Thank The Economy For a Travel-less Thanksgiving

Yesterday, the Boston Globe ran an article stating that travel over the Thanksgiving holiday were projected to decrease for the first time since 2002. The Automotive Association of America stated that 41 million Americans will travel more than fifty miles for Thanksgiving, this is down by six hundred thousand travelers from last year. This continues to be a pattern since holiday travel for this year has been declining.

Sometimes, when there are not a lot of people traveling it is the perfect opportunity to travel. Other times it is just the opposite. Sometimes airlines will increase the price so they can make up for the unsold seats, other times, airlines will discount seats in order to fill the plan.If you plan on traveling over the holidays, hopefully you have planned ahead. If you haven't you might get lucky and be able to get a good last minuet deal, but don't count on it. When it comes to traveling the best thing to do is always plan ahead and to do your research.

Start Planning Early For 2009 Travel

For those of you who are planning on traveling in 2009, there are some things that you should be aware of before your trip. Even though it just became October it is never to early to begin planning for trips happening in 2009. You do not want it to be 3 days before your trip and realize that you'll be needing a passport to drive into Canada!

In an article recently published on MSNBC, the following are new issues that will be taking effect in 2009.

• Starting June 1 a passport will be required for all border crossings whether its by air, land or sea. To avoid the passport rush seen before, apply for your passport as soon as possible, even if you are not planning on going anywhere soon.

• The European Parliament issued a new rule, which should take effect late in 2008 or early 2009, where when traveling to or in Europe all airfare prices have to include taxes, and fees when advertised. This will put an end to all the surprise charges that are seen when buying a ticket.

• Another law that might (fingers crossed) come into effect in 2009 is the Passenger Bill of Rights. This Bill would provide passengers who are stuck on planes for more than three hours, (due to delays) with fresh air, food, water, and waste removal. This bill was first introduced in New York, but was struck down by the federal appeals court this past March.

So regardless if you already have all your travel plans for 2009 booked, make sure that you brush up on the new rules and regulations before you departure, and don't forget to register to get your passport as soon as possible if you don't have your yet. 

Being Bumped Can Be A Bummer

With many airlines cutting back on the number of flights they offer as well as the number of routes they offer many airline companies are overbooking their flights. With overbooked flights the chance of people being bumped from their flight increases. Sometimes this doesn't cause a problem, but for many travelers this can cause a huge problem, since it might mean that they'll be missing a business meeting or some other important event. 

Being bumped from a flight means that a passenger is denied a seat on a flight even though they have already reserved it. Airline companies tend to overbook their flights in hopes that some of the passengers will not show up for their flight. Usually when a flight is overbooked, the airline company will ask passengers if they would volunteer to take a later flight.

To avoid being bumped from your next flight remember to:

• Arrive to your flight as early as possible
• If you can, check in for your flight online
• If possible, try to take a less popular route

Forgot Your Charger? No Problem, Go To Best Buy Express

Picture this, you are at the airport and have made sure that your luggage is the appropriate weight, you made sure you didn't overpack so you wouldn't have to pay extra fees and have made it through security with little hassle. You have just sat down on an uncomfortable chair (or if your lucky, your in one of the business lounges) when you remember an important phone call you need to make before your flight leaves.  You pull out your cell phone to notice that your battery is almost depleted. You franticly look for your phone charger only to remember that you left it at home! 

Pretty soon you wont have to worry if this situation happens to you; Best Buy has been designing kiosks to install in airports across the country. Currently Best Buy kiosks (which are titled "Best Buy Express") are installed in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and San Francisco airports; Best Buy is hoping to install more kiosks by September 1.

Best Buy Express kiosks will be stocked with media players, unlocked cell phones, digital cameras, portable gaming devices, chargers (phone, iPods, cameras, etc.) flash devices, computer accessories, and headphones. So if you ever find yourself in a situation similar to the one above, you no longer need to worry. Just walk on over to a Best Buy Express and buy what you left at home. 

World's 10 Best Airports

In an annual survey conducted by Skytrax, Hong Kong International Airport was crowned as the best airport. Every year Skytrax, a privately-owned research company located in London conducts research to find the best airports in the world. This year the surveys were collected over a 10 month period where over a million passengers completed questionnaires ranking airports in such categories as shopping, dining, wait times, security, etc. 

