Spending too much time at airports

https://thezvi.substack.com/p/spending-too-much-time-at-airports

by nsoonhui • 11 months ago

89 138 11 months ago

thezvi.substack.com

oriettaxx• 11 months ago

It is a bit by design.

The longer time you spend there the more $$ you leave there: shops pays a huge rent, and I have no doubt one statistic Airport use to raise rents is the average time we spend inside the airport (by the number of passengers, of course).

Security, and supposed security, is part of it.

scarface_745• 11 months ago

It’s even worse, airlines removed the automated walkways in the terminals to increase foot traffic to stores.

https://www.themirror.com/travel/american-airlines-removes-m...

djohnston• 11 months ago

My heuristic is to book a little over two weeks in advance, but not to book much more in advance of that in case plans change or want to change, since in expectation price changes are pretty small and maybe you decide to stay an extra day for some reason even if you are confident you won’t cancel.

N00b here - is that actually where the optimal prices emerge, rather than many months prior? I used to wonder why the optimal prices didn't emerge the day before the flight, because I'd assume airlines would rather fill a seat with lower profits than waste the space, but I guess that could cause forecasting issues if everyone waited until the last second.

bombcar• 11 months ago

Optimal prices don’t appear just before the flight because they probably overbooked it

Ekaros• 11 months ago

Lot of last minute(day) demand is very price insensitive. Say a company needs to get engineer on certain site. Or in general business travel where someone else is paying. In such cases you can get a few times the lowest price. So not fire selling seats makes sense.

On other hand if someone like travel agency has pre-paid for seats in block, selling them at any price will lower the losses. So different actors have ways to act differently.

rwmj3• 11 months ago

My understanding is that (at least for long haul), seats are divided up with a bunch of lower cost tickets, then medium cost, then a few high cost tickets, and sold in that order. So waiting until the last 2 weeks would be a bad idea. But also perhaps my understanding is wrong / naive?

wbl• 11 months ago

Timing is not the only differentiator used.

matt-p• 11 months ago

It depends but often cheapest prices IME are;

1) as the flight is released (e.g a year in advance or more)

2) about 5 weeks out.

lazide• 11 months ago

Sometimes, the day before or the day of the flight too.

If they haven’t been able to sell the seat yet, the airline is in a big hurry.

If they have sold almost all the seats, the last 1-2 will often be crazy expensive though.

High risk.

eksrow• 11 months ago

As you say it depends but in my case when I was booking a ticket for my last vacation I noticed prices getting much cheaper every day nearer to the flight itself (500 -> 200).

I waited till the second to last day and the price was 240, one day later it hit 200. (definitely a gamble, the flight seemed maxed out when I was boarding).

swader999• 11 months ago

I had a trip from Boston to Calgary last week. Was leaving from an hour outside of Boston. Went through Montreal for the connection.

I could have slept in an hour longer and drove 4.5 hours directly to Montreal instead of going to Boston first with the connection.

rwmj3• 11 months ago

It's all reasonable advice, but the fact this this blog post exists also demonstrates how terrible flying has become. This is why I fly as little as possible.

pkoird• 11 months ago

I cannot relate to your experience at least in US. I did a lot of flying this summer and have been flying both nationally and internationally over the years but outside the occasional delays due to weather, my experience has been quite pleasant. Even when traveling with luggage, I can generally check them in right outside the airport where I'm dropped off by Uber. Security checks have been straightforward with just the right amount of annoyance in the mix and mobile apps mean that any last minute changes to gates are well communicated in advance. I have found it all really streamlined to be honest.

rwmj3• 11 months ago

You have to compare it to taking a train (assuming you live in a country with good trains), or driving. I wish one day everyone had access to a system as good as the Shinkansen.

sokoloff• 11 months ago

I suspect people who look for annoyances in travel readily find them, while people who look for the positives readily find those.

I used to hate business travel, then took a role that required a fair bit of it. Getting used to the routine, finding ways to be efficient, and realizing that even the occasional irregularities aren’t so bad gave me a perspective that while I don’t love it, it’s far more tolerable than how I used to view it.

dtnewman2• 11 months ago

I almost always book the minimum flight, basic economy, whether or not I am paying. There is so little to be gained from moving up compared to the price.

