At the airport l esson 1 Booking a ticket

Before you read

1 Choose the best word in the definitions(1-4).

1. The price you pay to travel on a plane, train, etc. is the fee/fare/rate.

2. A journey by water is a flight/ferry/voyage.

3. You board a plane at a gate/platform/quay, and a train from a gate/platform/quay.

4. A ticket to a place and back again is a two-way/return/reverse ticket.

Reading

2 A travel agent is explaining transport choices to a customer who wants to travel from London to Edinburgh. Use the information below and in the box to complete the explanation.

fare

£40 £75 £99

journey time

bus 10 hours

train 5 hours

plane 1 hour

quicker ■ the cheapest ■ more interesting the most expensive ■ more expensive the quickest ■ the longest

‘Basically, you can go by train, by bus, or you can

fly. The bus is ¹_______________option, but it

takes²______________. Flying is³____________..

but obviously it's⁴_____________ - it only takes

an hour. The train is ⁵______________ than the

bus, but it's⁶_____________, and because it

goes through beautiful countryside it’s a ⁷ journey.’

3 The customer decides to fly. Read the conversation and complete the booking information on the computer screen.

A OK, what date do you want to travel on?

С We'd like to fly to Edinburgh on Friday 10th,

in the evening.

A And when do you want to come back?

С On the Monday morning - that's the thirteenth.

A OK, … there's a flight at 18.30, but that's full...

there are seats available on the 19.45 - that lands

in Edinburgh at 20.40.

С Yes, that's fine.

A Let's just look at return flights ... I can offer you

seats on a flight at 10.00 on Monday 13th, arriving

in London at 10.55. С That's fine.

A And the fare is £99 plus £10 UK airport tax.

С OK, fine.

A Can I have the passengers' names, please?

С Andrew Waterstone and Jane Morris.

A And what's your address?

С 25 Tadema Road, London SW10 4RJ.

A And can I have a daytime telephone number?

С Yes, it's 020 7465 1003.

A OK. That's all confirmed. You should receive your tickets in the post tomorrow.

Speaking

4. Work in pairs. Read the dialogue in Exercise 3 aloud, taking turns to read each part.

5. Work in pairs. Role play a similar conversation. Use the information below.

Customer You want to travel from London to Paris at about 18.00 on Friday 17th, returning on Monday 20th in the morning.

Travel agent The Eurostar train costs £99 return, and there is one train every hour. Flights cost between £100 and £120. The train journey takes three hours; the flight takes just over one hour. There are no seats available on any flight after 16.30 on Friday 17th. There are seats available on all Eurostar trains.

Get real Work in pairs. You have fourteen days and €750 (or the same amount in another currency). Plan a journey in a country of your choice. Use guidebooks or the Internet to get timetables and information. Tell the class about your trip.