Smart Tips for the Best Travel Experience

• Depart a day in advance.  This is especially true for crucial trips such as a business meeting or wedding.
• Fly early in the day.  Not only is this generally your cheapest flight but at airports scheduled to capacity, any delay in the morning means there will be at least that much of a delay for every flight thereafter.
• Check the delay statistic for your flight before you book.  This is especially important if you have a connection.  I know if I have San Francisco as a connection there is a high probability the airport will be fogged in.  Airlines are required by law to supply statical delay information.  If your wondering, Chicago O'hare has the most delays of any US airport.
• Sign up for the trusted traveler program.  This helps take some of the pain out of the pre-flight experience. Travelers who pass a voluntary background check can use special lanes to whisk through security at nearly 20 U.S. airports.
• Make a call.  If you get to the gate and the airline says you have lost your seat, contact the Coalition for Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights at 1-877-359-3776.  I have this phone number programmed into my phone.  In the past passengers have indicated that seats were "suddenly found" for them when they called CAPBOR from the airport and let airline personnel know they had done so.  If your flight is cancelled the group's volunteer staff will help you book hotels, research your flight status, offer alternative routes, help with car rental and relay weather information.
• Before your trip know the phone number for customer service of the airline you are traveling on.  If you know a foreign language that phone number for customer service may get you quicker help.  On one occasion, my niece, Kathy, was flying from Burbank, Ca. to Chicago, Il. when the entire Burbank airport was shut down due to weather.  Southwest Airlines personnel were no help and there were a lot of angry travelers.  Kathy had failed to follow the first tip about flying out a day early.  I got a frantic phone call from Aunt Maria saying she could not get through to customer service as the line was busy (not unusual when an entire airport is shut down).  Maria speaks Spanish.  I told her to call the Southwest Spanish phone number, 1-800-Vamanos. The customer service representative picked up on the first ring and put them in the last seats left for a flight out of Los Angeles.