inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Label Your Laptop Computer

By Mike Grasso

The airport is an interesting place where emotions often run high: sadness for departure, joy of arrival and panic for tight connections, to name a few. Something just happens at airports that can sometimes mentally throw us off. And the security checkpoints certainly don't provide any relief. At the intersection of these emotions is the possibility that we forget even the simplest things...such as remember to retrieve all your personal items from the scanning machine! Countless times I've watched passengers, usually in a dazed and confused look (probably having just finished waiting in a long security line) confidently grabbing their shoes and personal belongings then marching off from the checkpoint, but forgetting their laptop computer which was placed in a separate bin. Ouch!

So... here's the tip: Place a temporary label across the top of the computer with your name and phone number. This way if you accidentally leave it behind, those honest folks at TSA can page or call you while you're still at the airport.

Airline Talk: Operational Upgrades

By Mike Grasso

In most cases upgrading from one cabin (such as economy) to another (such as business) requires an upgrade instrument. This may be in the form of miles, cash, a combination of both, or automatically as a perk of an airlines' loyalty program. Each of these options are generally cheaper ways that outright purchasing a ticket in the higher class of service. In addition to these, there is another method - called an operational upgrade, which takes place behind the scenes. That is to say, your miles, money, and elite status are less important (at least directly) than the immediate operational needs of the airline.

A typical operational upgrade happens when the flight is oversold in economy. With inventory left in business/first, the airline can "bump" select passengers from economy to the front of the plane - a free upgrade. More often than not, this is handled at the gate just prior to boarding, once agents have a handle on how many ticketed passengers will actually show up for the flight. It is true that customer loyalty goes a long way on these types of upgrades, and therefore holding elite status may put you at the top of that "list." But in other situations, the "op-up" as it is called, happens when its least expected. A friend of mine was trying to negotiate a better economy class seat with the gate agent, when suddenly by surprise the agent presented him with a first class boarding pass. Why? The agent needed his original seat because a family of 3 (including 2 children) were going to be separated on different parts of the plane. Little did he know at the time how much easier he had just made that gate agents job. In another case, a few years ago I misconnected on a Northwest Airlines flight due to a mechanical issue; the gate agent rebooked me into first class because no economy seats were available onto my connecting flight. In each of these examples, the needs of the airline (and the need to quickly board the plane for an on time departure) meant operationally, the complimentary upgrades made good business sense.

In summary, operational upgrades are a necessary part of the airline business. The are however, rare. If you are an elite traveler, and/or find yourself in irregular operations, such as an oversell or a last minute plane change (to a larger plane), an op-up may be in your future.

Now Hear This: Free Sample of Hearos Ear Plugs

Grab yourself a free pair of Hearos ear plugs - the perfect companions for an overnight or long distance flight where you need some sleep. The promotion says there is a daily limit of 1,000 samples, so if you don't scoop one up today, try again tomorrow. By the way, although this is a pretty legit company, and their products are readily available at retail stores, it's probably wise to use a spam email address rather than your primary account for freebie offers like this.

How to Add Pages to Your Passport

By Mike Grasso

Frequent international traveler? Running out of room in your passport for all those Visa's? Easy fix. Simply mail your passport to the U.S. State Department and request extra pages be added. How much might you expect to pay for such as service? $20? $40? Actually...it's a FREE service from our federal government. Even the postage to ship it back to you is FREE. It gets better: The turnaround time to process extra pages may take several weeks according to the application, but my recent experience had the passport back in my hands in under 2 weeks. Now that is our government in action!

So if you are running out of space in your passport, now may be the time to send it in for some extra pages. Click here for more information.

(Even More) Important Items for Your Carry-On

By Mike Grasso

What's inside your carry on bag? You've got light scooby snacks and water (post-security purchase or refilled water bottle) packed - just in case you get stuck on the plane longer than expected. You remembered to pack toiletries - to freshen up during long layovers. And surely you packed a change of clothes - in the event you arrive in a city but your checked bags don't. What else needs to go in the checked back? More essentials! House keys; mobile phone, and important documents such as hotel/car rental information.

