Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with airtravel

How to maximize my chances of getting an upgrade on an international flight

fancypants — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:46:19 -0800

How can I optimize my chances of earning upgrades on upcoming international flights? Please help me avoid flying all the way from the East Coast of the US to Asia in coach! In the next few months I will be taking several international trips for work (yay!). The entity I work for will only pay for coach tickets and for these trips I will be obligated to fly United. The prospect of a 13 hour flight in coach is horrifying to me, so I want to maximize my ability to get upgrades.

Here's where it gets complicated: I don't have a United frequent flier account. I have a US Airways account with about 20,000 miles stockpiled that I have used to earn miles on previous trips on United because of their code-sharing agreement through Star Alliance. I also have a debit card that earns miles on US Air. Is there any way that I can use my US Air miles to purchase upgrades on United flights?

I will be flying United regularly for the foreseeable future. Would it be wiser for me to open an FF account with them and earn the miles directly? Even if it means basically abandoning the 20,000 miles I have with US Air and starting over from nothing?

.

As much as I won't mind a few extra hours of sleep...

synecdoche — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:37:26 -0800

I am flying from Vancouver to Toronto tomorrow morning. Can someone clarify what the flight experience will be like? I'm a bit stymied by all of the conflicting information that is going around about flights from Canadian airports in the wake of the latest terrorist incident. Most of what I have read says the new restrictions apply to flights into the United States, but I've also encountered some hearsay that flights within Canada are facing some restrictions as well. I was hoping somebody can help me cut through the noise.

1) My flight is on Air Canada at 8am. How early do I need to be at the airport for a domestic flight from YVR?

2) What, exactly, are the carry-on baggage restrictions? Will I be okay with my backpack, containing a laptop, an iPod (with headphones), and some books?

3) Will I still be able to watch the in-flight movies and such? (I was told by a friend that because this display includes the on-screen map, it may be disabled, especially if the flight goes over/near American airspace)

4) Is the "nothing on/near your lap for the last hour" rule in effect?

5) Anything else I need to know that I am forgetting?

I want to get on the plane and to my destination with minimal fuss and stress, and being prepared before I head out so early in the morning will make a big difference.

From a jet-setter to ordinary consumer, what happened?

l'esprit d'escalier — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:17:38 -0800

Having enjoyed my share of jet travel both locally and across the globe for the last couple of decades I was surprised last week on an interstate Qantas flight at the persistent use of the word "customer" in the inflight communications rather than the usual "passenger". Considering it appears to be, in Australia, mainly Virgin Blue who encourages ad lib customer communications, this usage peaked my curiosity and I'm hoping anyone actually doing or having dreamed up these communications can shed some light.

(Nothwithstanding the title of my post, I did not experience any change in the friendliness of the crew or the quality of service.)

BER --> NYC Any Which Way

foxy_hedgehog — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:19:42 -0800

Please help me find the cheapest way to return to New York from Europe. I need to get back to New York in the last week of July from Berlin. Despite the recession, this is naturally the peak time for travel between Europe and the US, and the cheapest ticket I can find on Kayak (the most comprehensive search engine I know of) is a whopping 600 Euros.

I'm out of work and out of money (which, in fact, is why I'm leaving Berlin) and it would make a huge difference for me to find a cheaper ticket. Unfortunately I can't wait it out until tickets get cheaper again in the fall.

I tried to save money by only booking a one-way flight, but discovered that this seems to cost even more than a round-trip ticket.

I've checked all the travel-related threads on MeFi and read over a bunch of articles on frugal travel from the NYT and others. I've tried to find charter flights or flights with consolidators through Google, but can't seem to find anything less than what I'm finding on standard search engines like Kayak (and when I do, it turns out to be a phantom flight that isn't really for sale at that price).