I recently had a five month period where I took a plane ride every single week for work. A “frequent traveler” so to speak.

To me, the big difference between basic economy and regular is the ability to cancel (for a credit) up until the flight takes off. When you travel once in a while, this isn’t worth that much. When you travel every week, it’s huge. For example, when I travel (round trip) 3-5 times a year (which is my normal cadence), I’m not gonna really care if I booked an 8pm flight but last minute decided that I have time to get on a 6pm. An extra two hours not-at-home is no big deal, maybe even a good thing. When you travel every week, the ability to change later minute is huge (and contrary to popular belief, I found that it is often the case that last minute flights are the same price or cheaper, depending on the route, though it can also be wildly more expensive).

In addition to changing my mind about when to leave, don’t get me started on delays. If I saw my flight was delayed two hours (which often means that it’ll end up cancelling or taking off 6 hours late), I’d immediately book an alternative (if I could find one at a decent price) and then cancel one of them right before departure.

Aside from this, seat selection is important, especially if you travel a lot (the lifestyle is hard enough to begin with). You can usually buy seats in basic economy and the whole thing will be cheaper, but assuming you are going to do that, then the difference is gonna be $25-30 which is basically the “right to cancel” fee.

tomrod• 11 months ago

Economists call this type of pricing strategy price discrimination. Basically you have a different marginal willingness to pay than others because of your frequency.

contrarian12342• 11 months ago

are flight delays common in the US? ive been flying very regularly primarily around Asia for around a decade. (every 2 months or so) and ive never had a flight delayed more than hour (last minute at the gate always) anything longer.. i could only imagine it happening if there was a typhoon or something

ajmurmann5• 11 months ago

In my experience it depends on the route. I use SFO a lot and delays are quite common there because the they get a lot of fog and their runways are too close together for regulation to allow use of adjacent runways under bad visibility.

ghaff14• 11 months ago

Mechanical difficulties, weather esp. snow, air traffic control hold on incoming flights, etc. I wouldn't say >1 hr. delays were necessarily common but they're not rare either.

CGMthrowaway2• 11 months ago

If you travel every week for work, I would be booking full fare (refundable), not non-basic restricted fares. Especially since if you are booking inside a week of departure the difference is not that great anyway.

LeafItAlone4• 11 months ago

If you travel every week for work, I would be booking full fare (refundable), not non-basic restricted fares.

Why? I don’t fly that much, especially for work, and I’ve never had a problem getting to use my credits from cancelling flights. The price difference between credit-refundable and full refundable is usually significant and doesn’t offer me anything.

JustExAWS6• 11 months ago

If something is happening in my life where I can’t use my airline credit within a year, I’ve got bigger issues. Even then at least with Delta, you just have to book a flight using the credit before it expires - and the flight can be after the credit would have expired - wait 24 hours cancel the ticket and then receive a new credit that resets the timer.

closeparen• 11 months ago

Isn’t the biggest difference the ability to bring a carry-on suitcase? I’ve always found that immediately and categorically disqualifying for basic economy. There’s never been a situation where I could fly somewhere with just the clothes on my back.

JustExAWS6• 11 months ago

Only the budget carriers like Frontier and Spirit charge extra for carry on. Even the second tier airlines like JetBlue and Southwest don’t charge for carry ons.

The issue is boarding priority and you may not have overhead space and still be forced to gate check your carry on (for free).

In the case of Delta, it’s a combination of not being able to choose your seat, no refunds or airline credit for canceling or changing your flight and no miles earned toward future flights.

I can’t speak for the other airlines.

nhoss2• 11 months ago

maybe this is different for americans, but isnt google flights quite better than your typical orbitz/kayak? especially so if you're a little flexible on dates with their graphs?

svachalek• 11 months ago

Interesting. I am American, not a frequent flyer, but haven't found Google flights to find any deal that I can't find elsewhere.

temp0826• 11 months ago

Google flights (or matrix.itasoftware.com, same thing) is ok but they don't have every airline. There used to be a website (which is now a shoddy browser extension) called Flight Penguin, I think there are some similar extensions now but haven't used them.

larrydag• 11 months ago

While the 1 hour rule is mostly true be careful with discount airlines. Frontier Airlines does do a 1 hour boarding. I've heard of cases that if you are late to boarding, even if half hour ahead of departure, they will not let you board the plane. I'm sure it depends on specific airport agents protocols. My point is I'm not sure you can always use the 1 hour buffer.

