subject: After My Flight Gets In, When Should I Call My Taxi? [print this page] There are two things that can make trying to get from an airport to your hotel an annoying experience. One is having your cab leave without you and the other is being forced to stand around, waiting for it to show up. That is why learning when you should call taxi services after your flight gets in can be a handy skill for making sure that your travel experiences to other cities are always pleasant ones.
The main thing that you have to learn how to judge in order to be able to call the cab at the right time is how long it is going to take you to actually get outside the airport. So, from the moment your flight touches down you can guess how long it's going to take you to be ready to leave. The quickest scenario is going to be when all you've brought is carryon luggage. In that case, you're probably ready to call the cab as soon as you're allowed to turn your cell phone back on.
The next situation which takes slightly longer is when you have to wait for checked baggage. In this case, once anyone on your flight is starting to receive baggage, it's probably a safe time to call. It usually won't be much longer until your luggage starts to come.
The time that you're going to have to wait the longest is anytime you're on an international flight. The whole act of clearing customs and getting your baggage can take a great deal of time on an international flight, and can be very unpredictable. As such, it's often best in these situations to simply wait until you're actually ready to leave the airport to call your cab, just to be on the safe side.
Never forget that in some cities this doesn't actually have to concern you at all. A guidebook can usually tell you everything that you want to know about the taxi system in any city that you are flying into. In some major cities, the taxi companies have a habit of always having cars stationed outside the airport at all times, so all you ever have to do is walk outside and hail a cab to be on your way. A perfect example is the Pearson International Airport in Toronto, where there are always numerous cabs waiting outside the terminals at all hours of the day.
