More Than Points

My fellow frequent fliers recently engaged in a long thread on the best ways to get compensated on United for non-weather-related delays and cancellations.

Here’s the summary:

• For United, their customer service phone lines appear to be better than any other channel for communicating problems; Delta appeared more responsive through their email channels
• Some folks have had better success with United Customer Care through the on-line channel since they have issues getting through on the phone even with status
  
• United typically provides 3 choices for compensation: A $200 e-certificate, 20% off a worldwide economy-class ticket, or 9,000 miles
• Certificates are arguably the best deal because they have no blackout dates and are transferable (good for gifts!); still limited to one per itinerary and only used on domestic flights including Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands
  
• Compliments don’t get you anything - only complaints (that’s sad…)

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If you’re not happy with your service, United won’t know unless you let them know.

After United Airlines announced a $25 fee for a 2nd checked luggage, it was only a matter of time before other airlines followed suit with similar fee-generating programs.  Take out the macro effects caused by rising oil prices such as less flights for unprofitable segments (American is losing 3.3 million a day!) and let’s focus on what this means to your week-to-week flying experience.

I assume as a road warrior, you are traveling pretty light and you do not check in any luggage.  In some cases, airlines do not charge flyers who have status so you may think this won’t impact us too much.  In most cases it won’t but there are a few cases where it just might.

If you’re late for a flight or somehow fail to board with the first group be prepare to check in your luggage.  With the new luggage fees, you can bet the overhead bins will be packed to the rim.  This means more time waiting at the baggage claim.

If you need to speak to a customer service representative, you can expect lines to be longer as people are figuring out how to pay for their check-in luggage.  Kiosk lines will take a bit longer as people go through the additional step of paying with their credit card.

Let say the airlines lose luggage - you can expect to see more angry customers since they now PAID to have their luggage checked-in when before they did not.  Again - expect longer customer service lines.

If you aren’t careful - this $15 fee will cost you more than $15 in time, waiting in lines or at baggage claims.  For many of you, the following tips may be redundant, but make sure you’re keeping your travel process streamlined.

Tips to Keep Your Travel Process Efficient

• Print your boarding pass in advance.  Buy a printer if you have to.  You need to avoid checking in at the airport to avoid the unnecessary lines.
• Give yourself enough time to reach your gate and board with the 1st group - your status won’t save you if you’re boarding with the 2nd group.
• If your flight is delayed or canceled and you need to speak to a customer service representative - call the 1-800 number reserved for flyers with status or call your travel agency.  Do not wait in a line or you may miss the seat for the next flight going out.
• Smile and be polite.  You’ll stand out among the sea of unhappy flyers and that can make all the difference sometimes.

Flying goes with the territory so take control of the things in your power and keep more time for yourself.

Historically, I’ve been a self-admitted technology-junkie. I used to be a technology fanatic before that, but time (less of it) got in the way. Today, I still like technology, but first I ask myself, “Will the time I put into learning some new technology pay me back in time-saving dividends down the line?” If the answer is “Yes”, I pick it up. Most of the time, the answer is “No” and I mentally drop it into the “one day when I have time, maybe I’ll pick it up, but until then, this will just be a big time sink” bucket.

It all comes down to efficiency, when and where it makes sense. Tedious tasks - automate them. Repetitive tasks - get it to down a process so you don’t have to think about it. Complex tasks - break them down into simple tasks, then automate what you can. If in doubt, find the keyboard shortcut.

This need for efficiency drove me to read several self-help books. Out of all the self-help books I’ve devoured, only “Getting Things Done” by Dave Allen proved to be practical and immediately valuable. The best part is I didn’t have to apply the entire system to start gaining value from reading the book. I was reminded of this book by a recent radio show titled “Tech Junkies Crazy About ‘Getting Things Done’” on NPR’s “All Things Considered”. I wholeheartedly recommend checking out this book - it was well worth my time and could be worth yours.

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Remember, spending time with your loved ones should never be considered a task. Spend as much time as possible with them and avoid automating with a DVD player, television, or anything technology.