Common sense? Yes. But, sometimes travel plays tricks with common sense. For instance, I just returned from a flight where a woman was rerouted to Dallas, instead of Los Angeles, due to a missed connection. She will make it home tonight, but her house keys - which she later realized were stored inside her luggage, will not. Lesson learned: Think through all the important items you might need in your carry-on luggage, both during regular and irregular flight operations, and pack accordingly.

Flight Delayed, When Should I Leave for the Airport?

By Mike Grasso

Anyone who has travelled with any sort of regularity knows flight delays happen. They happen for many reasons; mechanical, operations, customer service issues, and weather - either at the airport, destination airport, or somewhere in between. So when your flight is delayed, a logical question to ask is: "When should I leave for the airport?" Answer: In most cases, you should arrive as if departing during the initially scheduled departure time.

The reason is pretty simple: Delays can un-happen. A last minute plane swap or an alternate flight path during inclement weather are ways to reverse anticipated flight delays. For instance, a flight I was on last year was expected to be nearly two hours late for departure due to building thunderstorms. Suddenly, the airline began paging all passengers in the terminal to immediately board the flight - it was leaving 15 minutes early, to avoid the storms. (Way to go Southwest Airlines!)

Too often of course, when the airline says the flight is delayed... it will be delayed. But occasionally there are instances where they can "fix" the problem and leave on time. Therefore, it is highly recommended you arrive at the airport ready during the initial time of departure - unless of course the airline recommends otherwise.

The "Cooling Off" Period When Purchasing Airline Tickets

By Mike Grasso

www.inFLIGHTout.com

Sale airfares come and go within a few days, while unadvertised drops in fares usually last just a matter of hours. Take some relatively recent examples such as Los Angeles to Fiji for a few hundred bucks, and San Francisco to upstate New York for $2 bucks. One minute you see them, next minute - poof, fare be gone. You're craving a vacation and the "deal of the century" is right before your eyes, but you're not sure how your significant other & work will feel about you taking more time away. How do you break free of your ambivalence to book?

While I don't have the perfect answer to that question, but perhaps more time to think it over will help! Most airlines offer some form of a "cooling off" period. They don't officially call it that, but essentially it allows you to purchase a ticket on their website and then later decide (usually within 24 hours) to cancel and receive a full refund, giving you plenty of time to chat up the S.O and Boss. This policy can can also be helpful if, for example, after booking you realized you selected the wrong date of departure, giving you an opportunity to make the correction at no charge.

A variation to the refund scenario is a 24-hour hold policy, whereby after you build a reservation on the airline website, you can place it on hold for up to 24-hours. Airlines offer a refund or hold - not both. Below I've outlined and linked the policies of major U.S. carriers. These policies are subject to change, and may not apply to every specific scenario, but do provide a general rule to follow when booking with the different airlines.

Southwest Airlines: (no link) 24 hour cancellation policy. Beyond 24 hours, Southwest does not charge a change fee, allowing you to hold as travel credit up to a year from date of purchase.

Continental Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

U.S Airways: 24-hour HOLD & cancellation policy

Virgin America: 24-hour cancellation policy

Delta Airlines: Cancellation until midnight the next day.

United Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

American Airlines: 24-hour HOLD policy.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Register Your Trip

In light of the unfortunate events in Mumbai and Bangkok fairly recently, it is a good idea to let the State Department know your international travel plans. U.S Embassies located throughout the world can aid you in the event of civil unrest, terrorism or natural disaster. Additionally, U.S Embassies and Consulates can assist if you are a victim of a crime, become ill, or are involved in a car accident.

Registering your trip is voluntary and free.

Click here to read additional information from the U.S State Department and to register.

Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst: Smart Packing for Airline Travel

By Mike Grasso

We've all heard the dreaded stories of planes stuck on the runway for hours at a time, passengers suffering in the cabin lacking some of the basic essentials such as food and water and the pilot refusing to allow people to de-plane. Thankfully, these are rare cases. But there are steps you can take in advance should you find yourself in a similar situation. Many of these suggestions are common sense, and put the bulk of health & safety responsibility back onto you - the passenger. If we have learned anything from these extreme situations, it's that nobody can best take care of you better than YOU.

