Travel Tip: My “No Fly List” (Part 2)

(Click here to read Part 1 of "My 'No Fly' List").

The "Modern Age" of Air Travel

Today, most of us would admit that it is difficult (and for some, impossible) to have a good time traveling from place to place in a commercial airliner. Flying wasn't good for years before 9/11, and the PITB (with a little thought you can figure out the meaning of this acronym) factor has steadily increased since then.(Click here for travel writer and National Geographic Traveler ombudsman Chris Elliott's story "Flying under the influence of TSA:  What now?" which appeared in yesterday's Seattle Times).

As far as meal service is concerned, if you are flying in Coach you either grab some fast-food at the airport before boarding the plane, or bark like a seal lion performing tricks at a marine park so that a few peanuts or pretzels will be tossed your way, allowing you to stave off hunger during the flight. Even First Class passengers travelling within the U.S. are not guaranteed a meal on every flight. A litany of passenger complaints has led Congress to consider enacting a comprehensive Passenger Bill of Rights despite staunch opposition from the airline industry.

The "F" in flying no longer stands for fun.
Making It All Better

So, what, if anything, can you, Airline Passenger, do to make your trip by air less stressful and more enjoyable? Sometimes, I'm sorry to say, the answer is: Nothing At All. But here are a few guidelines I've tried to follow in order to fly through the air with the greatest of ease:

• Heed the "Ten to Two Rule." This means leaving your home or hotel between 10 am and 2 pm when morning rush hour traffic has cleared or the afternoon commute has not yet begun. Take a flight that leaves between 10 am and 2 pm when the airport is likely to be less crowded with travelers heading out or returning home. This works particularly well flying within the Western U.S., from the East Coast to the West Coast, and between the West Coast and Hawaii.
  
• Don't book the last flight of the day on the airline of your choice, especially if no other airline offers later service that day. If your flight early in the day is cancelled, getting a seat on a later flight can be difficult. These days airlines schedule fewer flights between cities, planes are often full, and you are likely to get stuck overnight or longer. Best case scenario: You miss your connecting flight at the next airport, the cruise ship sails without you, or you don't get home on time. Worst case scenario: All of the above and the airline won't pay for your extra hotel and meal costs caused by the delay.
  
• If you are stuck in "Flight Limbo" due to a cancellation, don't just
  stand in line at the podium or the airline's customer service center at the airport. Use your cell phone to call the airline's reservation number to see if you can be re-booked on the next available flight while you are waiting in line.
  
• Fly non-stop and avoid "connecting" and "direct" flights whenever possible. "Connecting" means you must change planes at least once. "Direct" means that the plane stops at least once en route to your final destination, even if you don't have to change planes. If you fly non-stop, you only give the airline one opportunity to delay or cancel your flight; if you take a "connecting" or "direct" flight, the odds against you arriving on time, or arriving at all, will at least double. If you can afford it, buy a ticket on a non-stop flight even if you could have obtained a free ticket on a connecting or direct flight using your frequent-flier miles. The value of a non-stop ticket: Priceless. The cost, in terms of aggravation, of missing a connecting flight or having an onward direct flight canceled: Beyond measure.
  
• Consider buying a Business Class or First Class ticket even if you could fly for much less in Coach. You will probably board and deplane first, be entitled to use departure and arrival lounges where available, get free drinks (and perhaps a meal) on-board, have more leg-room (and possibly a lie-flat bed seat on international flights), may get priority handling of your baggage, may get "fast-tracked" through security and customs and immigration checkpoints, and may have a fully-refundable ticket. While Business and First Class fares are often many times the cost of Coach tickets, sometimes that is not the case. On a flight from Maui to the Big Island via Honolulu, I paid just a few dollars more to fly in First instead of in Coach. If you have an Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card, you will get an annual Companion Fare coupon entitling you to by a second ticket in either Coach or First Class for $99, effectively giving the two of you the opportunity to fly in First Class for just a bit more than you would have paid for Coach tickets if you did not have that credit card. Getting out of Coach means you will have a better air travel experience; you just have to decide what it is worth to move your seating forward in the plane.
  