Lifehacker.com has a decent article which captures a pre-flight checklist. In a nutshell it is broken down in the following categories:

1. How to get cheap fares
2. How to select the best seats
3. How to pack
4. Miscellaneous

As a frequent traveler, it provides limited value as several things didn’t apply (e.g. How to get cheap fares, how to pack, etc.) Our working schedules dictate our flights and we pack without giving it a second thought (or let our dry-cleaners do the packing for us). The best way to use it is to verify your current weekly process and look for improvements. If I authored the article, I would have titled the article “Pack like a Power Traveler”.

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Nevertheless, it is well-written so I recommend giving it a quick read.

Frank Luntz is a road warrior with a serious flying resume (He is a 1K member on United, Executive Platinum on American, Platinum on Continental, Gold on Delta, and Gold on US Airways). I read his article at www.businessweek.com and I found the information useful enough to pass on.

His 5 tips in no particular order (with my comments):

• Know your airport. (I just make sure to get to the airport with at least an hour before the flight is scheduled for take-off if you have no check-in baggage. Even if the security line takes 20-25 minutes, you still have time make it to the gate.)

Big airports are as different as the cities they’re in. Las Vegas is by far the worst, with long security lines that often take 45 minutes, particularly at the newly expanded D Gates (serving American, United (UAUA), and Delta (DAL)). New York’s JFK is the toughest airport to navigate if you’re switching carriers because there are nine separate terminals.

Also, most airports let you check in and check luggage up to 30 minutes before takeoff. But don’t show up a mere half-hour early in Vegas or at LAX in Los Angeles. You’ll miss the 45-minute cutoff, and you won’t get a boarding pass. Denver and Miami also have a 45-minute pre-flight deadline to check luggage but require only 30 minutes if you just need a boarding pass.

• The shortest airport security line is not necessarily the fastest. (This is a good one - I use this subconsciously all the time. I spot the business travelers by their suits and laptop bags.)

Look at the type of people waiting in a line, not the number. A dozen businesspeople will move through security much faster than two families with young children or a tour group of senior citizens. Just remember this equation: One baby carriage equals four typical passengers.

Another tip for moving through security: Aim for the far left or far right scanner lanes. Most people just walk straight ahead and end up waiting longer as a result.

• Early boarding is not desirable. (I am not a fan of this tip - getting your carry-on into the overhead is CRITICAL to avoid having to check it in.)

On crowded flights, the big planes can take 40 minutes to fully board, forcing you to spend all that extra time in a cramped seat. Unless you’re afraid there won’t be room in the overhead bins for your carry-on, wait.

• Planes sometimes close the door to passengers before the posted departure time. (Remember - airlines CAN and will do this because flights are considered delayed if they are at the gate past their scheduled departure time. They can sit on the tarmac for 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time and not communicate the flight as “delayed”.)

Many carriers would rather have a flight pull away 10 minutes early and leave a customer or two behind than arrive at its destination 10 minutes late. Personally, I have missed more flights this way than for all other reasons combined. The worst offender: US Airways

• Frequent fliers get no preference when flights are canceled. (Call up your travel agency AS soon as you think your flight may be canceled. Your travel agent can hold a seat on another flight without making the reservation and release the hold if your original flight takes off.)

If you are a frequent flier with a particular airline, you’re supposed to have an advantage in getting on that carrier’s next flight. But it’s first come, first served, baby. The person who gets to any gate agent for the airline first, anywhere in the airport, snags the first empty seats. So if you’re standing in a long line at your assigned gate waiting for rebooking, look for an agent at an empty gate.

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Here’s hoping travel in 2008 turns out better than 2007 for all road warriors and their families..

I do this twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, so I’d consider myself a seasoned veteran. I’ve seen less frequent travelers follow my lead and make it through security without a hitch. If you follow these steps, you should be able to get through security without any issues and minimize the chance of missing a flight if you’re running late.

Before you get to the airport, you need to do some things beforehand.