I looked into buying frequent flier miles or having a friend transfer them to me, but as soon as you are dealing with large quantities of miles it's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

I thought that perhaps I could make it cheaper by taking a transatlantic flight from another European city and taking a Ryan Air or other discount airline flight from Berlin to my departure city. Thus far, the cheapest route I've found is to take a Germanwings flight from Berlin to Warsaw for 69 Euro, and then take an Air France flight from Warsaw to NYC that night for 349 Euro round trip. Is there another city that might have a cheaper flight? I've already tried Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Zurich, Geneva, and Zagreb.

Finally, is there any chance that tickets will get cheaper if I wait longer? One can hope...

I am very grateful for any suggestions you might have- whether they are tricks of the trade, ideas on how to string flights together, or helpful websites.

iPhone on Airplane, is crew likely to have issues?

MsElaineous — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:42:18 -0800

What is your experience using an iPhone in Airplane Mode, on an airplane? Have you gotten flack from the crew for trying to do this, or is it normal enough now that no one bats an eye? Husband is flying down to Florida and was hoping to use his iPhone for airplane entertainment. We already know it has to be in Airplane Mode and can only be used during approved times. I was just wondering if flight crew are at all 'suspicious' of iPhones because they could theoretically still be accessing the network. If I have to I can send him down with an additional iPod, but that seems really silly.

Get me stranded in London, please.

AthenaPolias — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:12:14 -0800

As a way to visit a friend during my travels in Europe this summer, I'm looking to obtain a days-long layover - ideally at least 2-3 days, but the longer the better. I have no idea how to go about getting such a thing, but I'm relatively sure the possibility exists. What are my best options for getting a layover like this, while still keeping my overall flight cost low? More detail: I'm traveling to Italy as part of a long business trip. I have a limit on my flight budget, so doing a flight to the friend's country (England), then short hop to Italy, then back again etc makes the money add up quickly, and isn't an ideal option. Also, I need to make these arrangements asap (I've been delayed doing so for various reasons and am now in need of my tickets almost immediately). I've thought of calling travel agents, but being as this is a holiday weekend in the States, I won't be able to do so until Tuesday.

Is a travel agent my best (only?) bet for specifying something this particular? Are there ways to get online search engines to produce something like this? And am I really limited to carriers that have hubs in England, or might I be able to swing this on other airlines, thus increasing my chances of getting a low-cost flight?

(Also, if anyone has any ideas of how to finagle Rome - London - not-big-city States airport with little hassle and less money, I'm open. I've done the Easy Jet/Ryan Air route a bunch of times, but find that the hassle of switching from major to secondary or tertiary airports along the way is really inconvenient, and would like to avoid it if possible.)

How can I get over my fear of flying?

zembla3 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:09:12 -0800

In a little over two weeks, I'll be vacationing in the Italian Riviera with a group of friends. There's just one problem: my debilitating fear of flying. I think my aviaphobia boils down to one thing: a fear of a catastrophic mid-flight explosion or mechanical failure along the lines of TWA Flight 800, Japan Airlines Flight 123 or the Lockerbie bombing. I know these are extremely rare occurrences, but I find them terrifying because, in some cases, the passengers were conscious and aware that they were hurtling toward imminent death. For example, I read that a post-Lockerbie coroner's report indicated some passengers initially survived the explosion and regained consciousness when the doomed aircraft reached a more oxygen-rich atmosphere around 15,000 feet. If anyone else has grappled with these fears, I'd appreciate some advice on how to deal with them.

Fear of flying class in New York metro area?

zembla3 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:05:41 -0800

Is there a fear of flying class that operates out of LaGuardia, Kennedy or Newark airports (or someplace nearby?) I'm ideally looking for a class that involves taking a short "graduation" flight to somewhere like Boston or Washington.

