recommend three hours ahead of time. I'd rather cool my jets somewhere at the airport rather than miss a flight and then have to re-book.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
