9 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Booked My Christmas Flight

Whereas I usually keep away from flying throughout Christmas week, final 12 months I took a fast journey to Denver, leaving on December 22 and returning dwelling on the morning of December 25. Whereas my journey went easily and the issues I feared going unsuitable didn’t go unsuitable, it opened my eyes to a wide range of points vacationers might have once they fly in the course of the vacation season.

My son and I made a decision to go skiing comparatively final minute and flew from San Antonio to Denver. Our massive household celebration is on Christmas Day and I booked the 7 a.m. flight dwelling on December 25, which might get us dwelling in loads of time for the festivities.

My vacation flight expertise, plus the expertise I had a couple of months later once I did get stranded, impressed this piece. Here’s what I want I’d identified — and what I need different vacationers to know — earlier than reserving a Christmas flight.

1. You Might Be Compensated If Your Flight Is Canceled Or Delayed

Learn the fantastic print and be sure you perceive what is going to occur if the airline cancels or adjustments your flight or for those who cancel or change your flight. Will you get a full refund or credit towards a future flight? That’s vital to know, particularly for those who not often journey. Double and triple-check the fantastic print for those who’ve booked a primary financial system fare or a low-budget provider.

I like to recommend having journey insurance coverage or including journey safety protection to your flight. No matter you buy, perceive what it does and doesn’t cowl earlier than your journey. I additionally suggest steering away from reserving flights by means of Expedia, Hotwire, and comparable websites. Whereas you will get some killer offers, it’s usually a problem getting customer support when one thing goes unsuitable. The airline would possibly direct you again to the company and the company would possibly direct you again to the airline, leading to extra work in your half to get rebooked or refunded.

The Division of Transportation has an airline customer service dashboard that’s a reference for what varied airways will and received’t compensate for within the occasion of a flight delay.

The underside line is, don’t journey with expectations that the airline will put you up and feed you within the occasion of a flight cancellation or lengthy delay. It doesn’t damage to ask for lodge or meal vouchers however don’t depend on getting them.

2. Obtain The Airline App And Flip On Notifications

If you happen to haven’t embraced the usage of journey apps, it is a good time to begin. The airline’s app can retailer your boarding cross, eliminating the necessity to print it at dwelling or stand in line to have somebody print it for you. Most airways have hyperlinks to terminal maps and “The place’s My Airplane” and chat options. Many airways have leisure portals with films or tv reveals to look at in flight. You can too retailer fee info, which is useful for purchasing meals and drinks on board, as many airways are transferring away from accepting money.

Additionally obtain lodge apps, rideshare apps, and apps of different airways. In different phrases, all of the journey apps you hope you received’t want. You’ll be able to delete them once you get dwelling but when you need to scramble to get one other flight or an sudden room for the evening, utilizing the app might be going to be sooner than standing in line or ready on maintain.

Professional Tip: Be sure that the airline is aware of the right way to attain you. Join textual content and e mail alerts and activate notifications within the airline’s app. 

3. Don’t Wait For Gross sales Or Discount Fares

Vacation airfares are normally increased. Whereas it’s doable to snag these last-minute offers, most individuals want to solidify their Christmas plans early. Vacationers don’t wish to threat not getting a seat on the airplane in order that they guide early, which doesn’t normally lead to financial savings on airfare. 

I’m not saying you’re by no means going to snag deal on vacation airfare, however airways are usually going to reap the benefits of the demand for peak season and never roll out their discount fares between Thanksgiving and New 12 months’s Day. My household and I are flying a couple of days earlier than Christmas this 12 months. We booked our December flight in mid-October, after watching the fare for 2 months. We stored hoping for the fare to lower but it surely maintained after which went up. 

Whereas airfare offers are at all times on the market, seats on planes are in excessive demand in the course of the holidays and excessive demand can drive up costs.

4. Have Versatile Vacation Plans

If you happen to’re flying to attend a vacation celebration or household gathering, I like to recommend ensuring your plans are versatile. In different phrases, being late for church or lacking dinner received’t really feel like the tip of the world. I like to recommend padding your journey schedule to get there a day early. This normally mitigates delays. In case your plans to get there early lead to getting there on time, it’s a win.

