Travelers Face Tough Summer

[UAL_TECH]

Summer season to bring full planes, limited crews, lost luggage, delays


Excerpt:

Survival tips for summer travel
So what is the summer air traveler to do?
Fly defensively, that's what.

• Fly on early flights. This way, you can minimize the domino effect of late flights, short crews and afternoon thunderstorms.
• Fly nonstop if possible. Even if you must pay more, take a nonstop flight whenever you can. Remember a "nonstop flight" is different from a "direct flight." Direct means only that your flight number will not change, but there will be a landing and maybe a change of plane somewhere between your departure city and your destination.
• Leave at least three hours for connections. This is my rule of thumb during the summer months. If you arrive early and there is an earlier connecting flight, by all means try to get aboard. And if you arrive one or two hours late, congratulate yourself for your foresight. With that three-hour cushion, you should make it to your destination on time.
• Take only carry-on luggage. Pour your liquids into small bottles that fit into a quart-size zip-top bag that you can carry on board the plane. Remember, it costs far less to buy a tube of toothpaste or a bottle of shampoo than to stay overnight at an airport hotel because you've missed your connection waiting for your checked bag. Plan your packing and take fewer clothes if you have to. It beats waiting around in the terminal.
• Split your packing. If you must check baggage and you are traveling with a companion, split your clothing between two bags. That way, if only one bag arrives, both of you will have clothes to wear.
• If you need to rebook, call the telephone reservation center. If a flight is canceled or delayed and it looks like you will be missing a connection, call the airline's reservation phone number and get a reservation as soon as you can. Do not wait in line at the airport (unless you are on the phone at the same time) or available seats will be parceled out to others.
  [*]Fly Southwest. Southwest Airlines has one of the lowest passenger load factors, lowest lost-baggage rates and relatively happy employees, so it can deal with delays more easily than other carriers. JetBlue and Air Tran also have low lost-baggage rates and good employee morale, but their planes are flying with high load factors these days.
• Write your congressman. Let your representative know you support increasing funds for the nation's air traffic control system. If our congressmen and senators don't hear from us, they will continue to fiddle while the air traffic system burns in the summer heat.

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