johnfn• 11 months ago

I was definitely stopped from boarding when I arrived to the airport 45 minutes before departure when on Spirit. That was the last time I used Spirit.

hypeatei• 11 months ago

It saves you a bunch of money and time and also trouble and worry if you can move from checking bags to not checking bags

This has been my experience, too. Some airports have a half-assed process where it's partially self-service and partially done by a human. In Denver, they have booths outside to check bags. You scan the QR code, pay in the app, and it prints your tag at that booth for the worker to take. Convenient right? Wrong.

I'm second in line, so I scan and do the whole process, then the worker leaves to help a disabled woman. No problem I thought: I'll just go to another booth to have it re-printed. Nope, apparently once you print the tag, employees can't do anything about it and you're forced to buy another checked bag or hope that the original worker comes back (I'm not taking that chance if I have a flight to catch)

rafram• 11 months ago

As far as I can tell, the major booking portals for tickets are all basically the same. I’ve been using Orbitz for a long time

This is really bad advice. You should search using a flight search engine like Google Flights, not a single OTA, and book directly with the airline unless an OTA has a much, much better deal. The $10 that Orbitz might sometimes save you comes at the cost of having to talk to their customer service, not the airline’s, if you want to change your trip.

wkat4242• 11 months ago

100% this. Having a party in between is a real PITA that one time you need to change something in a hurry.

mannykannot• 11 months ago

I have heard it also puts you in a better position when an airline is bumping passengers or carry-on luggage, though the soft rules are always changing, so I don't know if this is still the case (or ever was.)

lotsofpulp• 11 months ago

If I were operating an airline, I would have a list of the passengers sorted by revenue or profit and use that to figure out who to bump first.

I imagine the “basic economy” tickets are basically first in line for being bumped.

s1ncere• 11 months ago

This is also true of hotels. If the hotel is overbooked they will “walk” the third party booked people first and keep their reward members / first party booked people happy

Rendello2• 11 months ago

Depending on the region, you can get a pretty hefty payout for getting bumped, if you know what paperwork to file (even if they get you a hotel and later flight). Terrible if you have plans, not bad if you're backpacking like in my case.

amelius2• 11 months ago

That's true, but on the other hand it is also a pain to have to figure out a different UI every time you book a flight with a different airline.

petesergeant3• 11 months ago

Less of a pain that the airline itself not being authorized to make any changes to your flight because the OTA does.

rogerrogerr• 11 months ago

They're all pretty much the same? Going from somewhere, to somewhere, at a date and time. Passenger info, payment info, book.

Every airline wants tech-incompetent grannies to buy their tickets, therefore the UI is simple enough that any HN reader should be able to trivially navigate it.

contrarian12342• 11 months ago

sometimes the airlines customer service is worse and less convenient than the airlines

petesergeant3• 11 months ago

Google Flights search is irredeemably broken for long international business-class flights, and I've tried a few times over the years to get someone there to give a shit, and they will not.

Example: You search for a flight from YWG to BKK in business, and it wants to route you YWG-YVR-KIX-BKK, which is basically fine. The flight time from YWG-YVR is under 3 hours, so it'll show you fares where that leg is in Economy, but YVR-KIX is in business, which is also, fundamentally, fine, although it would be nice to filter that. A short hop being Economy to get you on to the long leg in Business is usually acceptable. HOWEVER, it will ALSO show you fares where KIX-BKK (a 6 hour flight) are in Economy, and it won't allow you to filter this, so this messes up any ability to sensibly filter flights by price. If I am searching for a flight in Business, please allow me to filter out ones where *9 hours* of that flight is actually in Economy.</rant>

missedthecue• 11 months ago

I imagine you could quickly build your own browser extension that parses all visible segments and hides cards where any individual leg exceeds your economy/business threshold. I successfully vibe coded a solution to a different Google flights problem in about 10 minutes.

nutjob22• 11 months ago

I agree and do that but a lot of the time its not possible to recreate the stated fare at airline websites or the fares are aggregator only fares.

TrackerFF• 11 months ago

Since most of my time at airports are spent through work, I long since learned that fast track + getting access to the lounges makes a world of difference.

