Best Advice for Air Travelers

I know we have quite a few frequent flyers on CC, and there are always hundreds of questions by "new" air travellers or infrequent flyers, so why not have a thread to "educate" or inform?

1. Always check your reservation to make sure; A) It still exists. B) You still have a seat assignment. C) The time(and date) are still the same.

2. Avoiding the middle. When you're buying a plane ticket and the seating chart shows only middles available, go unassigned. Since airlines generally hold back some windows and aisles until departure day, you're better off heading to the airport a little early to get a seat assignment when you check in. On the flip side, if you're traveling with a colleague and seating is wide open, reserve a window and an aisle in the same row. If no one picks the middle seat, you both get more room to spread out.

3.....

 

2. Avoiding the middle. When you're buying a plane ticket and the seating chart shows only middles available, go unassigned. Since airlines generally hold back some windows and aisles until departure day, you're better off heading to the airport a little early to get a seat assignment when you check in.

Personally if middle seats are my only choice at time of booking, I'll take the middle seat just to have a seat assignment. Then usually one of two things happen...1.) At or before check-in, other seats become avaialble due to people cancelling, moving their seats, upgrades, etc. I'll then grab a more preferable seat. 2.) Usually that middle seat is there because there are a couple travelling together in the window/aisle combination. When I get to the seat they are usually willing to offer me either the window or aisle so that they can sit side by side.

3. Arrive early!!! If you're departing from a large-ish airport, you'll need every bit of that 2 hours that TSA recommends, unless you enjoy major stress.

Fly in at least one day ahead prior to the embakation of your cruise.

Keith

Probably the most persistently vexing is direct flight versus nonstop flight. If a flight billed as nonstop makes a stop, barring an emergency, the Department of Transportation considers that a deceptive practice. A flight labeled direct is another matter: It is certainly going to involve at least one stop, but there may be more than one, and there may be a plane change or even an airline change.

Two valid questions to ask a travel agent offering a direct flight, "Am I going to change planes on this flight?" and "Am I going to change airlines?"

With all the security precautions required now, do yourself and others a favour and put all non essential personal items in your carry on as opposed to your person. Less delays and checks when you go through the Xray.

Check the latest carry-on restrcitions at TSA.gov as things do often change with-out notice.

I posted this on another thread in response to ANOTHER missed flight.

Everyone needs to be very proactive in today's airline environment. Pay attention, check the flight monitors, ask questions if things don't seem "right". Don't wait until the airline makes the announcement that there is a problem. You can usually tell long before that. Gate areas where there are no seats and LOTS of extra people are usually a good clue.

You need to have a list of "alternative" flights available BEFORE you ever board your original flight. You need to have the airline phone numbers programmed into your cell phone or on an easily accessible list. You need to avail yourself of every option you possibly could have-frequent flyer membership, possibly airline club membership, travel agent phone numbers, corporate travel dept., etc., etc.

As a very frequent business traveler, I have often seen canceled/delayed flights when EVERYONE gets in line to get rebooked. IF they had been prepared with alternative flights, they may have been able to walk to another gate and fly standby on one of the alternative flights, WITHOUT waiting in line. Lines at gates with canceled/delayed flights are usually VERY long. And the very plane you need may be leaving as you wait in line. Go someplace where you can get some help.

Case in point: My flight nonstop from JFK to LAX was delayed by two hours a month ago. I KNEW that within 1/2 hour of the original departure time, I could board a plane to Dallas, Raleigh/Durham, or Chicago, where I could make a connection for a flight to LAX. Instead of trying to get in line to reschedule at the originating flight desk (about 30 people in line), I found the gate for the flight to Dallas, walked up to the desk (which had 2 people in line) and took a standby seat to Dallas. They also booked me through to LAX. Not particularly the flights I wanted, but it got me where I needed to go within an hour of my originally scheduled flight.

The horror story posted in this thread is another good example. IF they had been asking questions, they possibly could have boarded the 6:30AM flight (at 9:00AM) to Dallas and avoided the hassles. IF they had a list of alternative flights, they may have been able to circumvent standing in line, waiting for someone to try to find available flights. Just having the flight numbers for alternative flights will often expedite finding a seat on another flight. And think out of the box-you don't NEED a straight shot to you destination. What you need is to get to your cruise.

An addition to greatam's useful post:

If you have a laptop and the aiprort has WiFi or you have a data card, you can beat the lines and the wait for the call center personal in Inida or Mars or Sing Sing or whereever they are and rebook the flight on-line.

Paul

The elimination of government economic regulation of the airlines has resulted in lower fares and a wide variety of price/service options. In this new commercial environment, consumers have had to take a more active role in choosing their air service by learning to ask a number of questions.

-Am I more concerned with price or scheduling? Am I willing to fly at an odd hour if it means saving $25?

-Will the airline penalize me for changing my reservation?

-What will the airline do for me if it cancels my flight?

