Online travel agencies (this includes Priceline, Kayak and all the big ones) are notorious for planning itineraries with impossibly tight connecting times. And you book them because hanging out in an airport for two hours between flights doesn’t sound fun. But beware. A 45-minutes “layover” can quickly become a 15-minute one when your first flight is 30 minutes late taking off, or de-boarding is held up once you’ve landed. Or, you just might be landing at an enormous airport where walking from one terminal to the next takes 40 minutes. Always give yourself a 90-minute window between flights, and check out airport maps to know how far you have to travel from one terminal to the next.
You’d be amazed how often this happens. Many travelers just don’t realize their passport has expired, or their license has expired, or they forget to pack these. Passport validity is especially tricky when traveling internationally. For instance, U.S. travelers going to the Galapagos must present a passport that will be valid for at least six more months. European countries require a passport that is valid for three more months. And don’t forget about visas. U.S. travelers are required to have these to visit countries like India, China and Brazil.
It’s hard to believe the stories about check-in lines that go out the airport doors and onto the streets, or security lines that take three hours to get through. But they do exist. You know to avoid the day before Thanksgiving, Memorial Day weekend, Christmas and other major holidays. But there are other, less obvious, insanely busy travel days. According to the Orbitz Insider Index, the busiest travel week for 2013 was June 24 through June 30. According to NBC News, the Friday before Mother’s day was one of the busiest 2012 travel days. The point is don’t take any chances. Even the lesser-celebrated holidays can mean tons of foot traffic. Always give yourself at least two hours to board your plane from the moment you step foot in the airport.
Most airlines offer online check in within 24 hours before your flight. This means you can choose a better seat, but it also means you don’t need to worry about making their cutoff time for check in. It can also mean ensuring you don’t need to check a bag; even if your bag is small enough to be a carry on, some airlines, when they fill up fast, require all bags to be checked after a certain point. And this of course could delay you even further.
Traffic at or near an airport can be unpredictable, and so can your mode of transportation. If you plan on taking the latest possible shuttle to the airport, being one minute late to the bus stop could mean waiting 15 minutes more for a cab. Road closures at the airport could mean it takes 20 minutes just to arrive in front of your airline entrance. Just because you walk out your door on time, doesn’t mean you can control your arrival time. Order an early cab, take an early shuttle, have your ride pick you up early.
You have memorized the map of your connecting airport. You have backup short cuts planned out. You’re sitting at the very front of the plane and your carry-on is super light. You’re ready to make a dart for your connecting flight. There is just one thing that might go wrong…the gate for your connecting flight has changed. It’s very common for airlines to change gates at the last minute. Even if it takes a minute to find and examine a departure board, do it. It could save you a major headache, and a major jog session back across the airport you just traversed. Better yet, see if your airline has an app that notifies users of gate changes. Many do.
When traveling from an international destination to the U.S., you’ll need to go through both customs and normal security before boarding a connecting flight. Customs can take a very long time. In some cases you need to pick up and recheck your bags when traveling to a foreign country. Call your airline or check the website for your connecting airport for the precise information.
If you’re questioning whether or not TSA will let you through with something essential in your carry-on, like prescriptions or documents, just check these. Because if they don’t make the carry-on cut, you have to step out of the security line and go back to the check-in counter to check them.
It’s frustrating to stand in those sluggish groups that crowd the boarding area at boarding time. It’s tempting to just sit in the gate area, happily reading a magazine, until the line is cleared and you can be the last to board. Better yet, go grab a coffee, right? Wrong. Many passengers who were at their gate early have missed the flight because they refused to stand around in the boarding line, went to grab coffee, and misjudged how long that boarding line would take. They came back to find the gate closed.
Some airlines have been known to let an extra pound or two slide by when it comes to weight limits on checked luggage, but you shouldn’t bank on an airline breaking its own rules for you to get to board your plane. Stick to the weight limit, or you might be unpacking your luggage in the airport lobby, shoving it in a plastic bag, and leaving it in some cubby or bag-holding area for a friend to pick up later.