Bottled Water: You can purchase a bottle post-security, or simply bring an empty bottle through security and refill it at a water fountain before boarding your flight.

Snacks: Energy bars, a cup of trail mix or nuts, or even a sandwich are all great munchies to have handy.

Vitamins/Supplements/Meds: Ensure you have taken your proper dosing before catching your flight, and bring extra in your carry-on bag.

Sanitizing wipes: Bring disposable wipes and wipe down the arm rests, head sets, tray tables, and anywhere else your skin makes contact with the plane. Remember, just because it doesn't appear dirty - doesn't mean bacteria aren't present.

Toiletries: Keep a small toiletry bag with your carry on. Anyone who has ever had their luggage lost by the airline has learned to keep essentials such as a toothbrush and deodorant nearby. The TSA 3-1-1 rule currently allows you to carry personal-care products in 3-ounce containers which are to be placed in a 1-quart resalable bag, 1 bag per person.

Seating and Stretching: The middle seat is bad enough, but if you find yourself stuck for hours on a runway, the middle seat will feel like misery. So, get your seat assignment far in advance, to avoid the middle. Regardless where you sit, be sure to stand, stretch and walk around from time to time.

Entertainment: OK so you've packed everything to ensure "survival", now pack a couple items to ensure you actually have a bit of enjoyment, in an otherwise unbearable situation. Magazines, books, portable gaming devices (think, for the kids), or a deck of cards (nearby passengers would probably love to join in too!) are all fine choices. Ensure portable electronic devices, such as mini DVD players and laptops, are charged-up in advance, to allow for maximum enjoyment.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Program Airline Phone Numbers

Be sure to program your cell phone the phone numbers of airlines you frequently fly.

In the event your flight has a last minute cancellation or significant delay, you can immediately call the airline for rebooking on alternate flights. Use this method while concurrently waiting to speak with an airport gate agent. If several people are impacted by the cancellation or delay, your wait to speak with a gate agent may be quite long.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Scan Your Passport

When you travel outside the U.S, some people recommend you keep a copy of your passport in a separate location, such as your luggage or wallet. This way, if your passport is ever lost or stolen, you have a copy to provide officials. Great advice!

In addition to a photocopy, consider scanning a copy of your passport and saving into your email box or other online file server. A scanned copy is crisp, clean and colorful, appearing a little more legitimate than a photocopy, particularly important when you need to work with government officials in a foreign country to secure your flight out of the country. Provided you have Internet access, a scanned passport is readily available anywhere you find yourself traveling in the world.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Email Important Documents to Yourself

By Mike Grasso

Even what seems the most solid planning and preparation occasionally fails. Take for example a recent trip to Boston: I had booked a car rental with a reputable agency months in advance and armed myself with a copy my itinerary, evidence of such reservation. Well, through a series of unfortunate inflight mishaps, coffee ended up soiling my paper itinerary, causing it to be unreadable. So, when I showed up at the car rental agency, you guessed it, they for whatever reason, had no reservation on file for me, and I no longer had no proof anything existed either. I was ready to fly back home at this point. 

But, the magic of the Internet and an Internet capable mobile device saved the situation. I simply logged into my email account, scrolled to my "active travel" folder and bada-bing, with a sense of pride and accomplishment, I flashed the reservation to the front desk agent who quickly processed my reservation. 

The lesson: A hard copy of all your travel plans are great (airline, car rental, hotel, tours), but also storing an electronic copy, which can be accessed anywhere you have Internet capability, improves on that. With the e-versions of itineraries, I store them in email folders labelled, "active travel" and "past travel" which helps locate files quickly - such as when standing at the car rental counter in Boston.

What is Back-to-Back Ticketing? (Hint: It’s a No-No)

By Mike Grasso
http://www.inflightout.com/

Did you know there are literally dozens of pages of rules and regulations that apply to your airline ticket? It’s true. For example, check out United Airlines contract of carriage, which contains 47 pages worth! Now that looks like some fun reading. On the plus side, most of us will never need to know about most of those rules. But recently a reader wrote in asking about one such rule termed, “back-to-back” ticketing. Specifically, she wanted to know what happens if she is caught making this creative type of airline ticketing.