This booklet is designed to explain your rights and responsibilities as an air traveler. We hope it helps you become a resourceful consumer.

http://www.travel-images.com/passenger-rights-us.html

1. Check your flight's departure time based on the ARRIVAL of the plane, not the screens. For example, you are flying from PHX to LA and the plane is coming from DALLAS. The departure might be on time, but the arrival from DALLAS can be delayed.

2. Bring a cell phone AND charger. Call customer service instead of standing in line. (And if you are traveling with someone, make sure they have a phone also!)

3. seatguru.com

Keep an eye on the flight boards at the airport ... gates can be changed, and you want to move on to the correct gate. A couple of weeks ago at ORD (no storms, no unusual delays that I knew of) two women waited for their OMA flight at the wrong gate, not realizing it had been changed til it was too late to catch their flight. Re-booking netted them seats 3 days later! Not a pretty lesson for them.

To echo Greatam's post, know the alternative routings avaialble to you.

My first-hand experience of this happened back in 1996 trying to get from LGA to CLE right at Christmas time. I arrived at LGA just as a blizzard was starting to hit New York. I was flying Continental and knew that their planes basically operated as a shuttle between LGA and CLE and that all flights out of CLE were cancelled already- as a result there were no flights to CLE scheduled. There was however one flight leaving in 45 minutes to IAH (Continental's main hub). I asked the ticket agent if there was room on that, there was, and she re-routed me from LGA-IAH-CLE.

The short of it was that I got out on one of the last flights from LGA that day and made it to CLE late late that same day (After my original connecting flight at IAH was cancelled). But I got there in the same day and was able to spend Christmas with my family all because I knew how to play the hub game and what alternative flights were available. Watching the news the next day, all 3 of the NYC airports were shut down for 3 days and I realized that if I hadn't made my way onto that IAH flight I would've been stuck in NYC.

Short story is is know all your options in case you need to make an audible along the way.

In addition to what others have said...

1) Always have your boarding pass close to hand when in the airport

2) Whilst standing in lines get everything ready before you get to the front. e.g. remove your coat, jewelry, bag with liquids and laptop before you get to the table with the trays at security. If everyone was prepared the lines would be so much shorter!

3) Know the aircraft you are flying on (from website when booking or confirmation) and pick the better seats. Even in First and Business Class there are some seats which are much better than others.

4) Check your itinerary on a semi-regular basis, especially if you book months out. Particularly with travel in the US schedules change on a pretty regular basis. Some airlines/travel agents are better at informing than others. i.e. some won't at all!

5) Sign up for the airlines/airline's partner's frequent flyer programme. I've seen too many free flights go out the window. Who knows, you may get some nice benefits from it if you fly enough.

6) Check the price of buying a ticket before using frequent flyer miles and preferably use them for tickets in premium cabins or upgrades. Much better value to be had.

7) Check immigration procedures from an OFFICIAL SOURCE when you book a trip to a foreign country. Make sure you have enough time left on your passport or the prerequisite number of blank pages available.

I'm sure I'll think of more....

5) Sign up for the airlines/airline's partner's frequent flyer programme. I've seen too many free flights go out the window. Who knows, you may get some nice benefits from it if you fly enough.

 

6) Check the price of buying a ticket before using frequent flyer miles and preferably use them for tickets in premium cabins or upgrades. Much better value to be had.

Adding to #5: When you start to build up miles in an account, stick with that airline (or partner) so that you don't end up with "orphan" miles. Especially look at the partner angle. If you fly DL/NW/CO, you can get miles credited to any of them (but not more than one). US and UA ditto. AS partners with many carriers - AS accounts are quite versatile. You can fly many carriers and get AS miles, redeemable on those airlines and more.

Think of FF miles as a kind of rebate that the airline is offering to you on your ticket price. Using the 2 cent metric, it's a rebate of roughly $140 (7K miles) on a JFK-Europe r/t. LAX to Tokyo is $220 (11K miles). Even LAX to SJU gets almost as much as a JFK TATL. Don't waste it!!

Also, know the expiration policies of your airline. UA, AA and US have 18 month activity requirements, DL is two years. No sense earning miles and then having them go POOF just because you didn't pay attention to them. Think of them like a bank account - an item with distinct value.

Adding to #6: Airlines love nothing more than redeeming miles for low value tickets. If you aren't getting roughly 2 cents value per mile or more, you're trading them in too cheaply, IMO. I'd rather use FF miles to score business tickets to South America or Asia where I get anywhere from 5 to 9 cents per mile of value. Or there's the route of using them for international upgrades from higher coach fares. Another good use.

When you have to a connection to make, give yourself PLENTY of time. Even though you can make a reservation with a 45 minute connection (maybe even less) time, I always make sure I have AT LEAST 90 minutes. preferably 2 hours connection. That way if my original flight is running a bit late, there is still a good chance that I can make my connecting flight.

