“The Air Transport Association said it expects roughly 27 million passengers to fly over 12 days beginning November 16, with planes about 90 percent full.

In an attempt to minimize travel hassles, some big airlines will add as many as 500 seasonal workers — some of whom had been furloughed — to usher fliers through airports, James May, the president of the association said at a press conference.”(Link)

As someone who had to fly on Christmas Eve last year, I thought it would be nice to offer a few tips on how to make flying successful during the holiday season.  While these tips may help, please realize that some delays are unavoidable.

1. Carry the 1-800 number for your airline with you.  If your flight is delayed and you will miss a connecting flight, do not wait to get to the connecting city.  Call your airline and ask that they find you a flight.  If it is the airline that causes you to miss your flight, they have to rebook you.  The earlier you can do this, the better.
2. Be nice to phone staff and airport staff.  They are people, just like you.  They have family waiting for them at home, just like you.  They have to deal with everyone’s problems all day long.  And yes, while it is their job, a little kindness can go a long way.  Don’t threaten them.  In most cases they are being rude only because you are being rude to them.  If things start to go bad, ask to speak to someone else.
3. Start your day early.  The earlier you start you flying, the better change you have of avoiding delays.  If you are delayed, you have a better change of getting on another flight.

If you follow these three tips, you can make holiday traveling a lot less stressful.

-Justin

[tags]traveling, holidays, flying, airlines, jfcapasso[/tags]