Will United care if I skip the first leg of a two-leg itinerary?

myeviltwin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:19:58 -0800

I'm flying from the east coast to southern California via San Francisco in a few weeks. I've decided that for the return trip, I'd like to drive up to San Francisco a few days early, skip the first leg of my return flight (SoCal to SFO), and just catch the second leg. (I would just rebook my ticket but the change fee is ludicrous -- well in excess of the entire ticket cost.) Is this a dumb idea? I'm planning to call United the evening beforehand and inform them that I "have to" miss the first leg so that they don't cancel my entire itinerary. Will United let me do this? Or will they not let me on the second flight unless I pay them some crazy amount? Some of the answers to this question suggest that what I want to do might be a problem. I'm looking for people's experiences doing this or something similar, on any airline but especially United.

12 - 15 is less than zero.

vernondalhart — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:39:39 -0800

I might have made a gross error. Is there something that I can do to speed up my Visa application? I asked not long ago about Visa applications to the UK and finally got around earlier this week to couriering my completed application to the border services group in Ottawa. I will be going as a dependent of my girlfriend, who is there on a Student visa. I assumed, what with her being American and my being Canadian, that my visa would take as long as hers did, or less. Which wouldn't be long.

I received an email a few hours ago saying the following:

Please be advised that an Entry Clearance Officer has reviewed your application. The Entry Clearance Officer has assessed that your application is not straightforward and has deferred your case in order to make further enquiries.

This process can take up to 15 workings days for most non-settlement applications. Settlement applications may take longer.

The problem is that my flight leaves in 12 days. Yes, I understand (now) that I should not have booked a flight before I have my visa and passport in hand, but unfortunately I had not thought there would be anything complicated about my application.

So what does this mean? What, if anything can I do to expedite this process? I can't find any phone number to call to get (or to give) more information as to how long this might be held up.

What's the best website to book a flight online?

odragul — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:24:48 -0800

Air travel search engine filter: what's the best website to use to book a flight these days? I know this has surely been asked before, but this is the freaking internet -- things change, rapidly, and I want to know what's "up and coming" and worth checking out or which formerly reliable sites have gone downhill. So -- what do you use and what makes it better than the alternatives? For this upcoming flight, I mostly care about getting cheap tickets, but I'm interested in any info you care to share. Thanks!

How can I travel between continents without emitting much CO2?

sindark — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:55:48 -0800

I want to travel, but I think doing so by airplane is unethical because of the associated carbon emissions and the inadequacy of 'offset' schemes. Is it still possible to travel by sea from North America to Europe or Asia? If so, how long does it take, and what are the associated costs?

So I bought this tree...

greytape — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:16:14 -0800

What are the best carbon-offsetting schemes out there? I really want to travel by plane a couple of times in the next couple of years, but I'm aware that this will contribute to the mass global die-off, so I feel a little guilty and want to do something about it.
I've heard a lot of bad things about carbon-offsetting, but I know that global warming is a problem that needs money throwing at it. Upgrading global infrastructure to a low carbon model is going to require trillions, so I'm sure money can be spent well in this area so that my net impact is at least neutral.
My question is: what are the most bad-ass, gold-plated methods of offsetting your carbon emissions? Renewable technology research funds? Buying up sections of the Amazon? There's got to be something that works.

Thanks in advance.

(P.S. A couple of questions have already been asked about this, but they're a couple of years old now, and I know this is a field that moves fast.)

Have photo id, just not the original... now how I am supposed to get on the plane?

agenais — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:22:38 -0800

Will airport security/Virgin America let me get on my domestic US flight if I only have a photocopy of my photo ID? I'll be flying from San Francisco to San Diego on Tuesday and just realized that I will not have my usual photo ID with me that day.

Here's the situation: I had a name change (just the first name) a few years ago, but never bothered to change my name on my driver's license (I know, I know... I'll be making the trip down to the DMV very soon to do that). I've been using my passport, which does reflect my name change, as my form of identification whenever I've flown since.

However, I'm applying for a Brazilian tourist visa tomorrow and they'll want to hold on to my passport until the visa is processed. There is absolutely no way that will happen before I get on my flight, and I have to apply for that visa tomorrow. Will a photocopy of my passport suffice for a photo ID when I get through airport security? Or will I have to suck it up and go through the secondary screening as this previous askmefi poster did?

