Make your reservation yourself online, and not on the telephone with an agent. Adding another human being to the process doubles the possibility of human error.
2. Even if you rarely fly, sign up online for membership in the “Traveler’s Club” for whatever airline you are flying on. At this time, there is no charge for this, and once you are a member, some airlines allow you to sign up for travel updates to your mobile phone. They will also send you emails advertising fare sales.
3. Don’t be late in leaving for the airport. When you’re late, you are rushed, impatient, and stressed. Build a cushion into your schedule that allows you to arrive at the airport with extra time to spare. That way you don’t miss your flight because of unforeseeable, freak traffic jams. (I once was delayed because a tour bus had caught fire just outside the airport.) If half of the TSA people don’t show up for work and the security line snakes around the inside of the terminal twice before spilling out onto the sidewalk. You can use the extra time to make phone calls, get a meal, and read a book.
4. If you don’t travel often, make sure you look up the TSA rules relating to carry-on bags. Liquids must all fit into one clear plastic sandwich-size bag, and each container can be no bigger than 3 ounces. At all the airports I fly out of, I am required to take off my shoes, my coat, my jacket, and any metal items that might set off the metal detectors and place them in airport security bins. I am also required to take my laptop out of my carry-on bag, and put it into a bin all by itself.
I always put my purse into the very last bin, and I do not step through the metal detector until I see my purse go inside the security scanner. If the TSA officer is gesturing at me and telling me to come through, I smile, point at my bag, and explain that I am waiting until it has made its way into the scanner.
5. Check the monitors frequently for changes in your flight time or status. I get mobile alerts to my phone, and often find out about changes to my flight before the gate personnel do.
6. When you get to your gate, ALWAYS CHECK IN even though YOU DON’T TECHNICALLY NEED TO.
Do not say to the gate agent, “If I’ve already checked in, do I need to check in here again?” Do say, “Hi, could you please check and make sure that my seat assignment is okay? It is an aisle (or a window) seat, correct?” The gate agent may sigh at you and roll their eyes, but make sure that your seat assignment is correct etc. I failed to do this on one trip only, (on a flight back from Puerto Rico, late at night). I had cashed in miles for a First Class ticket, but when I got on the plane, I was not seated in First Class because there had been a plane change. When I got to my seat, I pushed the call button, and showed my boarding pass to a flight attendant. Fortunately for me, I was given a First Class seat. But in these days with every seat full, I would have been out of luck.
7. Show respect for airline employees. Remember that they have all the power in the travel relationship. Arguing with a flight attendant can get you evicted from the plane. Arguing with the gate agent can get you assigned to the middle seat in the back row of the plane next to the lavatory.
The airport is a place of business for the airline employees. Think about how you would react if people showed up at your office, wearing flip flops, rumpled Bermuda shorts, and a torn tee-shirt. You might think they were being disrespectful. Even if you don’t, you might be willing to admit that the business transaction that takes place (when one person is wearing a suit and the other person is dressed for a day at the beach), is affected by difference in attire.
“But I want to be comfortable on the plane,” you say. Ask yourself how comfortable you will be sitting in the middle seat of the back row of the airplane next to the lavatory.
In all human interactions, the status of the parties plays a role in shaping the outcome. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. We humans use shortcuts like appearance, speech mannerisms, and behavior to size up people we meet for the first time. It's called a first impression, and the gate agent doesn't have enough time to get to know you really well. Smiling and using words like “please” and “thank you” also go a long way to creating a smooth and mutually beneficial encounter.
8. Try to get to the gate an hour before the published departure time. Then make sure you get on the plane as soon as possible! If you are in the last boarding group, make sure that you are the first person in your group to get on the plane. The overhead bins fill up and if there is problem with your seat, you have more time to get it solved.
If you hear the gate agent say, “We will be boarding in a few minutes,” do not go to the restroom!” Yes, the boarding process usually takes 30 minutes, but it doesn’t have to.
United Airlines has signs posted that say doors to the Jetway will be closed ten minutes before the “published” departure time. Sometimes, boarding begins within that ten minute time period. My daughter recently found herself on the wrong side of that Jetway door when it was closed while she was walking back from the restroom.
My son was still standing in the Jetway on the plane side of the door, not even on the plane, when my daughter was denied entry. We know this because my son and daughter were texting each other. When my son told the flight attendant that his sister was being denied entry, but the flight attendant said that it was not her department.
There was no remedy for my daughter because the door had been closed within 10 minutes of the “published” departure time, not the actual departure time. They did not even begin to taxi away from the Jetway until over thirty minutes had passed. She had to go back through security, go to another airlines, and purchase a new ticket. So beware!
9. When you get on the plane, if you tend to get cold, get a blanket. If you can’t find one, ask for one. When you do get into your seat, be sure to put the armrest down right away to safeguard your space. If someone is already sitting next to your seat, and is extending onto your seat, or sitting on your seatbelt, very politely put down the arm rest.
Once when I was traveling with one of my sons, a man boarded our flight at the very last moment, and when he sat down, he sat on my son’s seat belt. One flight attendant, who was worried about an on-time departure said, “The kid will just have to sit in the seat.” (With no seat belt!!!) I said, “No way!” nicely, and another flight attendant found an open seat for my son. Today, when there are no open seats on most flights, I don’t know what would have happen.
10. Call whoever is supposed to pick you up at the airport when you are on the plane and about to take off. Also call again when you land so that your “ride” will know when and where to pick you up.
11. Airline travel requires patience, a sense of humor, and an ability to acknowledge that you are not in control. Be prepared for glitches and delays. Anytime my plane lands safely at my destination, I call that a success.
Don't think I haven't had problems. I have. I've sat on broken planes for hours. I've arrived in Puerto Rico at midnight without my baggage for a professional conference. I've been stranded for two days in Chicago because it was snowing in Denver. I've had my reservation cancelled by an airline with no notice while I was in Europe. But I've also been on hundreds of flights that arrived on time.
Safe Travels!
Copyright 2009 Bobbi McKenna All Rights Reserved
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