Back-to-Back ticketing occurs when two or more tickets are purchased for the purpose of circumventing rules of a particular ticket, such as advance ticketing or Saturday night stay requirements. Here is an example of two tickets purchased for flights between San Francisco and Chicago:

--Ticket 1: San Francisco to Chicago July 7 (Tuesday) (A)
Chicago to San Francisco July 12 (Sunday) (B)
Total cost: $170

--Ticket 2: Chicago to San Francisco July 9 (Thursday) (C)
San Francisco to Chicago July 13 (Monday) (D)
Total cost: $170

Notice a Saturday night stay requirement is met in each of the tickets, thereby ensuring the low airfare. But, if you intention is to actually fly July 7 (Tuesday) and return on July 9 (Thursday), you would not meet the Saturday night stay requirement, and be subject to a much higher airfare – perhaps up to $800.

One workaround is to purchase two tickets, as shown above. Then utilize the July 7th outbound ticket (A) and July 9th return ticket (C), and throwing away (B) and (D). This would meet the Saturday night requirement. Therefore, in this example, purchasing two round-trip tickets is far cheaper than a single round-trip.

Sound easy enough yes? Well bad news – it’s “illegal.” Most airlines spell out in their contract of carriage that this type of ticketing is not allowed. Perpetrators are subject to having their mileage account closed, pay a penalty, or perhaps even get billed for the actual cost of the ticket (the $800 ticket). How will the airline know if you did this? Using your name and mileage account number on the two tickets is a good hint! One workaround is to purchase ticket 1 with one airline, ticket 2 with another. But again, you heard it here, this type of ticketing is not generally allowed. So, proceed at your own risk.

inFLIGHTout Tip: Dealing With Flight Delays and Cancellations

By Mike Grasso

Although there is no scientific methodology to predict if any specific flight in the future will be delayed or cancelled, there are some steps you can take to minimize the impact any such delay or cancellation might have on your travels. 

1. Book flights earlier in the day. Should there be difficulties with your original flight, there will often be other same-day flights to be accommodated on. In contrast, booking on the last flight of the day means any delay or cancellation could mean spending the night at the airport or nearby hotel.

2. Pick nonstop flights. Each added segment or connection increases your odds of encountering a delay, misconnect, or cancellation. 

3. Check the on-time performance of a flight you are considering a purchase on. For example, between San Francisco and Dallas/Ft. Worth, American Airlines offers several daily flights. Flight #566 departing at 2:55 PM has a 55% on-time record, versus Flight #1306 at 7:30 AM has nearly a 100% on-time record. If you are flying on American, connecting in Dallas, which flight would you want to be on? Websites such as flightstats.com can provide on-time performance data.

4. If you are using a connection city, be sure to allow yourself sufficient "padding" time to exit the aircraft and catch your connecting flight. Padding time should include a few extra minutes in the event you arrive late, the time it takes to deplane, walk through the airport and/or different terminal, and arrive at your next flight. 

5. Check the status of the inbound flight. This is a bit more advanced and requires some detective work, but is my all-time favorite. Here's how it works: Determine the gate you are flying out of, then look at the arrivals board at the airport to find out if the inbound/arriving aircraft coming to your gate is scheduled to be late. If the plane coming to pick you is late, there's a good chance your departure will be delayed as well (this is not certain however since occasionally airlines, particularly at hub airports, can swap planes out for severely delayed aircraft). If the information you gathered points to a delayed flight, consider asking the gate agent or customer service rep to rebook or protect you on an alternate flight. 

6. Check the weather of cities you plan on connecting in. Weather in San Francisco bay be Sunny and warm, but in Chicago they could have an impending storm. Ask a gate agent if they can proactively reroute you through a different connecting city. It saves both you and the airline from a potentially messy situation later on. 

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Online Check-In

By Mike Grasso

Most airlines allow customers to check-in for their upcoming flight up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure. With online check-in, also known as e-check-in, passengers can print their boarding pass remotely, then proceed directly to the security check point upon arriving at the airport, or with bags to check, utilize dedicated bag drop off lines, then head over to security. 