Free food, drinks, booze, superior in every way. If I know I have access, I’m not too bothered with spending extra time, or minimizing my airport time. The absolute minimum should be fast track tho.

Edit: Also, the real benefit of upgraded class when boarding is guaranteed overhead luggage space, if you only have carry-on luggage.

harimau777• 11 months ago

I've always wanted to schedule enough time to get a drink and some food before my flight at one of those airport restaurants designed to look like a pub or cafe. Even if the food might be overpriced, they always struck me as having a neat "liminal vibe" to them; sort of like what I feel when I see the painting Nighthawks.

uxp100• 11 months ago

It’s pretty awful imo. Going to a late night cafe or diner where you live will be a much better experience, and closer to nighthawks. But try it for yourself I guess.

OTOH, I have had pretty good, though expensive, food at some airports. Certainly not all of them have that option.

prasadjoglekar• 11 months ago

This is the tricky part. You need to know the worst-case scenario for the trip to the airport. This is why I love taking trains to the airport, even when they are on average slower than a taxi. You have a safe upper bound of how long it takes.

This is reasonable advice going to the source airport or NYC where subways run 24/7.

Be mindful at the destination though, when trains may not be running etc. I've had a number of close misses at SFO when the last BART out was just past midnight and a slight delay would leave me spending 4 hours there or $100+ in cab fare.

leelin• 11 months ago

Best airport mental hack for last-minute types: Get lounge access beyond Priorty Pass

Even though most domestric lounges are hit-or-miss, it's a way to trick myself into getting to the airport 30 to 45 minutes earlier than I would. That way, if I'm running late, worst case I miss the lounge or cut short the time.

For those complaining that lounges are overcrowded with mediocre food, it's true and getting worse. However, it's buffet style - select a healthy salad option with a reasonable protein. Non Priority Pass options are somewhat worthwhile -- United Clubs have gone through a massive upgrade post Covid and so far haven't been too crowded. They also allow access upon arrival, if you really need to fire off some emails and hydrate upon landing.

As for in-flight, for former gaming geeks, try classic emulators. They won't require internet and drain very minimal battery life on your latop.

The adjacent hack is to bring an empty water bottle in your carry-on, which you fill once you clear security. Then, you have a full bottle of water and can decline everything from the "beverage cart" on your flight, meaning you never need to worry about managing a precarious open cup of liquid and ice sitting on your in-flight tray.

jebarker• 11 months ago

I’d struggle to ever pay for lounge access. Even when I’ve flown international first class the lounge is still usually quite disappointing in food, comfort and ambience. It’s better than sitting at the gate but maybe only $10 better. The one exception would be if I had a long layover.

raw_anon_1111• 11 months ago

My home airport is MCO - Orlando - where most travelers are either infrequent fliers, flying with families and international vacationers. I use every hack that’s available not to be caught up in that and we fly a lot.

This includes - Clear, TSA, status for priority check in, lounge access and status for earlier boarding so I can already be situated in my seat with my luggage if I just have carry on.

In ATL, my former home airport it’s not as bad because you have more business travel.

ilamont• 11 months ago

The one exception would be if I had a long layover.

That's what I did for a day-long layover in Istanbul. I took a short self-guided tour of the city via tram, then returned to the airport in the evening and paid for the lounge until my 1 am flight. It was like 20 Euros, absolutely worth it (this lounge had a shower).

I've taken the freebie lounge access on those rare occasions I have a business class ticket, but only if there is no line. If it's a zoo, what's the point? I can sit in one of the empty gate areas with no one around me until it's time to get on the plane.

FireBeyond2• 11 months ago

When you are overseas you realize how mediocre things are here. You can make claims about excess and such, but even business class lounges like Qatar in Doha - chef made meals done restaurant style, with a wide menu, beautiful shower suites you can book a 45 minute slot (for free), etc, and very comfortable chairs and a huge amount of space…

randycupertino• 11 months ago

The best part of the lounge for me is that you don't have to shlep your luggage into the restroom. I don't care about the food, just the seating, chargers and ability to leave your luggage safely while you use the facilities.

the__alchemist2• 11 months ago

Concur. Amex plat or equiv is a good option. Important caveat that their lounges tend to fill up, so you may not get in. If you do, it's step up from Delta lounges etc; food's good, relatively.

