Folks, it’s shaping up to be a very busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period. Yours truly is even venturing out, but I’m purposely remaining in San Juan until Monday, 11/26, in order to avoid the post holiday rush. Thanksgiving is late enough in the Fall season to possibly subject northern hubs such as Chicago to the possibility of snowfall and I seem to remember a Thanksgiving ice storm in Dallas. So it pays to be ready for adversity. Being prepared doesn’t mean anything bad has to happen, just that you will be ready.
I’ve offered travel survival advice before, and I’ll do so again now:
1) Fly as early as possible.
2) Take nonstops when available.
3) If you have to connect, have a game plan for getting stuck. Reserve a hotel room at the first sign of trouble.
3) Bookmark the following websites:
http://www.fly.faa.gov/ for information on airport delays.
http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html to check on average security wait times at the airports you’ll be transiting.
http://www.flightstats.com/ offers a convenient way to get to information from both of the above links as well as individual performance information for your flight. I love flightstats and check out the on-time performance stats of every flight I book through their website.
4) Pack snacks and patience in case you run into trouble.
5) Remember to be nice to airline employees. They’re no more thrilled than you are to be stuck at the airport. A little kindness on your part may go a long way towards getting the help you need, especially if they’ve been getting reamed by every other customer all day.
