Tag: fly

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Help…My Flight Changed

What happens when your scheduled flight is changed? It’s probably happened to all of us.

Sometimes you receive an email telling you your flight has changed. Sometimes it’s leaving three minutes earlier than before.

Sometimes, you receive a notification your flight time is a little less than the original time.

Okay…not a problem.

I received a notification from American Airlines about my upcoming flight to Europe. This one was a problem for me.

Instead of going from San Diego to JFK and then Paris, we had been rerouted from San Diego to Los Angeles to JFK to Paris. This added an additional stop. That wasn’t the problem, however.

We had less than 30 minutes at LAX to switch from American Eagle to American. Not good. Worse, coming back we had 19 minutes in Los Angeles to get to the plane to San Diego. That’s not going to happen.

What did I do?

I immediately called American Airlines and gave my confirmation number to a wonderful lady. When she looked up my flight, she chuckled. “Honey, you aren’t going to make that. Let me fix it for you.”

Her customer service was amazing, she fixed my problem, and put us on new flights.

Everything seems to be good now. Stay tuned for the actual flights…

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Long Flight? No Problem

When on a long flight, is there anything you can do to get ready for your destination? What if that destination is several time zones away?

For me, I adjust my schedule to the time zone where I will be landing. That means setting the time on my phone to the new time zone. I try to adjust my eating and sleeping slightly at first to get close to the new time. After a day, I’m good to go.

On the plane, I have most everything I need in a small carry-on bag. I use small packing cubes or previous amenity pouches to keep things organized. Things like lip balm, sunscreen (yes, you can get a sunburn on board an airplane), lotion, toothbrush, and toothpaste are always in my bag. In addition, I have my phone charger, a power bank, a small notebook, and at least two pens.

The air on the plane is dry…very dry. To stay hydrated, I pack an empty water bottle. Once through security, I fill it up.

What do you do?

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Facial Recognition…What Do You Think?

From The Points Guy

Minneapolis and Salt Lake City will soon offer optional boarding by facial recognition on nonstop international flights flown with Delta and its partners. Atlanta’s Terminal E will be equipped with scanners to facilitate even more ticketless boarding in Delta’s hometown.

Delta confirmed with TPG that Atlanta’s Terminal E, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City will all be live at various points in July. It won’t be a hard switch; rather, Delta will install facial recognition equipment at one gate, and once tested and proven, more gates will be brought online until each gate is equipped.

Delta worked with US Customs and Border Protection, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Transportation Security Administration to bring optional biometric boarding to international flights in Atlanta’s Terminal F in December of 2018. Now that the airline has had a few months to test and learn, the system is spreading to new locales.

The launch of biometric boarding is a first-of-its-kind experience for MSP and SLC. If you’re traveling out of either airport (as well as Terminals E and F in Atlanta), you’ll need to be ticketed on a nonstop international flight to take advantage. Delta flights are supported, as are those on SkyTeam partners Aeromexico, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic.

Since launching in Atlanta’s Terminal F, Delta has commissioned third-party customer insight research to gather feedback from those experiencing the process for the first time. According to Delta, that research found that 72% prefer facial recognition to standard boarding. Moreover, just 2% of customers opted out of the process, though Delta makes clear that anyone uncomfortable with the notion of having their face scanned to board can use a traditional ticket instead.

What do you think?

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Plane Etiquette

Flight attendants have compiled a list of some basic etiquette rules airline passengers should follow. Take a look and let me know if you agree.

Don’t stow your luggage anywhere. Place it close to where you are sitting. Use the space by your feet for your smaller bags.

On long flights remember to get up and move around. However, this doesn’t mean to use the flight attendant’s galley space as your own personal yoga studio.

Use your own space…not your neighbor’s space. That means side, front, and behind you.

Don’t take off your socks. The floor is not that clean. Plus, who wants to smell your feet.

Speaking of clean, it’s not a good idea to eat right off the tray table without wiping it with some disinfectant wipes. Someone may have changed their baby’s diaper on it the flight before yours.

Stay hydrated.

Don’t turn off the air vent. If you’re cold, put on a sweater.

Don’t jump up the minute the plane lands to deplane. If your connecting flight is tight, tell a flight attendant and she or he will get you off quickly. Otherwise, wait your turn. Don’t try to jump in front of the little old lady trying to get her bag down from the overhead bin. It just isn’t polite.