Other benefits of checking in online include reconfirming your seat assignments, checking on any flight delays or irregularly operations, and it alerts the airline you are planning to travel, even if you show up at the gate a little late. (Keep in mind airlines have cut off times when you must be at the gate, otherwise risk looking your seat). Certain airlines still offer bonus frequent flyer miles for e-check in, and others provide discounts on checked bag fees if you declare bags in advance, using web check-in. 

Here are some tips about using online check-in:

-If you are traveling, ask the hotel concierge to print boarding passes for you, or to use the hotel's business center to do so. 

-A growing number of hotels offers airline check-in machines in their lobby, allowing you to print your airline boarding pass, just as you are checking out of your hotel. 

-Even when you don't have a printer nearby, you can check-in for your flights using a mobile device, then opt to print the boarding passes using airport e-check-in machines. 

-Don't have access to the Internet at all? No problem. Call a friend or co-worker and have them check you in for your flight, then print boarding passes at the airport. 

-If you are unable to catch your flight you've already checked-in for, contact the airline immediately to preserve any remaining value or discuss flight alternatives.

-Keep tuned to exciting changes coming to the check-in process, as some airlines have begun testing paperless boarding passes, where you simply display your smartphone and electronic boarding pass to proceed through airport security checkpoints. 

7 Tips to Save Money During a Vacation or Staycation

More great travel tips from Lydie over at www.travelismorefunwithkids.com

Tip 1 
Most of the museums have a free monthly entrance day or sponsored entrance days (Target Day for example). By planning and visiting their websites, you can take advantage of these opportunities. Bank of America card holders get free entrance at 70 museums across the nation the first Sunday of the month. Check the list to see if some are nearby.

Tip 2

Parks are wonderful places to discover with children. If you visit them on the week-ends, you will most likely see street performers and will be able to enjoy nice performances for free. (although I would always encourage people to tip). 

Tip 3

Churches (although you have to pay to visit St Paul and Westminster Abbey in London) are full of treasures that one can enjoy for free. 

Tip 4

Pick a destination known for their free museums entrances: Washington DC or London. Most of the London museums are free and what a pleasure to be able to take our children to the Natural History Museum twice in a week without thinking of the price.

Tip 5

Do a home swap: here is a big saving. And if you are lucky, people may even agree to let you borrow their car too, helping you save on car rentals (www.homeexchange.com or www.1sthomeexchange.com).
Tip 6

Use your credit card rewards points: my husband flew twice to France without spending a dime. And because I pay my credit card balance at the end of every month, that card does not cost me anything. 

Tip 7

My last piece of advice for the travelers would be to register to newsletter or blogs specialized in traveling. For the San Francisco Bay Area, you have my blog www.travelismorefunwithkids.com, www.friscokids.net or www.inflightout.com that track good deals or free opportunities. By doing this, travelers will always know where to go without spending much or anything at all. For example, in December, I wrote about what to do in the Bay Area for free. People could entertain their families for the holidays almost every day without spending a dime. 

Education is the key and registering to newsletters from blogs or websites that do the work for you is the best way to save on your trips or staycations.

What Lay On Your Tray Table?

I've written in the past on how nasty those airline tray tables can be and how you should bring your own disinfectant or wipes to clean these before use. To prove my point, I recently snapped this photo of a guy (idiot) on a flight down to Los Angeles with his shoes off and right foot laying atop on the tray table. (Sorry it's a bit blurry - but clearly I was going undercover for this investigative reporting) =) Seriously folks, I've seen far worse than this. For your own health, wipe down your travel table before using it.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip - Scan Your Passport

When you travel outside the U.S, some people recommend you keep a copy of your passport in a separate location, such as your luggage or wallet. This way, if your passport is ever lost or stolen, you have a copy to provide officials. Instead, or in addition to, consider scanning a copy of your passport and saving into your email box or other online file server. A scanned copy is crisp, clean and colorful, and looks pretty legitimate (although it is still just a copy). Plus, you have a copy of your passport anywhere in the world you may be, provided there is Internet access to retrieve it.

