blog post

The travel industry has been in the news a lot in recent weeks. Between a ship being stranded at sea due to a fire, the new TSA full-body scanners at airports, the enhanced pat down security screening, the proposed-but-failed opt-out protest about the pat down screenings, the arrival of the new biggest ship in the world (Allure of the Seas), and ‘Cyber Monday’ travel deals, we’ve just about heard it all lately.

Now that Christmas season is in full-swing, we’ll probably continue to hear more travel related stories as well. It’s no surprise since traveling to visit family and friends during the holidays is a time honored tradition for most of us. Whether you’re the one doing the traveling or your family and friends are traveling to visit you, traveling during the holidays is a necessary evil.

The end result arriving to your destination safely and successfully to spend the holidays with friends and family is great.  But, the process in getting there is usually less than desirable.  This is especially true now when flights and roads are packed to capacity.

The process at the airports these days are getting more hectic than in the past.  More crowds, longer lines, baggage fees, and overbooked flights are just some of the headaches we have to put up with.  All of this is in addition to the fact that flights are often double or triple the price when traveling during Christmas and New Years. And, with the enhanced security measures implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the security screening process can add to the confusion. This can be especially frustrating for those who are frequent flyers standing in line behind those who may not travel very often if at all and don’t quite know what to do to keep the line moving fast.

 Luckily, there can be a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow for those flying during the holidays. 

The TSA has implemented ‘Family Lanes’ at most airports designed specifically for families with small children who may need extra time with strollers and the like. This way, families won’t feel as rushed and can take their time when needed.  Individuals with special needs such as carrying liquids or gels for medical reasons that do not adhere to the TSA size restrictions can also use this lane to expedite their security screening process.

As for overbooked flights, my advice is to remain flexible. Often, when airlines oversell seats on a flight, a gate agent will make an announcement prior to boarding passengers asking for volunteers to take a later flight.  By volunteering, travelers can get compensated to be used toward future air travel. This can often be as much or more than what you may have paid for the flight. On a recent trip home from Florida, I was able to get $300 plus the value of my one-way ticket ($148) by volunteering, so now I have $448 to use toward air travel within the next year. Not a bad thing considering I was able to get on a later flight on the same day. Keep in mind that sometimes the ‘next available flight’ may not be until the following day which still isn’t so bad if you’re making money on the deal.

If planning to check bags, fly on a low-cost airline like Southwest or JetBlue where checked bags are still free (2 bags on Southwest and 1 bag on JetBlue).  The first bag is free on Continental if you have a Continental Airlines Chase credit or debit card.  Bag fees are typically waived for frequent flyers who have reached the highest level of membership with most airlines.  Thankfully, checked bags for all international flights on all airlines are still free of charge.

Finally, if you’re planning on flying this Christmas season, keep in mind that more people are traveling with less flight availability than in past years so it’s best to leave early and give yourself extra time necessary for the check-in and security processes.  And, if you’re not sure about the TSA rules and regulations, you can download a handy checklist at http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/2009_helpfulhints.pdf.

In the meantime, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and have safe travels.