JustExAWS6• 11 months ago

That’s just the opposite from what I have found. Given the choice between the Delta lounge and the Amex lounge, I always choose Delta lounges. They also seem to be less conveniently located.

That’s especially true in ATL with a lounge at each gate for delta more or less. I still don’t know where the Centurion lounge is in LAX as often as I’ve been there.

JustExAWS6• 11 months ago

Agree completely, between myself and my wife as an authorized user, I gladly pay the almost $2000 a year in annual fees for the Delta Reserve and the Amex Platinum for lounge access in almost every scenario.

The Reserve easily pays for itself with the once a year round trip companion pass good for anywhere in the US, Caribbeans, Mexico or Central America and the hotel credit and the Platinum the same with the credits.

My wife and I have averaged around a flight per month since Covid. With a lot of random trips back home to ATL where Delta has nine lounges

ghaff14• 11 months ago

I had Priority Pass for a few years when I had a premium credit card for other reasons. I think I used a club a few times when Star Alliance/United wasn't available. Nothing special. And the meaningful meal discounts were few and far between.

chickensong• 11 months ago

bring an empty water bottle in your carry-on

I find it handy to include a carabiner on the water bottle lid for hanging off the back of the seat.

Also beware metal water bottles, as they will sometimes deform if sealed during elevation change.

wnc3141• 11 months ago

I don't pay for lounges but I find that arriving at the airport affords a peace of mind that is priceless (iv'e seen how flustered the hurried get in security or baggage desks) . If I'm working or hanging out at the airport - I'd just be doing the same thing at home.

abxyz• 11 months ago

“I almost always book the minimum flight, basic economy, whether or not I am paying. There is so little to be gained from moving up compared to the price.”

Perhaps I’m too precious but economy class is awful compared to business class. Lie-flat seats are a significant improvement over economy. If you are spending your own money, sure, stick to economy so you can spend your money on other things that are more important to you… but someone else’s money? What conceivable reason is there to choose economy if someone else is paying.

whobre• 11 months ago

Business is much better for long flights. For flights under 5 hours it almost does not make any difference.

ghaff14• 11 months ago

BOS to SFO, domestic business is more comfortable but not to the degree I'd likely pay out of my pocket for.

WalterBright6• 11 months ago

What conceivable reason is there to choose economy if someone else is paying.

Not taking advantage of someone else's generosity.

If that's not good enough, don't think the someone else doesn't notice being taken advantage of. They won't say anything, but in the future you may be "overlooked" for other opportunities.

WalterBright6• 11 months ago

The smart way to handle this if you really want to fly business class is to pay the upgrade cost difference yourself. Mark it on your expense report when you turn in the receipts.

Your sponsor then may say "no worries, we'll take care of the upgrade cost!" then you're golden. In any case they'll respect your integrity.

borroka2• 11 months ago

It's like asking for less than you need or could get when negotiating pay for a job or position.

One would think that the employer would recognize or remember this kind of “sacrifice.” Or that, somehow, asking for less money will lead to a more sympathetic judgment of what was accomplished. But my experience and that of many others I have observed tells me that this rarely happens.

Those who pay, pay what they can and always ask for the best that can be done. My advice is to accept business class when it is offered and to negotiate with vigor in every aspect of your professional life.

ajmurmann5• 11 months ago

A big advantage in business to me is that it's usually only two seats next to each other. That also no risk of middle seat. I've yet to experience lie-flat seats in business class. Even first class on many planes doesn't have that.

scarface_745• 11 months ago

What risk is there of a middle seat if you are choosing your seat?

While I do enjoy my automatic C+ upgrades at time of ticketing because of status on Delta, I’m short and average size so main cabin doesn’t really bother me especially if I can get an exit row seat. It wasn’t bad flying nine hours to London two months ago.

nutjob22• 11 months ago

If someone else is paying it's very likely they have restrictions on business class seats on long haul, given the typical large fare difference.

mvdtnz• 11 months ago

What conceivable reason is there to choose economy if someone else is paying.

Thanks for the unpleasant reminder that people like you exist.

JustExAWS6• 11 months ago

As a frequent hobbyist travel there is so much bad advice in this article.