Could a few pesky letters mess me up at airport security?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:10:09 -0800

Will I be able to board a plane if the name on my boarding pass is slightly different from my legal name? I'm visiting some friends in another state next month, and one of them very kindly offered to buy me a plane ticket. Yay! Unfortunately, he misspelled my legal name when he booked my flight... my name is something like "Arianna Hamon", and he bought a ticket for "Ariane Hamon" (I never go by my full name... my family and friends all call me Ari, so few bother to learn the long version of my first name). Those aren't the "real" names, but they're extremely similar.

Is there any way that this could pose a problem for me when I'm going through airport security? I know that tons of newlyweds go through this sort of thing on their honeymoons, but they usually have a new husband there to vouch for them, whereas I'm a Middle Eastern female, traveling alone.

If we get to live in Vancouver, then so does he dammit!

travosaurus — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:22:13 -0800

Will a bunny survive a 5 hour airplane trip? We will be travelling 5 hours direct to where we live be living, and we want to bring our bunny rabbit. He's calm and reserved, about 2.5-3 years old, named Dave Grohl, and we don't want him to be too scared by the flight.

He won't be flying in cargo, he'll he under our seat the entire time. Treats and hand nibbles will be available in ample amounts.

How about that TSA?

Mutant — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:03:54 -0800

So just how bad is the TSA these days? I'm American and I've lived in London for the past eleven years. During that time I've been back to the United States many times, but always Business Class travel solely into New York, Chicago, Washington, and Vegas. I can't recall the last time I've taken an internal flight in the United States.

In April I'm taking the lovely Mrs Mutant back home to The Farm to meet Maw and the rest of the kin. We got married in Vegas last September, and as Maw simply will not travel (a lethargy inducing combination of being widowed, 30 plus cats and dawgs, suspicion about anybody who ain't "from here", fear of "those people" and a healthy dose of "why anyone wanna go there?") this will be the first time she's met her Daughter in Law. Mrs Mutant is Dutch, but has spoken to Maw often on the telephone, who has allowed privately to me that her Daughter in Law "seems all right". High regards indeed.

We're flying into JFK and have to get to Western New York, Lake Ontario area. I'm inclined to take Amtrak (note only the train is so so European, the trip would allow my wife to see the scale of America) even though its roughly eight hours on the Lake Shore Limited, but before I booked wanted to query about recent TSA experiences, particularly traveling between New York and Buffalo.

I've read some of the negative stories about the TSA, realise those folks have a tough job, but still thought it worth asking. There may be differences when traveling into destinations such as Buffalo. Also when I travel my single carry on is a pilots case similar to this one, the largest IATA approved bag. Will I have any problems with this if we take a domestic flight? I routinely take this to Amsterdam, flying on a very small, Fokker 50 and it fits into the overhead just fine.

Typically I've got it packed with two Apple PowerBooks, an external hard drive, power supplies, USB & iPod cables, and a large collection of finance books & research papers.

Bonus points if anyone's got any tips or information on Amtrak, particularly how it compares to European train travel.

Many thanks for your help!

How do I solve my airline woes?

