Jim’s Travel Tips

Changing your flights to an earlier flight is something frequent fliers do with some regularity. This should be done with care and with all the information possible. Case in point: On a recent trip I arrived at the airport purposely early due to poor weather conditions in the area. I was delighted to see an earlier flight was delayed but still leaving an hour before my original flight. I had the front desk change my reservation – in my elation I didn’t ask any questions. I arrived in the gate area only to hear an announcement that the flight I was now booked on was leaving later due to equipment problems, not weather. Bad move on my part (I was joined by others who fell into this same trap). Fortunately, I got back on my original flight (standby) and actually got my original seat back. TIP: Always ask questions about delays, don’t assume anything.

Previously I have provided some web sites for obtaining detailed flight status. I have discovered a quick and easy way to get to current flight status information. TIP: Go to your favorite search engine and just type the two letter airline code and the flight number. The search results will give a link to the current flight status. If you pick Google you will see the information right in the top search result without needing to click any further.

I have been reading a lot about airline flight statistics. Numbers such as % cancelled, % on time, etc. Here is a web site that lets you do your own research. This web site provides all kinds of travel information in addition to statistics, such things as current airport delays. TIP: Go to www.flightstats.com  Every trip is, of course, unpredictable but if you are planning a tight connection it can be of some help to know if your flights are historically late or other particular info.

Airlines usually have a flight status or flight tracker section on their websites. I recently came across some web sites that provide more information than the typical airline web site. TIP: Check out these sites for flight status information including maps showing the actual location of the aircraft. http://flightaware.com , http://www.flytecomm.com/cgi-bin/trackflight , http://www.flightview.com/

This is a follow up to my tip about flight reminders and alerts. In addition to the airline electronic updates, it is also useful to have access to your home airport or destination airport web site. It is extremely useful when the airport web site provides the overall arrival and departure schedule. The airline gives you information about your single flight while checking the airport site gives information on how the entire airport is running; this is particularly useful during bad weather. TIP: Check the airport web site before leaving for the airport. Here is an example from my home airport: www.grr.org/RTFI.php

The electronic age has provided some nice airline travel enhancements. The major US airlines have features on their web sites that will provide you with electronic reminders and flight updates, for example: delays, cancellations, gate changes, etc… This can be in the form of a cell phone call or an e-mail. Some airlines require you to register your flights on their web sites while other have a “blanket” program that will cover all your flights logged to your frequent flier number. (And if you don’t have one of those, read this tip!) This is a nice way to keep informed. TIP: Do not rely solely on these messages as they are not always 100% accurate – check the arrival/ departure boards in the airport to verify the information. Running to Gate 42 when it was just changed to Gate 20 does not help.