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Off to Europe

Looking for a check list to help you plan your trip abroad? Check out these helpful hints.

Check your cell phone coverage. Do you have a plan that covers you in Europe? Do you need to add a plan? Or, are you planning on buying a SIM card once you land?

Make copies of all your documents. All. Email a copy to yourself and store it in the cloud. Give paper copies to your traveling partner, if you have one.

Register for STEP. I’ve mentioned this previously. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program was created by the US Department of State to notify local embassies about your travel plans. You will be contacted in case of an emergency or security advisory in your destination. It’s free and easy to register. Though you may not need to enroll every time you leave the country, I always do.

Notify your bank and credit card companies of your plans. No sense having a credit card or bank deny a transaction because they didn’t know you were in Paris and not at home in Denver.

Download any offline maps you can. That way you will always be able to look at a map.

Pay attention to the exchange rate. If you don’t get any money ahead of time, you will want to know what it will cost you once you land.

Before you leave, charge all your electronics. Everything. If you have everything plugged in…don’t walk out the door without the devices and their chargers.

Remember to take a plug adapter to use in Europe or wherever you are going.

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Do You Plan?

Here are a few more simple travel tips compiled from frequent travelers, flight attendants, and fellow travel writers. Want to know what they all have in common?

Hint…they plan ahead. 

If you check your bags, pack an outfit in your carry on. This way, you’ll have a spare set of clean clothing ready to go in case your bag is lost. Be sure to ask the airline about their compensation policies. Depending on which route you’ve flown, you may be reimbursed for purchasing toiletries.

Pack some travel size or small packets of laundry detergent. You can use a sink to wash out some underwear or lightweight tops.

Pack a small first aid kit with the basics like bandages, antiseptic wipes, pain meds, and upset tummy meds. You don’t need to bring it all…just some simple basics.

If you can, travel with carry on luggage only.

Keep backups of your travel documents. You can store copies in a cloud-based server. If you’re traveling with a companion, carry a copy of each other’s documents.

Bring noise cancelling headphones, eye mask, ear plugs, entertainment, or whatever makes your long flight more comfortable.

Learn some basic language phrases when traveling to another country. Please and thank you go a long ways. So does asking for the bathroom.

Talk to the locals about the best place for morning coffee or a late-night drink and everything in between.

Remember your chargers. And, remember to pack an adapter if traveling to Europe.

Try to avoid using the airport money exchange counters as they usually charge a higher rate of exchange. Instead, use an ATM when necessary. You can always get some local currency ahead of time.

Prepare for security at the airport. Have your things easily accessible for security check. If you’re not TSA Pre, wear shoes that are easy to remove, take off your belt, and remove your laptop. Don’t hold up the line by not being ready.

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Is Your Plane Delayed?

Excerpts are from an article which appeared in The Points Guy.

The table below provides a proxy for total weather delays, measured in minutes, for the period between October 2017 and October 2018. It includes delays to the National Aviation System that are not strictly weather-related, such as traffic pileups at the major hubs and late-arriving aircraft that may not be due to weather, but it excludes maintenance issues or airline-controlled delays. What we know is that between 50-60% of NAS delays are due to weather — but not extreme weather — and that airline-controlled delays represent less than 5% of the total.

Worst US Airports for Weather Measured in Delay Minutes

AIRPORT NATIONAL AVIATION SYSTEM DELAYS  EXTREME WEATHER DELAYS LATE-ARRIVING AIRCRAFT DELAYS    
Chicago O’Hare  (ORD)  1,707,353  270,189  1,867,386    
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL)  986,176  263,847  1,514,276    
Newark Liberty (EWR)  1,888,390  114,335  732,926    
Dallas/Fort Worth  (DFW)  815,032  234,693  1,456,957    
San Francisco  (SFO)  1,435,733  101,105  936,938    
LaGuardia (LGA)  1,207,991  169,228  807,517    
Denver  (DEN)  527,483  108,565  1,159,518    
Boston Logan (BOS)  756,415  92,246  923,118    
New York JFK  825,634  98,234  705,328    

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Weather Delays by Airport for the period from October 2017 to October 2018

So…what does this tell you?

You probably already know Chicago O’Hare is to be avoided in the winter. Atlanta is affected by weather as well. In fact, it’s 32% worse for delays due to system delays and thunderstorms.