Reader Question: Should I Be Concerned About My Flight Being Oversold?

Q: I booked a trip to the East Coast for Spring Break and the phone agent said it was a really fully flight with only middle seats open. Should I be concerned about the flight becoming oversold? –Sarah in Los Gatos

Overbooking flights is a business practice in which a company sells more of a product than what is on hand. In the airline industry, that means selling more seats on a flight than physically available. There are many reasons why airlines do this, but the bottom line is not everyone is able to keep their original reservation thereby freeing up seats. Using historical records of past flights, the airline forecasts roughly how many people they can oversell a flight, knowing that an equivalent number will not show up. In a perfect world, the two balance each other out and flights leave 100% of capacity. Often this doesn't happen and the plane either leaves less than full, or the gate agent asks for volunteers to surrender their seat in exchange for compensation.

If you don’t like the concept of overbooking, try JetBlue or Virgin America, two airlines who reportedly do not oversell their flights. But even the airlines that do oversell, rarely does it involuntarily disrupt regular travelers who are intent on arriving at their destination – without delay. In the rare instance an airline is unable to find volunteers for a flight, only then does the airline involuntarily deny boarding to one or more unlucky folks. This latter scenario automatically gets reported to the federal government, who tracks the frequency airlines involuntarily disrupt travelers confirmed itineraries, to ensure they remain a relatively rare event.

Traveling internationally this summer? 9 things to do now!

From Lydie over at the wonderful travel is more fun with kids blog comes some useful tips for those planning a summer vacation. Lydie has crafted 9 points to start considering now, in preparation for this summer's big voyage.

It is always exciting to book tickets to visit another country. My family is always looking forward to discovering new monuments, new food, new parks, new people, etc. But there are some not-so-much fun paperwork that has sometimes to be taken care of. So if you have booked your tickets, here are 9 things that you need to do right now.

Tip 1

Check the expiration date of all your passports. Some countries, like Thailand and Singapore, ask that you not only have a passport that is valid during your trip, but that you have at least 3-6 months of validity after you leave their country. If you need to renew your passport, pay extra for the expedited shipping: you do not want to be left behind!

Tip 2

Make a copy of your passports and give a copy to a family member who won’t be on the road with you. If your passports get stolen or lost, it will be easier to have them replaced if you have a copy of your information. You can also email yourself the passport numbers and date of issuance so you can easily retrieve the information, just in case.

Tip 3

Inquire for visas. Do not assume you do not need a visa even if you are visiting for a day. Check that information with the appropriate consulate. If you booked your travel through a travel agent, he or she should take care of the paperwork for you.

Tip 4

Check the immunization records of the whole family and make sure that no specific immunizations are needed. The CDC www.cdc.gov/travel has an extensive list of recommended vaccinations and shots on a country by country basis. Be sure to consult your doctor as well.

Tip 5

Call your medical insurance company to understand how you are covered abroad. Check if your credit card provides any travel health insurance. If not, you might consider buying travel medical insurance.

Tip 6

If you are planning on driving, make sure you do not need an international driving license and if you need one, apply for one. If you are renting a car abroad, be aware that you will most likely get a stick shift car, so be prepared!

Tip 7

Be aware of the difference in electrical plugs and voltage in some countries like England and Australia. You can buy plug adapters at your local hardware store or online, click here.

Tip 8

Ideally, have some cash from the country you are visiting with you in case you need to take the taxi when you arrive or buy something right away. It will make your life simpler instead of looking for an ATM or currency exchange kiosks just after landing with tired and jet-lagged kids in tow.

Tip 9

Call your credit card company to let them know that you will be traveling abroad. If they see activities on your bank account abroad, they may deny the charges and cancel your credit card if they can not confirm the purchases with you. Always bring several cards with you when traveling in case one does not work. Be aware, that if you are using your ATM card, certain countries like France only have a 4-digit PIN number system. If you are trying to withdraw some cash and you have a 5-digit PIN number, you will not be able to withdraw money. Visit your local branch to inquire about this.

Bon Voyage!