Holiday Travel Tips

Thanksgiving and the holiday season is a popular travel time for infrequent travelers and families (amateurs), so things might not run as smoothly as normal.  Here are a few tips to help with holiday travel:

• Allow Extra Time for Everything – It’s amateur hour.  People will be traveling heavy, with families, and with different mindsets.  Lines will be longer, people will be confused, walking slowly, and be totally absorbed with their situation and oblivious to those around them (this happens every day, but is worse around the holidays).  Strollers will be everywhere.  Give yourself extra time to deal with these impediments and they’ll bother you less.
• Relax – Stay calm.  It’s possible the people in front of you in line haven’t flown since the TSA banned liquids/shoes/common sense at airports.  Becoming angry will not improve the situation.  See step #1.
• Ear Plugs – They really work.  The plane and airport will be full of loud kids that are poorly supervised.  You can’t make children behave, but you can block out their loud antics.
• Exit Rows are Kid Free – No one under 15 is allowed in an exit row.
• Be Nice to Airline Staff – A smile goes a long way to making everyone’s travels better.
• Try Flying at Off Peak Times – I doubt a family will book a red eye or flight before 8am if they can avoid it.  Flying on the holiday is usually less busy and cheaper than the days right around it too.  

Happy Travels!