Preparation Tips:

• Checkin/print your boarding pass in advance and put it in an easily accessible location (e.g. coat pocket, purse)
• Ensure all liquids are in a quart-sized sandwich bag in an easily accessible location (e.g. front pocket of your carry-on, backpack)
• Wear shoes which you can slip on and off with relative ease
• If your belt buckle is Texas-style large, swap belts or don’t wear it
• Empty your pockets of all change or transfer your loose change to your bag or jacket pockets

Key Tips to Get Through Security:

1. After getting your boarding pass and ID checked - put your boarding pass in your pocket (not coat pocket). Security will ask for it after you move through the metal detector
2. Use only 2 plastic bins - one for your laptop and the other one for your shoes, coat, and quart-sized sandwich bag with your liquids
3. Keep your wallet, watch, and belt ON - no need to take them off if you followed the preparation tips
4. Don’t put your carry-on bag on the table, roll it with you until you get to the x-ray machine - it’s easier to manage that way and you don’t take valuable table space from the people behind you
5. At the metal detector always WAIT for the TSA employee to give you the signal to come through
6. Read the TSA’s badge and greet them by name with a smile - look them in straight in the eye

NOTE: If you do get pulled aside for a bag check or a manual scan always cooperate, smile, and don’t try to speed up the process. You are not allowed to touch your bags while they are checking them. They are not concerned you’ll miss your flight. Let the TSA person do their job (even if they do it slowly) and you’ll get through the process faster.

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Here’s hoping you always catch your flight.

I frequently put my laptop into standby mode instead of shutting it down completely. This allows quick access to my computer when I have idle time waiting for a flight or sitting in a taxi. On Leveno laptops, the keystroke is Fn+F4 (look for the half moon). Some people have problems with the laptop returning from standby mode. You can minimize the chances of this happening by going through a few steps before hitting standby.

Steps to Improve Laptop Standby Reliability

1. Close down unnecessary applications - yes one of the benefits of standby mode is to return to your open applications, but the memory footprint of applications are saved to your hard disk; this is why it takes so long to load up when coming out of standby
2. Unplug devices BEFORE you enter standby mode, not after - the laptop expects things to be the same way when it returns, even hardware; if you remove a USB mouse or EVDO card after going into standby mode (and forget to insert it before waking up the laptop), you put the laptop in an unknown state
3. Reboot once in a while - while I’ve gone several weeks without shutting down, it’s good practice to give your laptop a memory refresh; I usually reboot it right before I goto bed so it’s ready for me in the morning
4. To return from standby mode, hold down the Fn key until your hard disk light begins to flicker - that is the signal your laptop has heard your wake-up call; just relax and wait for the wake-up process to complete - have patience and don’t reboot!

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Getting yourself up and running is important so you can use your idle time wisely. As travelers we have plenty of that. Happy travels.

If you’re tired of constantly buying overpriced travel-sized toothpaste because of the 3oz limitation for liquids then you have two options:

1. Stop buying it and ask your hotel for toothpaste – most hotels have toothpaste to give out to customers but you’ll be in a bind if they are out.
2. You second choice is to buy Oral-B RembrandT toothpaste. It’s exactly 3oz so you can take it in your carry-on and it lasts substantially longer than the travel-sized toothpaste.

It’s a little overpriced at $7 but I was able to buy it on sale for $5 and it’s still cheaper than an equivalent amount of travel-sized toothpaste.

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

UPDATE: It doesn’t taste like regular toothpaste, so if possible, try and give it a taste test before you purchase the toothpaste. I’m not a big fan.

Keeping this blog updated is hard work, but creating original content is the hardest part of any bloggers job. Points are easy, but I promised you more than points. It’s important to share some of my experience so others can learn and profit from it. Profit in terms of time spent home with your families, doing things for yourself, and enjoying life.

Thursday’s are a lottery game for me. If I pick the winning numbers, I get home. Otherwise I spend the night at an airport hotel.