The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:19:25 -0800

Help me figure out an air travel fiasco. So, about two months ago, I bought plane tickets home for winter break via Orbitz. The odd thing was that they were paper tickets for flights on Northwest and Cape Air printed on Delta ticket stock. Weird, but not really an issue if it gets me home, right?
Fast forward to a week and a half before I leave, and I realize that I was going to cut my departure time way too close to the end of my last exam and may miss my flight (which was originally on wednesday). So I call up Orbitz and find out that at this point, because of my paper tickets, I have to actually go to the airport to get my tickets changed out.
I go to the airport and tell the lady at the (Delta) ticket counter my issue, and then ask to change the tickets out, to which she told me (after a few calls to the higher-ups) that even though she was the person to talk to about changing the ticket, she couldn't actually reissue my tickets because there were no Delta flights on my ticket (Go Orbitz), but she would change it in the computer, and I could come check in with my old tickets on the next available flight home (saturday), with no problem. I thought this was odd (especially because she didn't ask me to pay anything to reschedule the flight), but she's the one who works there, right? I had no reason to doubt her.
So it's wednesday night, and I go to the ticket counter again to see if anything has opened up and I can't get out earlier, when the lady at the counter tells me that I have in fact already missed my flight, to which I respond "no, that can't be right, I had it rescheduled"
"that's not what the computer says"
So she gave me a number to call, and then, after a total of almost four hours on the phone with Delta ticketing and then Delta customer service, escalating to a supervisor both times, i was told that the best they could do was essentially sell me a new ticket home, less the price of my return flight. This was going to cost (with the difference) as much as my original flight, and the earliest I could leave was sunday(today). I instead bought a cheap one-way ticket home that left thursday.
Now I'm home, and have spent an additional two or three hours on the phone with Delta, and I've gotten this: "we have no idea what the lady at the ticket counter did or said to you, but what happened was a seat was reserved on the flight on saturday, but the ticket was never actually transferred, so you technically missed your flight." Moreover, I was told that there's no proof that it was Delta's fault ("I don't know what she said to you, but we have no way of knowing who did what, or whose fault it really is"), so there's nothing they can do at all, more or less. And the kicker? Delta's ticket counter at South Bend Regional doesn't take calls from the public, so I can't even get the name of the person I talked to that screwed this up in the first place.
It seems like calling customer service has become a dead end.
So, now what? Am I hosed? Is there anything else I can do? Anyone I can call? If there even was someone I could talk to, how can I make sure they won't just "you can't prove we did anything wrong" me again?

Christmas gift for traveler who loves the nitty gritty details of travel plans?

ocherdraco — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:54:28 -0800

I need a good, creative Christmas gift idea for my dad. He's really into travel by air and rail--not the vehicles themselves so much, but their schedules, the logic behind putting a particular model on a particular flight, etc. My dad travels constantly (domestically and internationally), and since his college days (when he was a team manager for football, lacrosse and soccer) he's gotten an inordinate amount of pleasure in figuring out (and scheduling) how he's going to get from place to place: finding the best way to do it, and understanding the reasoning behind the way the system works. He loves drawing up itineraries (even if the most exciting thing on them is an irregular flight number) and executing well-made plans.

This is the kind of thing that really gets him excited--how can I parlay this into a really good Christmas gift?

I live in New York (in Astoria), so stores in the city (in addition to those online) would be lovely.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop dropping acid

scaryblackdeath — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:43:56 -0800

After an awful flight from Denver to Seattle last night, my ears still feel plugged. Any suggestions on how to get them to pop? I had the usual "plugged" feeling on the flight, but as we were coming in for a landing it got to the point where my left ear really, really hurt. I've never felt pain from pressurization before. Eventually the pain ended and there was a partial pop, but...

I have tried swallowing. Tried the yawn, tried pinching my nose & closing my mouth and such. All to no avail.

Any suggestions? Must I wallow in this pain and misery???

(Oh, and as an aside, I had a terrible time with both US Airways and Frontier...)

Will airport x-ray machines damage an external hard drive?

Afroblanco — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:00:24 -0800

Do airport x-ray machines damage external hard drives? I'll be traveling tomorrow with two external hard drives. I'll be taking them carry-on, so that they don't get all banged up. Should I just leave them in my bag and let them go through the x-ray machine? Or should I, like, take them out and hand them to the guy or something?

4.5 hours between Gatwick arrival and Heathrow departure. Help me make it work.

allterrainbrain — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:02:53 -0800

4.5 hours between Gatwick arrival and Heathrow departure. U.S. citizen, experienced traveler, only a carryon bag -- but first time transferring Gatwick to Heathrow. Help me plan as precisely as I can to maximize my chances of making this work. On Friday, the 10th of August: Arriving LGW at 09:10, on USAir. Departing LHR at 13:40, on JAT (Yugoslav Air) to Belgrade.

