Around the holiday season, airports and planes will be packed with travelers, and the holiday travelers tend to be a more inexperienced herd than the typical airport population at any other time of year.  Inexperienced travelers create logjams at security, holdups at the check-in desk, and can just be an all-around drag for other people trying to get where they’re going.  Here are some tips to help ease your holiday traveling stresses, whether you’re trying to avoid the common holdups or avoid causing them:

• Try to avoid checking bags.  If you’re just traveling for a few days on a holiday weekend, you probably don’t need large bags.  With almost all airlines charging for bags, you’ll save money by packing light, and you’ll save time by not having to wait at baggage claim.  You also won’t have to worry about the small but significant possibility of lost luggage.
• Check in online for your flight.  The earlier you check in, the more likely you are to get the seats you want and the overhead bin space you need when you get in an early boarding group.  If the flight is overbooked, checking in early ensures that you won’t get bumped.  You won’t have to wait in long lines to check in at the airport when you check in online, and if you have bags to check, many airlines offer a discount when you prepay online.
• Fly home on Saturday.  Most holiday weekend travelers will be flying home on Sunday and heading back to work on Monday.  When you fly on Saturday, you avoid the biggest crowds, you give yourself a day to decompress at home, and you have built in flexibility in the event of a delay or bump.  With that flexibility, you can volunteer to bump on any overbooked flights and take advantage of the generous compensation from the airlines — almost all airlines give refunds and travel vouchers to anyone who volunteers to bump from an overbooked flight.
• Enjoy free Wi-Fi at airports and on flights throughout the holiday season.  All of my favorite airports have free Wi-Fi all the time, but we don’t always get to choose our airports — Google is offering free Wi-Fi at 47 additional airports throughout the holidays, as well as on board all Virgin America flights.  Check www.freeholidaywifi.com to see if your airports are on the list.  Several other airlines are offering holiday specials for in-flight Wi-Fi as well.
• Don’t wrap any gifts before you fly.  Baggage inspectors may have to unwrap them, so save the wrapping until you and your gifts arrive at your destination.
• Be familiar with the rules about flying with liquids.  The not-really-new-anymore rules about flying with liquids seem to cause the biggest delays at security as ignorant passengers argue with TSA about their bottles of liquor and shampoo.  You can’t put any liquids over 3oz in your carry-ons, and you have to remove all liquids and put them in a clear plastic baggie before going through security.  Honestly, it’s easiest just not to bother with it at all.  If you must bring liquids, follow the rules and be prepared at security, and put everything you can into your checked luggage.
• Put on a happy face.  Traveling makes people grumpy, and grumpiness feeds on grumpiness, so do your best not to fan the negativity flames.  Know that you’re going to face lines and waits and crowds, and mentally prepare yourself for that.  Be friendly to other travelers and especially to your flight crew.  A little thoughtfulness can go a long way.

Don’t let a rough day of travel dampen your holiday fun.  Have a great time, wherever you’re going!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.