There are several factors that influence your ability to get home – and a bad combination of these factors can cost you seeing your wife or tucking in your kids on that night. So, in no particular order, here are…

The Factors

1. Weather
2. Plane size
3. Flight duration
4. Flight departure time
5. Airport congestion

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WEATHER

Weather is the easy one. Bad weather can be anything from fog, wind, and thunderstorms. All of them are bad news and it doesn’t have to be related to your destination or departure city because the airport routes are an intricate series of pipes…just kidding – seriously though, they are very much tied to each other. Weather may be bad at an unrelated airport that has YOUR plane sitting on the runway, unable to take off to deliver passengers to your departure city. Bad weather means planes need to be re-routed, which creates bottlenecks within airspace. When you see “Due to Flow Control” – that’s airspace bottlenecks. That said, bad weather at your destination can stop your flight, cold. Bad weather in your departure city can spell doom if your plane isn’t sitting at the gate. Generally speaking, it’s easier for planes to take off in bad weather versus land in bad weather.

PLANE SIZE

Plane size is often overlooked as a factor, but it’s a big one. Small planes do not fly as well in bad weather. There is a threshold that prevents smaller planes from flying, but not larger ones. A Boeing 737 is a good sized plane. Small planes also mean less angry passengers and less re-booking of missed flights, connecting or otherwise, should the flight be canceled. Better to piss of 60 people instead of 160 people and it costs a lot less dollars to re-book those people.

Telltale Signs You Are On a Small Plane * You have to board the plane by walking outside and up some stairs * You are given green tags (United) because your “carry-on” luggage needs to be checked in * The flight steward(ess) is ducking while greeting you as you enter * There are propellers instead of jet engines connected to your wings * Everyone gets an aisle OR window seat…OR BOTH! * The flight is operated by some airlines you haven’t heard of underneath the auspices of your regular airline * It has the words, “Express” or “Regional” attached to it in some form or another

FLIGHT DURATION

The shorter your flight, the more leeway the airlines feel they have in delaying the flight. Why? Because they feel they can wait until the last minute to send you off – more time to hold off, waiting for the weather to get better because you’re not that far from your destination. If you have a longer flight – you cannot really time things. If there is a window open - it will be given to the flight that has a smaller window of opportunity. Once a flight is airborne, it has limited time in the air, so it’s going to land whether they like it or not.

FLIGHT DEPARTURE TIME

In the morning, your airplane is usually sitting at the airport. It’s the first flight of the day so there is no need to wait for a inbound flight to bring your plane to the gate. Towards the end of the day, you’re at the mercy of many variables. Canceled inbound flights that include your outbound plane is one problem. Canceled flights during the day leads to stranded passengers re-booked on alternate routes and reduce your chance to go stand-by should your original flight be canceled. If you’re on the last flight out, usually it’s very close to the last flight out for other airlines so there’s little chance to make a last minute switch. All this usually means you have no problems flying out to your client, but plenty of difficulty trying to get home.

AIRPORT CONGESTION

If your destination or departure airport is a major hub, that’s not a good thing. This means your airline is competing with many other airlines for a very scarce resource – the runway. When push comes to shove, the FAA moves the airport into “Flow Control” which limits how many incoming / outgoing flights are allowed at the airport. This is usually due to weather and it means airlines must prioritize their flights which means cancellations and delays for passengers. At smaller airports, you do not have as many flights, thus less need for flow control situations.

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There are probably other factors, but these are the ones I’ve experienced the most in my travels. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I explain how to deal with these factors and give you the best chance to make it home.

This entry’s source of inspiration is focused on saving cellphone minutes. For the typical business traveler, this is usually not an issue. Our calling plans typically take into account long conference calls and phone calls to family and friends, both of which warrant not pinching on the minutes.

Nonetheless, I truly dislike waiting for the voice-mail announcement to complete before being able to leave a voice message. You know what I’m talking about:

“Hi, this is John Doe, I’m not here right now so please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.” followed by the TWELVE-SECOND digital lady who explains, “When you’re finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options”

So there lies the benefit for me – being able to shut down the announcement and get to the message tone. Saving on the minutes is only secondary to leaving the message and getting off the phone.

I shall wait no longer and neither shall you as long as you know the carrier of the person you are trying to reach.

Super Secret Announcement Termination Keystrokes:

• Verizon: press *
• Cingular: press *
• Sprint: press 1
• T-Mobile: press #

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Now get back to work.