• Definitely can't afford a private car.

• Bringing one bag (and nothing else) that meets all current carryon standards for Heathrow and for JAT.

• Have never had any problem immediately clearing customs, and my passport has more than a year left before expiration. Have never needed any secondary inspection at security.

• JAT "suggests" check-in two hours ahead -- and closes gates 30 minutes ahead -- of departure time.

• National Express coach is reported to take 80 minutes from the South Terminal of LGW (where USAir is) to LHR, *not* counting any traffic delays. From what I can tell, some traffic delays are almost inevitable on a weekday morning.

I'm looking to confirm that National Express is my best option (am I missing any better possibilities?), and looking for any suggestions re. how to make beelines straight from Customs to National Express to the JAT terminal at LHR.

And: Should I reserve a National Express ticket in advance? (If I do and then my Gatwick arrival is late, causing me to miss the NE departure I reserved, do I lose that reservation and that money, or is my reservation moved ahead to the next available coach?)

Thanks!

How do I pack for air travel these days?

Lynsey — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:53:58 -0800

Dear seasoned travelers of MeFi, help me plan for my trip to PDX. I haven't flown in a while and am a bit nervous about the whole airport security thing. I want to avoid issues with the TSA and airline workers, so if you would, please give me suggestions on packing. I am bringing my DSLR in its travel bag with neck strap, my laptop, blank CD's, mini-tool kit and software CD's to work on my parents' computers, plus my purse.

I have a large laptop bag that I can fit all that stuff in, and I'd like to keep the camera with me, as well as my purse, of course. I will also check a bag with enough clothing for my stay. Does that sound like a good plan? If not, how do you manage carrying on laptop, camera, and purse?

(further details: SFO to PDX, then PDX to SFO, both on United non-stop)

When is my birthday?

woodblock100 — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:09:41 -0800

They tell us that future travelers in high-speed spaceships will have their perception of the passage of time distorted by relativity effects, but what about the more mundane problem of earth-bound time zones? I can't figure out when my birthday is... I was born in England, at (so they tell me) around six in the morning. When I was five, our family emigrated to Canada, a number of timezones westward. No big problem. But I now live in Japan - and crossed the International Date Line to get here. So I should perhaps add one day to my birthday, and celebrate it one day 'later', to try and keep it lined up with reality.

But here's the problem - a few years ago I made a round-the-world trip (multiple stops) with my family, flying west all the time, and thus crossed the Dateline yet again in the same direction as we returned to Japan. So am I now two days ahead? When is my birthday?

Surviving 11 hours at Heathrow Airport

gesamtkunstwerk — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:59:13 -0800

Layover in London filter? We have an 11.5 hour layover at Heathrow airport this Sunday. Is it feasible to go somewhere for an easy walk and a nice meal without breaking the bank? We are on our way from Toronto to sub-Saharan Africa for a few weeks work. It's a long two day trip, but we hate to fly through a place we don't know without seeing something more interesting than Heathrow terminals one and four.

We'll be tired, casually dressed, and have a bit of hand luggage. We would like to go somewhere by tube for a nice walk and perhaps a good lunch. Any suggestions of a place we could get to in less than an hour that would not break the bank, but would be pleasant and not too touristy?

We'll arrive at 9am on Sunday and leave 11 hours later. (Our idea of nice is someplace a Londoner would go, with great food and a quiet atmosphere. We don't need to see anything impressive- we've always assumed that we'll spend time in London as tourists-- we just want to have a little fun and see something that we don't have in Toronto. We don't even need to go to London; we'd just don't want to wander around when time and money are in short supply)

We're Canadian, so Britain is expensive for us. Approximate travel costs would be most welcome.