Suggestions for air travel
Dec. 21st, 2005 02:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayIn the spirit of the holidays, I offer the following suggestions.
My past life includes one of those jobs where I traveled constantly. It was not unusual for me to go into the office in the morning and be handed tickets so I could attend a meeting in another city later that afternoon. I've done the 32 cities in 25 business days adventure, and for a while I was a regular at an airport bar. I took the late flight out of Pittsburgh so often that when I walked into the bar I didn't have to say a word. The bartender would simply pour me a draft and hand me one of the pre-made sandwiches they kept under the bar.
Luckily my job no longer requires travel, since flying has become even more difficult in recent years. But my lessons serve me well, and in that spirit I offer the following
Rule #1: Never get on a plane hungry. Assume that there will be no food. Eat
before you get on the plane and bring food with you for later.
Rule #2: Bring your own water. You may be stuck at the gate (or on the tarmac) for hours, while the flight attendants insist they can't offer any drinks because the plane could be cleared for take off "at any minute". Even pointing out that the mechanics are disassembling the engine cover may not be enough to budge the attendants from the "no drinks unless medical emergency" stance, so just bring your own bottle of water. Two bottles is better.
Rule #3: Bring your own food. Even if the itinerary says that the airline will provide a meal, assume that this won't happen. At the very least, pack a couple of powerbars. On my most recent cross-country flight, the airline waited until we had taken off to announce that they had difficulties with catering in that city, and thus there would be no meals. There weren't even enough pretzels to go around on a plane where every seat was taken. Things were understandably ugly.
Rule #4: Wave good-bye to your luggage. Assume you may never see it again. There's a reason why they tell you to pack important items in your carry-on. Make sure that you have the following with you: car keys (if you drove to airport), house keys, medications, telephone numbers for where you are staying, copy of hotel or rental car confirmation, and cell phone. Some people bring toiletries and spare clothes in their carry-on, which isn't a bad idea depending on space.
Rule #5: For holiday travel, mail (or ship) your presents ahead of time. Wrapped presents can cause delays at security screening, and offer tempting targets for thieves. Plus, if your luggage is lost for several days, it's not just a question of borrowing clothes from your sister, now you have to figure out whether to replace the gifts or try to explain to small children why their gifts from Aunt Patricia aren't here yet. Safer all around not to carry the presents with you.
Rule #6: Bring more than one book to read. Nothing worse than being stuck on a long flight only to discover that you absolutely loathe the one paperback that you brought, and you've already read the in-flight magazine cover to cover three times this month.
Rule #7: Make sure you have the 1-800 number for your airline or travel agent. If your flight is canceled, it may be faster to rebook your flight by calling the 800 number on your cell phone rather than standing in line with all the other stranded passengers. When I was on a flight canceled due to mechanical problems, those who had cell phones managed to get the last few seats on the next USAirways flight. Those who stood in line waiting for the gate agent to help them wound up taking a flight twelve hours later.
My past life includes one of those jobs where I traveled constantly. It was not unusual for me to go into the office in the morning and be handed tickets so I could attend a meeting in another city later that afternoon. I've done the 32 cities in 25 business days adventure, and for a while I was a regular at an airport bar. I took the late flight out of Pittsburgh so often that when I walked into the bar I didn't have to say a word. The bartender would simply pour me a draft and hand me one of the pre-made sandwiches they kept under the bar.
Luckily my job no longer requires travel, since flying has become even more difficult in recent years. But my lessons serve me well, and in that spirit I offer the following
Rule #1: Never get on a plane hungry. Assume that there will be no food. Eat
before you get on the plane and bring food with you for later.
Rule #2: Bring your own water. You may be stuck at the gate (or on the tarmac) for hours, while the flight attendants insist they can't offer any drinks because the plane could be cleared for take off "at any minute". Even pointing out that the mechanics are disassembling the engine cover may not be enough to budge the attendants from the "no drinks unless medical emergency" stance, so just bring your own bottle of water. Two bottles is better.
Rule #3: Bring your own food. Even if the itinerary says that the airline will provide a meal, assume that this won't happen. At the very least, pack a couple of powerbars. On my most recent cross-country flight, the airline waited until we had taken off to announce that they had difficulties with catering in that city, and thus there would be no meals. There weren't even enough pretzels to go around on a plane where every seat was taken. Things were understandably ugly.
Rule #4: Wave good-bye to your luggage. Assume you may never see it again. There's a reason why they tell you to pack important items in your carry-on. Make sure that you have the following with you: car keys (if you drove to airport), house keys, medications, telephone numbers for where you are staying, copy of hotel or rental car confirmation, and cell phone. Some people bring toiletries and spare clothes in their carry-on, which isn't a bad idea depending on space.
Rule #5: For holiday travel, mail (or ship) your presents ahead of time. Wrapped presents can cause delays at security screening, and offer tempting targets for thieves. Plus, if your luggage is lost for several days, it's not just a question of borrowing clothes from your sister, now you have to figure out whether to replace the gifts or try to explain to small children why their gifts from Aunt Patricia aren't here yet. Safer all around not to carry the presents with you.
Rule #6: Bring more than one book to read. Nothing worse than being stuck on a long flight only to discover that you absolutely loathe the one paperback that you brought, and you've already read the in-flight magazine cover to cover three times this month.
Rule #7: Make sure you have the 1-800 number for your airline or travel agent. If your flight is canceled, it may be faster to rebook your flight by calling the 800 number on your cell phone rather than standing in line with all the other stranded passengers. When I was on a flight canceled due to mechanical problems, those who had cell phones managed to get the last few seats on the next USAirways flight. Those who stood in line waiting for the gate agent to help them wound up taking a flight twelve hours later.