• Think about buying your legs a little more room. The front section of Coach on all
  United Airlines flights (and some United Express flights) is called "Economy Plus." On domestic flights within the U.S., passengers seated there have nearly as much leg room as those in First Class. You pay a bit more to be seated in Economy Plus, but I jumped at the chance to sit there flying to and from Hawaii. Friends unable to fly in Business or First Class to Europe told me that they were much more comfortable flying in Economy Plus than in the more crowded regular Economy seats farther back in the plane. If you are flying on an airline other than United, ask whether it can offer Coach seating comparable to United's Economy Plus.
  
• Find the best seat no matter what cabin you will be in. Seatguru.com has detailed information on seating aboard different types of aircraft operated by individual airlines and indicates which seats are best and worst. I keep this Website open in a separate tab in my Web browser when I'm going through the seat selection process while booking flights on an airline's Website.
  
• If a long-haul international flight may be in your future within the next year or two, consider buying tickets for domestic flights you take in the interim and saving your frequent-flier miles so you can try to snag those hard to obtain, but highly desirable, Business or First Class seats when you do make that trip abroad. By doing this, my wife and I have flown in style to and from London twice in the last three years, getting about $30,000 worth of airfare and all of the perks that come with flying in the premium cabins, while paying far less than the Coach fare. (You always pay certain fees and taxes even though the base ticket price is "free" when you book using your miles).
  
• Travel "light." At best, bring one bag meeting the airline's rules for carry-on luggage that contains everything you are taking on the trip. (Carry-on bag rules vary from airline to airline, and may be different on international and domestic flights). Next best option: Take the same size bag (which you may or may not be required to check) plus a smaller carry-on bag (packed with toiletries, medications, electronic gadgets, anything else you absolutely cannot replace during the trip, and a change of underwear and socks). If your checked luggage goes to Des Moines while you go to Dubai, your trip won't be a complete disaster.
  
• Make clearing security checkpoints easier. I put my loose change along with my house key (I leave the car keys at home unless I'm driving to the airport) in a "snack size" Ziplock bag and stow it in the outside pocket of my carry-on bag. I put my "liquids" into a quart size Ziplock bag and place it in the top of my carry-on bag when I leave home. When I get to the security checkpoint, I take out my "liquids" bag and toss it into a plastic bin along with my shoes and belt. Then I put my jacket, cell phone, reading glasses and sunglasses into the top of my carry-on bag before sending it through the X-ray machine. I walk "metal-less" through the metal detector, retrieve my belongings, re-dress myself and repack as necessary, and head to the gate. (My carry-on bag is a "Velocé Shoulder Bag" from Rick Steves; my "liquids" bag fits neatly into the zippered compartment in the flap that covers the outside of the bag).
  
• Don't skip meals; doing so will only make you cranky. If you didn't get breakfast, lunch or dinner before leaving for the airport, or won't be fed by the airline during the flight, eat at the airport before boarding the plane. I try to avoid carrying food aboard since it's just one more thing to drag along with me and stow before take-off. If I must "dine aboard", I usually buy a sandwich rather than a salad, pizza, or other food item that I can't stick into the top of my carry-on bag or stuff into the seat pocket in front of me. (If I am still hungry during the flight, I can always do my best sea lion imitation and get some snacks to nibble on).
  
• Try to fly on Tuesdays through Thursdays when airports tend to have fewer passengers passing through. Departing Saturday afternoon may be better than in the morning. Sundays at the airport are usually busy all day with vacationers and week-end travelers returning home and business travelers heading off on trips. Flying on Mondays, especially in the morning, and Fridays, especially in the late afternoon or early evening, can be bad choices, too.
  

When Everything Goes Haywire

If the Scottish poet Robert Burns had been born in the 20^th century instead of the 18^th, he might have said: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley / When I try to fly / From me to thee." So when everything "goes South" during your voyage through the air, console yourself with this thought: The best tales told from the road arise from the worst travel experiences, so you'll have a great travel yarn to spin, even if "doing the research" was a PITB.