{"id":510,"date":"2007-12-21T09:54:12","date_gmt":"2007-12-21T15:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/tips-for-surviving-holiday-travel\/"},"modified":"2016-12-17T23:25:05","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T05:25:05","slug":"tips-for-surviving-holiday-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/tips-for-surviving-holiday-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for surviving holiday travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Denverairport\"<\/a>
\nBy Joe Brancatelli<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m almost old enough to remember when holiday travel<\/a><\/strong> was a more intimate affair, a matter of going over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house.<\/p>\n

Of course, nobody goes over the river and through the woods anymore. Now we all drive to airports<\/a><\/strong> on traffic-jammed roads and fly around the world on packed planes to see our friends and families for the holidays. And the rush is on right now, when business travelers<\/a><\/strong> cede control of the air-travel system to those jolly holiday travelers who often can’t tell an airport from an air balloon.<\/p>\n

So how will we all survive and co-exist until the end of the first week of January, the traditional end of the end-of-the-year holiday rush? Here are ten of my best suggestions. The more you fly, the more you know this stuff. But it never hurts to read over this list and check it twice.<\/p>\n

Fly early in the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transportation Department<\/a><\/strong> statistics show that flights scheduled to depart and arrive early in the day have the best on-time performance. But relative timeliness isn’t the only reason to fly early: If your selected flight is canceled, you’ll have a better chance of being rebooked on a flight later in the day. Conversely, if you book an evening flight, you’re not only subject to longer delays, you also may not get on another flight that day if your original one cancels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Travel lighter<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government’s two-bag carry-on limit is not written in stone. The airlines reserve the right to force you to check one of the carry-on bags on full flights. Assume holiday flights<\/a><\/strong> will be full, so consider traveling with only one carry-on bag. How do you slim down? One way is to put your toiletries in a checked bag. Why bother trying to stuff all of your lotions, potions, gels and pastes into a one-quart zippered bag? Just put them all in your checked bag and skip the time-consuming arguments at the security-screening checkpoint. <\/p>\n

Carry duplicates<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know that you should always carry your prescription medicine and
\neyeglasses in your carry-on bag, right? But also make sure to bring the
\nprescriptions, too. In the holiday rush, you might misplace the drugs
\nor glasses, but you’ll be able to replace them with minimal hassle if
\nyou have the prescriptions. And consider throwing a change of underwear
\nin your carry-on bag. If you’re stuck en route when an airport is
\nclosed for weather delays or security reasons, you may end up spending
\na night at an intermediate point without access to your checked bags.\n<\/p>\n


\nDo a weight check on checked bags<\/strong><\/p>\n

In their relentless drive to make air travel unpleasant, the major
\ncarriers are now cracking down on what they claim to be "excess weight"
\nbags. They are charging up to $100 a bag on luggage that weighs over
\nthe 50-pound free limit. All the major carriers are also strictly
\nenforcing the limit of two free checked bags per traveler. Check
\nadditional bags and you’ll pay for it. One last thought: Consider
\nshipping bags instead. UPS<\/a><\/strong> and FedEx<\/a> <\/strong>offer cost-effective options.
\nThey’ll pick up your bag at your home or office and ship it direct to
\nyour hotel or your final destination.\n<\/p>\n


\nShip your presents<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reduce your stress level further by mailing your gifts or sending them
\nby an overnight courier or package service. It may cost a few dollars,
\nbut the stuff will get there and you don’t have to carry it. And
\nabandon all hope of taking gifts as carry-on. First of all, the gifts
\nwill count against your carry-on limit. Secondly, wrapped presents will
\nbe unwrapped and examined if their contents can’t be verified by the
\nX-ray machines at security.\n<\/p>\n


\nLeave early, park off-airport<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t risk missing your flight because of a ground delay. Roads to,
\nfrom and inside the airport and airport parking lots are clogged with
\ntraffic during the holidays, so allow more time than normal. And
\nremember: On-airport parking lots are filled to overflow during the
\nholiday season. So why bother driving into that madness? Use an
\noff-airport private lot instead. All offer shuttle service directly to
\nyour departure terminal; many offer interesting perks such as car
\nwashes and oil changes. And trust me on this: Do not rely on friends or
\nfamily to pick you up or drop you off at the airport. The holiday
\nseason is stressful enough. Why dump the extra grief of an airport run
\non anyone, especially people you care about?\n<\/p>\n


\nHave a delay defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dealing with the long lines — and all the extra time you’ll have if
\neverything goes swiftly — is less stressful if you’re prepared. Bring
\nplenty to read and\/or lots of CDs and DVDs. If you’re traveling with
\nchildren, make sure you’ve got a supply of smallgames, toys and snacks
\nto keep them occupied. If you’re traveling with infants, make sure that
\nyou have a sufficient supply of diapers and food. You won’t find this
\nkind of stuff at most airport shops.\n<\/p>\n


\nStock up on water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t scrimp on water. Airline travel is dehydrating and you should
\ndrink at least eight ounces of water for every hour of flying. You
\ncan’t bring "outside" bottles of water through the security
\ncheckpoints, but do pick up several bottles from the food court inside
\nthe "sterile" area beyond security. Do not assume you’ll get all the
\nbeverages you need in-flight. Flight attendants won’t come down the
\naisles often enough to suit your needs.\n<\/p>\n


\nJoin the club<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’ve got a long layover between flights or are faced with an
\nunexpected delay, consider joining an airline’s club network. Although
\nclub membershipis an annual affair, many airlines sell "day
\nmemberships" or weekly or monthly passes. The clubs are relatively
\nquiet oases in the maelstrom of airports during the holiday season.
\nYour sanity is worth the relatively small investment.\n<\/p>\n


\nUse your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Flight delays<\/a><\/strong> and cancellations will wreak havoc with your itinerary, but they
\ncan be managed if you plan ahead. For example: Program your mobile
\nphone with the toll-free reservation numbers of your chosen airlines.
\nIf a disruption occurs, don’t go back to the ticket counter. Start with
\na call to the airline. The telephone agents can probably do almost
\nanything the folks at the ticket counter can do. Reserve a speed-dial
\nbutton for your favorite hotel chain, too. If a major disruption occurs
\nand passengers begin scrambling for hotel rooms, then you’ll be in a
\nbetter position to score last-minute lodgings when you can make an
\nimmediate call to your chain’s reservation number. Programming your
\ncar rental<\/a><\/strong> firm’s toll-free number into the phone wouldn’t hurt,
\neither.\n<\/p>\n

\nDon’t forget to enjoy the holidays! See you in 2008!<\/p>\n

Related Orbitz resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n