Now for the World's 10 Best Airports:

1. Hong Kong International Airport, China
2. Singapore Changi, Singapore 
3. Seoul Incheon, South Korea 
4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5. Munich, Germany 
6. Kansai, Japan
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. Zurich, Switzerland
9. Helsinki, Finland
10. Cape Town, South Africa

It's Travel Time: Do You Know Where Your Laptop Is?

A recent study sponsored by Dell and conducted by the Ponemon Institute indicated that on average over 10,000 laptops are stolen from airports each week. This calculates out to about 60,000 stolen laptops a year. Out of the 10,000 laptops stolen each week, only about 30% are recovered and returned to their owners. Sometimes laptops are recovered, but they stay at airports until they are disposed of.

The majority of laptops that are stolen are at security check points. It is not hard for a thief to grab one's laptop and claim it as their own; airport personnel are too busy to remember if a person had a laptop with them or not. 

For travelers (both social and business) loosing a laptop could mean a heap of trouble. There are a lot of valuable and personal information in one's laptop such as credit card information, identifying information, and even private company information is usually located in one's laptop. The research showed that the majority of travelers (about 65%) do not take precautions to secure or backup their data; most people think that it will not happen to them.

The following are some steps, taken from Network World, that one can take to help avoid their laptop from being stolen. 

• Place your laptop in the second bin. Sandwich it between other personal belongings. 

• Mark your laptop with stickers or other identifying markers. DO NOT put any personal information that thieves can use to identify you. 

• If you lose your laptop, contact airport security immediately

• If you are a frequent flyer, you might want to invest in one of the new TSA approved laptop bags

"Carry-On Cops" To Examine Your Carry-On Luggage

According to Good Morning America, some airlines have started to hire "Carry-On Cops". These cops responsibilities are to check and make sure travelers' carry-on bags are not bulky and to prevent travelers from sneaking extra bags onto the planes. Since more and more airlines have started to charge a fee to check bags, more and more travelers are trying to find ways to avoid checking their bags. Some travelers are accomplishing this by over stuffing their carry-on bags, or using a carry-on bag that is too large. This is not fair to those travelers who have paid the extra money to check their bags or to the ones who have made sure their carry on bag is the appropriate size. 

With these new cops at airports one would hope that their traveling experience would improve. The truth of the matter may be different. Now when going to the airport one will have to check their bag, get through security, and have another officer check their carry on bag to make sure it is not too bulky. It is understandable that airlines (as well as passengers) are tired of having the overhead bins over stuffed, but will having a "Carry-On Cop" solve the problem, or will it just create new ones? 

American Airlines will charge passengers $15, at the gate, if their carry on is discovered to be too large. Whereas U.S. Airways will not charge you extra money. With U.S. Airways not charging their passengers, what is going to stop travelers from bringing the bags that they intended to check and having them get checked for free at the gate?

Each airline has different rules when it comes to the size requirement for their carry on. For United, American Airlines, and Delta the limit is 45 linear inches. For U.S. Airways and Continental the limit is 51 linear inches. To figure out the linear inches for your bag use the following formula: height + width + depth

Stranded At the Airport?

Traveling can be a very stressful endeavor; there is only so much that one can prepare and anticipate. You have prepared to get through security, packed your suitcase with the items that you will be needing and have anticipated the extra fees that you might have to fork over. One thing that cannot be anticipated are delayed flights and unexpected layovers.  Unfortunately delayed flights and unexpected layovers do happen, but there are some things that a traveler can do to pass the time.  

1. People watch
   
2. Explore the airport
   
3. Talk with fellow airline passengers
   
4. Catch up on your reading
   
5. Go to a bookstore and catch up on current events
   
6. Call your mom, dad, or an old friend
   

Now if your flight is delayed and you have a child with you, you might consider some of the following activities:

1. Watch the planes land and take off
   
2. Walk around the terminal and see how many red, green, or blue bags can be found
   
3. Have a picnic
   
4. If the airport's floor has a pattern to it, make up a game
   
5. Find a map and talk to your child about where you are and where you are going
   
6. If the terminal has an escalator or a moving side walk take a couple of rides on it
   

These are just a few suggestions; there are plenty of other activities that can pass the time, you just have to use your imagination.