Dallas/Fort Worth, American’s major hub, is also affected by thunderstorms.

San Francisco has fog. And, they have two parallel runways separated by only 750 feet. In good visibility…not a problem. In poor weather conditions FAA regulations do not permit aircraft to land side by side unless the runways are separated by 4,300 feet. According to SFO, this reduces operations by half during poor weather.

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Do I Lock It?

Should You Lock Your Suitcase?

According to TSA, airline passengers filed almost 8,000 yearly claims against them for losing items like clothing, jewelry, electronics, and gifts.

Would it have helped to have your bag locked? Maybe not. Putting a lock on your suitcase isn’t a guarantee that your stuff will be safe.

Locks can be cut. Someone could slice through your soft-sided bag. Locks only discourage casual thieves, causing them to move on to easier targets. In reality, locks are only flimsy protection if someone is determined to get into your bag.

That’s why you should always keep any valuables with you in your carry-on bag.

What if your bag is locked and TSA needs to get into it?

The TSA has master keys that allow agents to open all TSA-approved locks, if they determine your bag needs extra screening. If you use a non-TSA lock, they’ll cut it off your bag.

If you are traveling internationally, keep in mind that not all security officers outside the U.S. have the same master keys. Your lock may have to be cut in that case.

You could just use zip ties to lock your bag. They’re cheap. If the TSA needs to cut the zip tie, it’s not a big deal to replace it next time. If the TSA doesn’t access your bag, you will need to have a small scissors or some other way to cut it off once you get to your destination.

Or, you could go to a service that wraps your bags in plastic, which makes them harder to break into, protects their exteriors from dings, and keeps them from getting dirty. Still, the TSA might determine they need to cut open the plastic and inspect your bag.

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You’re Packing What?

Packing doesn’t have to be an issue. You’ve probably read tips and more tips for packing this way or that way. Everyone seems to have their own tips. Take a look at a few of these…then let me know what works for you.

You don’t really need to pack all the clothes you think you’ll need. Try to stick to a simple color palette and work pieces around that. I pack clothes that don’t wrinkle and can be rolled for efficiency and space in my bag. I also know ahead of time whether there will be a washer available. If not, I pack things I can wash in a sink.

There is no need to bring things ‘just in case.’

Plus, unless you’re going to a very, very remote spot…there will probably be shops. So you forgot to bring more than one pair of socks. I’ll bet you can buy them.

How many shoes do you bring? How do you pack them? Think about what you will be doing and bring the bare minimum. If you’ll be hiking or walking where they will get dirty, pack them in your laundry bag to keep them from getting dirt all over your suitcase.

I also check ahead of time to see if there is a hair dryer. Hotels, Air B&B’s, VRBO’s will all list it on their website. No need to pack one if there is one there.

How about your extra lithium battery? It has to go in your carry on luggage. Your corkscrew? It can go in your carry on if it doesn’t have a knife on it. If it does, put it in your checked luggage.

Did you buy the latest travel gizmo or gadget? It looked so cool in the ads. Now…you have to pack it. Before you buy it, decide if it’s really worth the space it’s going to take up.

If you’re going outside the US, be sure to pack the one travel gadget that’s worth it. Your adapter…you’ll need it.

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What Time is It?

If you travel very much, especially longer flights crossing multiple time zones, you may be aware of jet lag.

What is it?

Jet lag occurs when our body clock isn’t in tune with a destination’s light-dark cycle.

As we age, our circadian clock cycle might adjust more slowly. What do we do about it? Can we prevent it?

We really can’t prevent it. But, we can ease some of the symptoms. Here are few tips to check out.

Perhaps booking an evening flight will help. You will have the opportunity to sleep at a relatively normal time.

If not, you could adjust your routine at home for a few days before you leave. Eat and sleep at the times where you be traveling. If it’s three time zones or six, adjust accordingly.

When you get on the plane, adjust your watch or phone to your destination’s time zone.

When you land, eat at that destination’s time. If you arrive at 9 in the morning, have some breakfast. Even if your body thinks it’s only 4 am.

Drink some water. Then, drink some more.

Get some sunlight. It will help stimulate your body.

Try to avoid long naps when you arrive.

Try to get on your destination’s clock and schedule as soon as possible.

What are your tips?