First, I never ever ever use a third party portal. If things go wrong, now you have to deal with customer service from two places. I know American charges fees if you make changes to your flight that you book through a third party portal.

Second, flights are more expensive two weeks out, and this isn’t pre 2020, as far as I know, unless you buy the cheapest ticket, all airlines let you make changes or cancel flights for an airline credit, If you book directly.

I’m not sure what he is referring to specifically as “basic economy”. But on Delta it means - no refunds not even airline credit, no seat selection, and you don’t earn miles for flying. Economy is the lowest I will go.

I do care about frequent flyer programs. My home airport until 3 years ago was ATL so of course we flew Delta. It’s still our preferred airline because we end up in ATL a few times a year and the only airline that flies into my parents city in south ga is Delta.

With Delta with status (and lounge access via credit card especially in Atlanta) makes everything better.

The issue also is not the variability of time at the airport especially with digital ID, Clear, TSA pre check and even with a check bag either using curb side check in (again Delta in our case) or Sky Priority check in (thanks to status), it’s the time to get to the airport and not worrying about traffic. Being at the airport killing time with my computer, tablet or phone - even if I didn’t have lounge access - is better than worrying about Atlanta traffic when I lived on the other side of the metro area.

You have a safe upper bound of how long it takes. I agree that adding 30% is mostly safe enough for taxis

That’s true for the most part.

He also mentions not checking bags. I agree with the sentiment. But that is diametrically opposed to buying the cheapest seats where you are last to board and not worrying about status which would get you earlier boarding.

sojournerc• 11 months ago

As someone who is 6' 3" paying more for economy premium absolutely makes sense. I get that others might not see the value but I enjoy not having my knees smashed. You also get off the plane faster which can matter for connections.

Get an airline credit card for one based in your city and checked bags are no longer a cost. Aside from a few minutes to drop and pick up. Usually there are other perks like food and beverage discounts on the plane, etc. I fly to the Caribbean once a year on the miles we accumulate.

ddreier• 11 months ago

Yep, I'm also 6' 3" and on the heavy side. I don't fly often so I find the knee room tax to be very worth it.

ajmurmann5• 11 months ago

"The food at the airport is not ideal, and it is more expensive than usual"

This one really bothers me. The Portland airport mandates all food prices to be the same as at the businesses off-airport locations. As a passenger that makes it really great. As a free-market worshipper I have some concerns about this but it seems to work really well in practice and we get excellent options. Unfortunately, other airports don't rely on free-market competition to result in great offerings either but instead usually have most vendors operated by the same concession company like HMSHost, SSP Group. This gives a captive audience to a quasi-monopolist. It's the easiest situation to avoid a monopoly or cartel situation and foster competition, yet most airports seem to either be operated by people who don't care, crooks or idiots.

LeafItAlone4• 11 months ago

As a free-market worshipper

Free market in a location owned by the government where the government gets to control who the vendors are and what the customers are allowed to bring in? Thats not a free market to begin with.

richardwhiuk• 11 months ago

Airports usually are privately owned I think?

ajmurmann5• 11 months ago

Just because the venue is owned by one entity doesn't mean you cannot have competition between tenants. In fact venue owner could take competition in consideration when choosing a new tenant. This would be what the Chinese government does with their catfish effect philosophy (https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S02184958960...).

kimos• 11 months ago

My local Canadian international airport mandates food vendors and restaurants all be staffed by one food service company. So even though past security we have one of our good local coffee shops, the price is inflated AND also they make terrible coffee from automated machines made by untrained staff.

nicbou• 11 months ago

BER has a regular supermarket before security. It's amazing to grab a regular-priced pastry or snack before or after flying.

xethos• 11 months ago

As a free-market worshipper I have some concerns about this

But it's the government (via the TSA) that gates not only customers, but also the employees (as they must at least be able to pass through the TSA, though admittedly the bar isn't tremendously high), and at government-owned airports, they control the tenants / shops as well

To call it a free market misses all kinds of behind the scenes details

beardyw2• 11 months ago

I remember sitting, as I did so often at the time, in an airport lounge. This was Rotterdam on a dark evening, in the single story building on the edge of an airfield. I looked around and there were 5 or 6 men, all sitting alone in disheveled suits looking lost and miserable. I thought "poor sods". Then I looked at myself.

tehnub• 11 months ago

A dark evening at the edge of the airfield? Write the rest of this short story please.

beardyw2• 11 months ago

I did want to be writer but my school made me choose between arts and science. I think science saved me from poverty.

