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.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Late Checkout

Standard policy at most hotel states checkout time is usually no later than 12:00 - noon. But, if you find you need an extra hour or two, give a ring to the front desk and ask for a late checkout. Provided the hotel isn't sold out, they may allow a later checkout, upon request - with priority given to guests holding elite status. Also, if at first you are denied a late checkout, stop in at the front desk later and see if they can accommodate your request. Often customers cancel reservations at the last minute and rooms may quickly open up, thereby improving your chances to keep your room for just a bit longer.

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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.

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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.

inFLIGHTout Now on Facebook Groups

Now broadcasting beyond the blog, find inFLIGHTout in the Facebook groups directory. 

Here we've posted an assortment of travel photos, videos of some amazing aircraft landings, and links to sites we've discussed on the blog. 

By adding inFLIGHTout to your group list, you are automatically signed up to receive exclusive alerts to travel deals from the San Francisco Bay Area - beyond the standard run-of-the-mill airfare and hotel sales. 

Add inFLIGHTout to your Facebook profile now. Thanks for your support!

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Wet Naps

Always carry wet naps or baby wipes when travelling. Exactly who was sitting in the airplane seat before you? When was the last time the airline wiped down the tray tables on the aircraft? Why are the interior windows soiled? Rather than imagine what the answers to these questions might be, simply wipe down your seat area once you board the aircraft. A brief 30-second wipe down will rid the area of germs and make your flying experience a bit more pleasant, and healthier.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Airline Phone Numbers

Be sure to program 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 from your cell phone for rebooking. 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 might be quite long.

InFLIGHTout Travel Tip - Wet Naps & Flying

Always carry wet naps or baby wipes when travelling.

Exactly who was sitting in the airplane seat before you? When was the last time the airline wiped down the tray tables on the aircraft? Why are the interior windows soiled? Rather than imagine what the answers to these questions might be, simply wipe down your seat area once you board the aircraft. A brief 30-second wipe down will rid the area of germs and make your flying experience a bit more pleasant, and healthier.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip
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.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip
Save a few bucks on your next Passport and/or Visa photo. Your neighborhood Costco store offers Passport photos (set of two) for only $4.99. Other companies may charge $10 or more for the photos. Click here for more information and participating Bay Area locations.

Thanks to all for your ongoing support and feedback.

Happy New Year

All the best in 2008.

From inFLIGHTout

Use Caution when buying airline coupons on Ebay

Scam Alert: Auction site Ebay is filled with attractive coupons and discounts for many airlines in the U.S. Whether you need discounted tickets on Southwest, Continental, Northwest and Alaska (to name a few), Ebay seems to have the discount your looking for. Most have rules however stating the certificates cannot be sold, traded, etc., so you need to be mindful of this.

But this story is really about United Airlines $100 off e-certificates on the Ebay site. It seems someone very creative, arguably bored, may have found a way to "crack the code" and is trying to sell fraudulently obtained e-certs by transposing numbers. The technique for doing this is described on travelglitch. The result: some people on Ebay are selling these codes at a steep discount.

This causes duplicated e-certificate numbers, with one person using the code they legitimately obtained from United, the other using the code they ultimately obtained from a fraudster.

inFLIGHTout recommends you ask the seller for a scan or other documentation showing they have the actual e-certificate from the airline before deciding to purchase. If they airline becomes tuned in to the fraudulent situation, you may find yourself, and your mileage plus account under scrutiny. (Yes, they have suspended & closed accounts for not adhering to frequent flyer program rules).

$1 ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles

The original story of MEGAbus first appeared in inFLIGHTout back on August 5th - here

Then last week the L.A times did a write up on the Mega experience. Could this be a good alternative to flying to/from L.A? Could long lines at the airport, plane delays and tiny seats be a thing of the past? Or, do you get what you pay for? (As low as $1.00). Check out the L.A Times MEGAbus tour review here.

Bad (very bad) U.S. Airways Dividend Miles "promo"

Bad promotions are typically not posted on inFLIGHTout, but this one is so ridiculous, it must be reported on. In an email to dividend members, U.S air says it will permit passengers to redeem 10,000 dividend miles for $50 bucks off a flight during the months of January and February.

A) January and February are slow travel months, they should be enticing people to fly with double mile promotions and fare discounts

B) The value of 10,000 miles is is worth A LOT more than $50.00. The most basic measure is a free roundtrip ticket in the Continental U.S; 25,000 miles on U.S. Air. So dumping 10,000 of your miles is worth almost a free 1 way ticket across the country, which is worth far more than $50.

If you have miles "just sitting" in your U.S air account (or other airlines for that matter), even if your not close to a free ticket yet, I recommend you "let it ride". You need to have activity in most frequent flyer programs within 18-36 months otherwise you forfeit your miles. Simply renting a car from Avis for example can earn you frequent flyer miles, and count as activity in your frequent flyer program. In my opinion this is a wiser choice than falling for this U.S Airways "promotion".

From the email: Coming soon! Starting October 22, you can reduce the fare of a US Airways roundtrip ticket by $50 by redeeming 10,000 Dividend Miles. This offer will be valid on all published US Airways roundtrip fares flown in January and February 2008 with a 14-day advance purchase.