Our Christmas Day flight arrived at 9 a.m., which was loads of time to get out of the airport and get the place we wanted to be. If we’d been late, my son and I might have missed a household lunch on Christmas Day. I accepted the chance of lacking the gathering because the flip facet to going snowboarding proper earlier than Christmas. We stay close to household and it wouldn’t have been catastrophic if two of us had missed lunch however for those who’re touring a distance to see family members you not often get to see, a day-of arrival is perhaps reducing it too shut.

5. Nonstop Flights = Much less Threat Of Delays

Including layovers to your journey ups your odds of getting stranded someplace you don’t wish to be. Whenever you take a direct flight, you solely have to fret about one flight being on time. You’ll additionally scale back your threat of misplaced baggage, which is very problematic for those who’ve packed presents in your checked baggage.

Additionally, be sure you perceive the distinction between nonstop and direct flights. A nonstop flight is strictly what it seems like — a flight between two factors that doesn’t cease. A direct flight is a flight between two factors that stops for passengers and/or gasoline. Passengers could or might not be required to deplane, however the flight quantity, boarding cross, and seat stay the identical.

6. Scout Potential Perks

Have a look at your airline loyalty accounts in addition to bank card perks to see if factors or standing could earn you an improve. That is additionally time to see when you have any advantages which might be near expiring, akin to drink coupons or airport lounge passes. Take into consideration cashing in your factors for one thing that may make your flight extra snug akin to cabin upgrades to get extra legroom or precedence boarding. Some bank cards additionally provide reductions on pre-screening packages, akin to Clear, to assist get you thru safety sooner.

7. Make investments In TSA PreCheck, International Entry, Or Clear

TSA PreCheck and Clear are pre-screening packages that enable vacationers entry to shorter safety lanes and exempt them from sure necessities, akin to eradicating footwear and taking electronics out of their baggage. International Entry is a program that expedites entry into the USA for prescreened vacationers. These packages can scale back the size of time you stand in line to get by means of safety or immigration.

In keeping with the TSA, approval for precheck usually takes three to 5 days however in sure instances, it may take so long as 60 days. TSA PreCheck is legitimate for 5 years and prices $78.

Clear registration is faster and costlier. Your complete Clear course of took me about 5 minutes on the airport throughout a non-busy time. If you happen to’re signing up for Clear with the intent to make use of it over the vacations, I like to recommend beginning the method on-line and finishing it at one of many Clear stations within the airport. Clear is $189 per 12 months however many bank cards and mileage loyalty packages provide reductions.

International Entry’s utility course of takes round 90-days and requires an interview. The value is $100 for 5 years and grants entry to TSA Precheck lanes as effectively.

Whereas Clear’s value doesn’t make sense for somebody who doesn’t journey often, I’ve seen them do on-the-spot free trials within the airport, so if the road is lengthy and somebody asks in order for you a 30-day trial, say sure. Simply don’t neglect to cancel the membership for those who don’t wish to pay for the complete 12 months.

8. The Quantity Of Carry-On Baggage Might Differ By Fare Class

There’s no good time to have an airline lose your bag (or let you know it went someplace totally different than you probably did) however the holidays are an particularly inconvenient time to take care of the complications that go along with misplaced or delayed baggage. The airways can not lose your bag if you don’t give it to them.

Minimal travel is just not for everybody. You could want to hold medicines or different gadgets that aren’t permitted in a carry-on bag. Be sure that your fare class permits a carry-on curler board suitcase. If you happen to guide a bare-bones financial system fare, you might forfeit the proper to convey your suitcase on the airplane. 

Skipping the strains for check-in or baggage drop and bypassing the bags carousel saves time, an enormous profit when the airports are busy.

Professional Tip: If you happen to’re flying a finances airline, akin to Spirit or Frontier, be sure you are conscious of the scale for carry-on baggage and whether or not you’ll be charged further to convey one on board.

9. Airport Eating places Might Not Be Open 

If you happen to’re flying on a significant vacation, don’t depend on airport eating places and retailers being open. Nobody plans on skipping a meal on account of a delay but it surely occurs. Whereas a stash of granola bars and beef jerky may appear a poor substitute for turkey and pie, being hangry when you wait out flight delays will solely make your scenario really feel worse.

Professional Tip: Seize a water bottle — be certain that it’s empty once you undergo safety — and fill it at a bottle filling station contained in the terminal.