Gud• 11 months ago

I am frequent traveller. Typically 30-50 flights per year. To have a fast and pleasant flight, the following two criteria must be met

1 - bypass queues - if possible, get fast track. Generally not that expensive.

2 Place to sit - Lounge access. If you have a long layover, 50 bucks will buy you decent food and a place to chill.

FireBeyond2• 11 months ago

If you have an overhead bag, you have to worry about them forcing you to check it. That means you have to aggressively board the plane, and sometimes that will not be enough, and you have to worry and argue about this. Also they make you pay for it.

If you are talking about gate checking, I am yet to meet an airline that forcibly gate checks you AND charges you for doing so.

marssaxman• 11 months ago

spending time at the airport is fun

People's preferences really do vary widely, don't they?

There's nowhere I feel less safe than a security checkpoint, and nowhere I feel less relaxed than a high-pressure commerce zone clamoring for attention I don't want to give and trying to squeeze me out of money I don't want to spend.

But there are people who voluntarily go to Las Vegas, on purpose, because they think they will enjoy it: so, we are clearly not all alike.

ghaff14• 11 months ago

Novelty is often a thing of course. I don't think anyone who travels a lot really enjoys airports even if distractions like butterfly gardens and nice airport clubs can make them more tolerable. Some people are probably into the duty free shopping though it's mostly not a bargain.

disgruntledphd24• 11 months ago

Some people are probably into the duty free shopping though it's mostly not a bargain.

Depends on where you are. Certainly, flying from Ireland you can get some really good spirits (particularly whiskey) for much cheaper than you would in the rest of the country. That's mostly because of our absurdly high duties on booze though.

dkarl• 11 months ago

a high-pressure commerce zone clamoring for attention I don't want to give and trying to squeeze me

I find air travel mostly unpleasant, but if it's a given that I have to go through the ordeal of security and the flight, I find extra time sitting in the airport quite pleasant. Everybody regards you as in transit and unreachable. Nobody around you knows you or wants to talk to you, and it's easy to find a spot where the only sound intrusions are announcements and nearby conversations. It's so easy to sink into focus on work, or even a book.

Many times I have exaggerated my concern about making a flight so I could catch an extra hour of solitude in the airport.

Zak4• 11 months ago

My recent revelation as a frequent flyer is that it's really nice to have a tablet. I had long shunned them as an awkward step between laptop and phone, but using laptops is forbidden during taxi,takeoff, and landing.

Unlike the in-seat entertainment, the movie on a personal tablet won't be interrupted by announcements which I almost never want to hear.

3eb7988a1663• 11 months ago

As a laptop user, the thing that grinds my gears is how early they will force me to stow it away. Sometimes 20+ minutes before we are obviously descending.

ghaff14• 11 months ago

Traveling is mostly what I find the tablet use case to be. I find it useful relatively rarely at home. I try and then I just end up grabbing an older laptop from the dining room.

If you want to spend most of your time reading, a Kindle may have advantages but I'm more inclined to travel with a tablet. The newer magnetic keyboards are actually pretty good but I'm at fewer conferences and the like these days where I'm taking notes and I actually have found that I've adapted to just using a phone for many purposes.

______• 11 months ago

Having a kitchen tablet is also amazing - I have a ten year old iPad Pro with the keyboard, it's great for looking up recipes and following along, and also messaging while cooking.

Zak4• 11 months ago

The newer magnetic keyboards are actually pretty good

What I think I would really like is a detachable keyboard with laptop-style hinges (and maybe a secondary battery). There seem to be a few devices from about a decade ago with that kind of design but they died out in favor of flexible connectors and kickstands.

ir77• 11 months ago

this article is absolutely brutal to read, was it written by ai? how did this even get upvoted enough to have comments on the first page?

crooked-v• 11 months ago

That one-hour timeframe from door to plane is usually my default now, as long as the airport isn't one the nightmares like LAX or DFW.

That said, I'll sometimes intentionally show up early just to wander around if the airport is interesting or interestingly weird, like how LHR funnels you from security straight into an upscale mall before you can get to any of the terminals.

