Woe to the modern airline traveler
Flying in the post-9/11 world isn’t much fun, but there are some strategies you can use to get over the bumps in commercial airline travel.
These days flight capital is real. You should allow plenty of extra time and consideration for each trip. Outside of security measures, long lines causes long lines where people stand for all their lives waiting for their feet. clearance Travelers need to check multiple IDs and make official travel arrangements to get on the plane. Business and first class, which used to be about privileged privileges, have now become something of a retreat because of the cheapness of care most people get in coach.
Faced with difficult economic conditions, they are cutting all corners, eliminating a lot of customer courtesy that travelers used to take for granted. In-flight meals are usually the way to be served. Many of the boxes left small ornaments as a courtesy store. Northwest Airlines recently attacked the last bastion in flight entitlement by removing free prescriptions on domestic flights.
With tough security measures and cost cutting, airline service seems to be getting worse every year. The New York Times recently ran a cover story by Micheline Maynard about the fatal crash in flight. Statistics for US air carriers. According to government figures, in the last ten calendar years different US airlines were running late 64% of the time or worse. Six airways have recently been solid 100% of the time for at least one month.
Flight check in protocols makes life easier. self-help
Some modern airline customers have advantages that they never imagined a decade ago. The barrier to check-in counters has been lifted from self-check-in kiosks now widely in use by most airlines. Northern Airlines was one of the first to adopt self-checkout in the early 2000s. Within three years, more than half of passengers were using the system.
With self-service kiosks you can use a computer screen to check in bags, choose your seat assignment and print your boarding pass instantly. You only need to scroll to credit card for knowledge. The computer recognizes the magnetic pin and finds a record of your flight.
It’s even better than printing your boarding pass at the airport using your computer at home the night before your flight. Most airline travelers know that airlines allow you to visit their website 24-hours before the flight time, check in on the flight and print the official boarding pass from the computer printer.
Tools for choosing the best seat available on the aircraft
Now that the airline can choose its own seat, new tools have arrived to help in getting the best possible seating arrangement. Most airline websites will tell you which plane you want to fly on your trip. Some sites provide complete statistics for each major airline, the plane in each airline’s fleet, and even between classes of service on a given plane.
The width of a simple passenger seat varies from plane to plane. The seat “pitch” is another significant variable. “Pitch” is defined as the measurement from a given point on the seat of the aircraft to the same point on the front seat. The bigger the pitch the bigger the room you have in your seat relative to the seat directly in front of you.
The seat pitch on a passenger aircraft that is commonly cited as the minimum acceptable is 34 inches, but airlines are all over the place. US airlines average 33 inches of seat pitch. Delta averages a pitch of 32 inches. Rainbow Airlines and Northern each averaged 31 inches.
With so limited room in the economy class passengers are looking for lounge seats and safe areas in the exits of the more spacious classes. There is also a study of a specialty product for sale on the Internet called “Genus Defender”. The knee protector consists of two plastic wedges that are jammed into the airline seat in front of you to prevent that seat from reclining in your personal airspace.
As travelers find more creative ways to find the best airline seats possible, websites have popped up to help. SeatGuru.com providing a map that lists every airline in service for each major airline. He dispenses tips on which seats are better than others.
SeatGuru color coded aircraft maps. Pass the cursor over the seat and the cover of the notebook, indicating each special thing that plays a role in comfort and convenience, including the extra leg room, the special features inherent in the technology, and also the convenience of the first exiting airplane due to the comfortable position of the seat. They are also warned about seating areas near triremes, washrooms, and where other passengers tend to cross the aisles in front of your seat on the flight.
On common flight with roars: why can’t I get the seat I want?
The surprising thing about airline seating is that sometimes you can get a seat assignment in advance and sometimes you can’t. There are many possible reasons why you may not be able to get your seat ahead of time.
If you book a flight too close to the departure date, the airline could prevent your seat assignment and simply freeze you. If the type of aircraft changes after you book your ticket all seat assignments are subject to changes to meet the new configuration. There are also specially reserved seats so that I can be met at the airport by a person to be assigned a specific time.
Of course, seats can be reserved on passengers with special status. Discount tickets holders are often stuck with seats in the back of the aircraft. People who make reservations for flights with small children are blocked from being screened before their seat assignment and may be relegated to the waiting room. the last train session.
What if I lose my airline ticket?
If you’ve only flown domestically over the years you may have the idea that airline tickets are a thing of the past. E-tickets first gave airlines an opportunity to become economy. Gradually, most airlines have started charging special fees for issuing paper tickets instead of e-tickets.
Maecenas from the university to the great ferry port. Most people trust them and take them for granted. One of the advantages of carrying a card is to lose nothing. However, most international flights (including Canada) still rely on the old paper tickets with thick paper and rows of prints.
So what happens if you lose your airline ticket? First, contact the airline immediately. The airline will probably ask you to fill out a lost ticket compensation form to guarantee that if someone else uses the lost ticket the airline will pay the money. You will also pay a large ticket price (probably around $100).
The carrier will advise you to buy a new ticket on your own, for which they will reimburse you, but the process can be lengthy. A year of waiting is out of the question, because the airline wants to be sure that the lost ticket will not return to attend them before your business with the airline is completed.
What if I lose my identity while traveling?
These days I dare you to have a flight. It’s possible that you lose your purse or wallet on the trip, but you still need to get home on a commercial flight.
A standard protection plan is to keep an ID and a credit card somewhere with you that can serve as a backup. if the purse had been lost by theft. Another idea is to scan or digitally photograph your identification documents and photos with someone who will email them to you in a pinch.
If you don’t have standard forms of ID, the airline needs you to go ahead because the plans to let you on the plane are not standard. Reporting the incident to the police can be crucial so think about it first when you realize your property is missing. Let the airline know that you are coming without an ID and process the documents you have at your disposal that they will accept. During your conversations, try the airline to enter something on your flight computer board to smooth your approach to the plane.
What should I do about a pen knife or scissors lost at security clearance?
If you forgot to carry a pen and scissors in your luggage, you will have to return the item. It is your option to place the item in the delivery bag. One strategy is to carry a signed, self-committed file that you can use to check the offending item yourself rather than giving it to security.
Related to the policy of mailing to yourself is ReturnKey Systems. This company places automated stations near security screening areas at airports in Houston, LaGuardia, Newark and Washington Dulles. If you have a ReturnKey and you’re at the airport, you can use it to get your item back to you so that the security people want you to give it to them. The cost runs from $6 to $22.
What is the deal with the orbit?
You may hear that many airlines grant lost fare (usually about 50%) due to the death or illness of a close family member. Friends or close relatives usually do not qualify for these special diets and small budget carriers cannot offer them at all.
Most airlines to offer bereavement will require the name of the deceased or ill person and contact information for the funeral or attending. doctor to prove that your claim is legitimate. A copy of the death certificate could be required.
Even after the factory in Oem, summer orbits are expensive, because there is usually a large fare ticket a few days (or hours) before departure. Some studies, including one by SmarterTravel.com, show orbits can be significantly more expensive than last-minute, non-refundable travel vouchers.
But often the advantage of the orbiting diet is the full flexibility of the diet you can buy at a reduced price. By using the Orbit clause you can buy a full fare ticket and lock in the ability to change your flight plans as the situation demands. This is the flexibility that usually comes with discounts.