Start travel as early in the day as possible. Plan for delays.

If your airline has an automated flight update system, SIGN UP FOR IT on-line. I use AA's system all the time and it is great. You can have your cell phone, or whatever electronic device, notified with gate number of departure and arrival, also delays and any other changes. There have been times that the automated notification told me about gate changes and delays, as well as cancellations, before announcements are made at the airport.

A couple of years ago I was taking the red eye SFO-ORD-BDL - it was not a good sign that that when I was checking in at the kiosk, it told me to see a gate atttendent, who told me there would be a potential delay. Soon after that I got a notification that the SFO-ORD flight was delayed (no notification at the airport yet), and that the arrival time in ORD was after my departure time for BDL. I was able to switch to the SFO-DFW-BDL flight , which I already knew about by having the alternative routes , (and I booked (by calling the AAdvantage desk, rather than waiting in line), and it turned out the SFO-ORD flight was delayed by MANY HOURS.

That's another thing -be poilte to the airline staff you interact with - if there is a problem with the flight it is probably not their fault, and yelling will not really help you. I am sure I have gotten upgrades, moved up the standby lists, luggage handled better, and other special considerations by being calm and straighforward. Be firm with what you want.

That's another thing -be poilte to the airline staff you interact with - if there is a problem with the flight it is probably not their fault, and yelling will not really help you. I am sure I have gotten upgrades, moved up the standby lists, luggage handled better, and other special considerations by being calm and straighforward. Be firm with what you want.

Sugar definitely works. The screamers and swearers are ignored while those who are patient and nice will get more perks. I have had gate agents go out of there way, above and beyond to help me in bad situations. (And a few upgrades to first class!!)

Also, travel guru Peter Greenberg suggests never taking the last flight of the day.

Be polite!! To other PAX AND the TSA and Airline personnel......

Be Informed...read the rules on the TSA website.....BTW.....ALL airlines in the US have the same rules for screening...meaning, if Southwest says take your shoes off, Northwest has the same rule......which are Federal rules, not airline rules.

Ex: I was in front of someone in line who asked that question!! Some airports have better explanations of what to do....they even show little movies.....

DO NOT pack medicine and valuable in your checked bags. If they get misdirected, it is NOT the airlines' fault that your medicine is missing! I was in TPA and a woman was screaming at the baggage rep, saying she would sue because her kids medicine was gone, and, because her husband illegally parked in front of the terminal, got TWO tickets for refusing to move. NOT the airlines' fault!!! I even told the woman to stop hollering at the agent!!

That same agent was relieved when I got up front...my clothes had gotten wet inside the bag! Don't know why, nd she said all that LUV could do was dryclean them...I said can I just have $5 to do the wash in the hotel?? Sure...off I went.....

Check your bag for damage right away.....again, 3 large holes wound up in a suitcase...I went to the baggage place...showed them the bag-5 minutes later, I was off with a brand new one!!!

Monitor your flights from the minute you book until you get your bottom on the seat! Airlines-especially Delta-are notorious for changing flights-and not necessarily to convenient options! And, they wait to tell you and when you try to call, we know you are calling a place far away!!

Finally-be conscious of the fact that yu are getting into an enclosed tube with 100-plus others for a few hours or more-with minimal air circulation.....when choosing your food at the airport, or at home, remember, low-smelling is always appreciated! Go easy on dressings, funky cheeses and sauces......it's only for a couple hours...(turkey or ham with lettuce are pretty smell-free!!)

With all the security precautions required now, do yourself and others a favour and put all non essential personal items in your carry on as opposed to your person. Less delays and checks when you go through the Xray.

This is excellent advice.

Payd:)

Everyone needs to be very proactive in today's airline environment. Pay attention, check the flight monitors, ask questions if things don't seem "right". Don't wait until the airline makes the announcement that there is a problem. You can usually tell long before that. Gate areas where there are no seats and LOTS of extra people are usually a good clue.

Be sure to stretch you legs whenever possible during your flight, especially if you have poor circulation, in order to ward off the possible formation of any blood clots in your lower extremeties.

Finally-be conscious of the fact that yu are getting into an enclosed tube with 100-plus others for a few hours or more-with minimal air circulation.....when choosing your food at the airport, or at home, remember, low-smelling is always appreciated! Go easy on dressings, funky cheeses and sauces......it's only for a couple hours...(turkey or ham with lettuce are pretty smell-free!!)

And with that in mind, I hate to bring up a touchy subject, but be mindful of personal odors! Shower or bathe the day of your flight, wear clean clothes, and go easy on the perfume! (Some are quite sensitive to perfume.)

One thing I do now when I'm flying a late afternoon or evening flight is to make sure to have hotel information in case my connection flight gets cancelled. This happened to me in Houston recently. I was flying to K.C. and got stuck in Houston after arriving at 1:00 a.m. due to weather. Ended up sleeping at the airport, not fun at all!