QuiEgo• 11 months ago

More travel tips:

Get/Bring:

* TSA Global Entry and Pre-Check

* AirTags for your bags

* A sticker or luggage tag to make your bag stand out

* A dedicated set of travel-sized toiletries. Never unpack them, they live in the bag. Replenish after each trip. Huge time saver when packing and unpacking.

* A few bandaids, and blister-pack single doses of Sudafed and Ibuprofen in your toiletries bag

* Wrinkle release spray

* Dress clothes packed in dry cleaner plastic bags to minimize wrinkles

* Travel packs of disinfecting wipes

* Packing cubes

* Dedicated indoor hotel slippers

* Noise canceling headphones or earbuds

* A power bank

* A dedicated set of chargers and cables for travel. Never unpack them, they live in the bag.

* An extra-long charging cable. Hotel outlets are in weird places sometimes.

* Airline loyalty membership. Have a strategy - favor one airline alliance (e.x. Star, OneWorld, SkyTeam) for status perks and miles, or favor direct flights, or cost.

* Hotel loyalty membership. Have a strategy - favor one hotel chain (e.x. Hilton, Marriott, IHG) for status perks and points, or favor location, or cost.

* Car rental loyalty membership. Skip the checkin line!

* Some combination of a travel credit card, an airline credit card, and a hotel credit card. Make a spending plan to maximize the rewards you care about (e.x. airline status, points, cash back, free hotel nights at resorts).

* At least one backup credit card incase your primary is lost or stolen. Keep it separate from your wallet or purse.

* For work trips: your work’s travel agency number saved in contacts.

* An international roaming plan, Google Fi, or a pre-paid international eSIM (e.x. Airalo)

* A water bottle

* Your entertainment of choice for flights: An iPad, Kindle, paper book, Nintendo Switch, laptop, melatonin gummies, etc.

* Apps: Airline, hotel, rental car company. TripAdvisor. FlightAware24, Loungebuddy, Terminal Buddy, At Your Gate. Microsoft Translate with offline language downloaded. Kindle, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, etc. with offline downloads. Google Maps with offline maps downloaded.

* At least two devices logged in to your accounts (your phone, and then a laptop, iPad, backup old phone, etc). Also, give a travel buddy Account Recovery permissions. Don’t get locked out of your accounts if your phone is lost, broken, or stolen.

* A pop socket or kickstand case for your phone

* Photos of your drivers license and passport saved offline

Do:

* Charge all of your devices the day before you trip

* Download offline maps, books, movies, trip itinerary, tickets, reservations to at least two devices before your trip

* Fill your water bottle as soon as you’re through security

* Drink lots of water on flights. Airplanes have very dry air. The dehydration can give you headaches on long flights.

* Minimize or avoid alcohol on flights, especially long flights. You will get dehydrated. Save the drinking for when you land.

* Switch clocks to your destination time zone as soon as you get on the plane

* Get up and stretch every few hours on planes. Don’t get DVT.

* Unpack as soon as you get to the hotel room. Hang clothes and spray with wrinkle release immediately.

* Sleep and wake on your home time zone if possible (especially for domestic travel).

* Plan a list of restaurants to try. Especially for work travel: You won’t have time or energy once you’re there to research, and will fall back to junk food or the hotel bar if you don’t have a better option.

* Have a plan for laundry. For short trips, I bring enough stuff not to do laundry. For longer trips, I avoid cotton, bring detergent and a clothes line, and wash in sinks daily.

Other tips:

* Earlier flights are on time more often than later flights.

* If an early flight gets canceled, you have a lot more rebooking options than if it’s late in the day.

* Booking direct means direct help. Expedia/Priceline/etc don’t have a help desk in the airport. Sitting on hold on the phone after your flight is canceled while other people scoop up all of the open seats is a bummer.

* If your flight for work travel is canceled, your work travel agent can easily book you on other airlines. The airline’s help desk might not be as willing to do this.

* Don’t check bags, if possible. If you have to change flights after going through security, it gives you way more options. Also, no risk of bag being lost and it saves a bunch of time on arrival.

* Many travel credit cards have rental car insurance. If you rent often, get one.

Sources

* https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelHacks/comments/1067y0t/new_to...

Spending too much time at airports

Related Stories