Travel

Don't Fly Angry!

Friday, March 28, 2008 12:00 AM (permalink)

Last week was a pretty lousy one for air travel. I took off in the southeast U.S. in some weather that can only be described as "biblical," landed in fog and snow in Zurich, and then ended my week trapped in Toronto after a massive snowstorm pretty much closed the airport on Saturday afternoon.

When I returned to the Toronto airport Sunday morning, I was greeted with a 2.5 hour wait just to check my bag! Luckily I had already bought a new ticket on my own; had I actually had to fix my cancelled flight with a gate agent I might well be shopping for houses in Toronto. I was struck by just how furious so many people were. Clearly there was nothing the airport folks could do--not only were they trying to squeeze two days' worth of flights into one (and, actually, many people didn't get out until Tuesday!), it was also the start of Toronto's school break, which dramatically increased the volume of vacationing air travelers.

The line was obscene, I grant you, and there was no escaping it. I suppose I was lucky in that I was traveling alone (and not with my 3-year old), but I took it as an opoprtunity to catch up on a lot of podcasts, which was pretty easy to do standing in line for almost 3 hours. There were a lot of people, though, who were just getting all Neanderthal on the poor, harried Air Canada employees, and to their credit, I never saw one lose their cool. I am sure some did, but under what looked to me to be extreme duress, they performed admirably. Sure, my sunny disposition was aided by the fact that I was on the first non-stop outta there on Sunday morning, and not stuck at the airport hotel for an extra day or two, but I can tell you from experience that it just never pays to lose your cool--it's bad for your health, and DEFINITELY won't get you home any quicker.

Zurich, View From The Plane

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 8:35 AM (permalink)

The View from LAX

Thursday, February 28, 2008 4:21 PM (permalink)

Dopplr

Saturday, February 23, 2008 9:03 AM (permalink)

I just signed up for Dopplr to track my travel. Do check it out and sign up--maybe I'll see you on the road!

Delta, Shmelta

Saturday, February 23, 2008 9:02 AM (permalink)

Four flights in 36 hours on Delta, and an unbelievably bad experience the whole way around. How can they be in such bad financial shape when all 4 (and a 5th I tried to stand by on) were overbooked and packed to the gills? I had four very crowded (no room for all carryons) very cramped flights--and if you missed a connection (which I luckily did not) you would be screwed because there was not one available seat for the rest of the day. Maybe if I had Medallion status on Delta I wouldn't have had such a bad experience, but should they care about how the rest of us 99% feel? I'm glad they are booked to capacity; they can do it without me from now on. Business travelers need flexibility, and if I miss a flight, I do not want to be told that I have to be away from my family an extra day because they overbooked everything. Thankfully, lots of Lufthansa, Emirates, Swissair and Continental (still my favorite US Major) in my future for the next two months.

Please Stay Awake...

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 9:01 AM (permalink)

...I have to fly to LA tomorrow.

You Catch More Flies With Honey

Thursday, February 7, 2008 8:50 AM (permalink)

But why would you want to catch flies? Never understood that one. Anyway, I rolled into the Newark Airport Hilton late last night in preparation for an insanely early flight back to tha RDU to recuperate from Super Tuesday. For a lark, I tried the self-service kiosk to check in, and promptly lost my credit card. Though I was pretty wiped and a little punchy, I held it together pretty well and even made a joke about it. Much to my surprise and delight, they not only treated me to dinner (I was starving) but also upgraded me to some kind of bridal/presidential suite, the last guest of which was Chaka Khan (or so they told me). So, that put a little extra funk in my trunk, let me tell you.

So, I salute you, Newark Airport Hilton. I had a nice crab cake, a cold beer and a night with Chaka. I see so many business travelers at airports and hotels blow their stacks at life's minor annoyances. If you can't keep your cool for your health's sake, or to avoid humiliating folks who are just trying to do their job, at least consider this--blowing your top just plain doesn't work as well as keeping your cool.

The Big Silver Jet

Sunday, January 27, 2008 12:33 PM (permalink)

Had a a nice flight last month on Silverjet, a new Business Class only airline flying 767’s from EWR to Luton (and to Dubai--though I loves me my Emirates.) Though I took off in a Nor’easter and had a pretty bumpy crossing, I have to say this may give Virgin Premium Economy a run for their money to London. The biggest downside, of course, is Luton, which is a “london” airport only in some twisted Monty Python skit. But as a base to connect to the rest of Europe on Easyjet, brilliant. Plenty of room, great service, and lie-flat beds (though they are not quite parallel with the floor; you do slope forward a drop.) Private lounge and (in Luton) even private security. In Newark I was so delayed by bad weather flying up from Raleigh-Durham that I got to Silverjet at 9:40 for a 10:00 flight--and walked on without breaking a sweat.

Don’t forget, UK travelers--though you can take 1 bag and one personal item on board here in the States, in the UK you can only take 1 (as in ONE) bag as a carryon. Bring a duffle!

Possibly Related:

• Study Finds Air Travel Hassles on the Rise - Weather??
• Captain's Log, July 10th. Bumpy clouds--morale is flagging.

Captain's Log, July 10th. Bumpy clouds--morale is flagging.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 2:20 PM (permalink)

Another bumpy day in the air, this time from RDU to Boston. Over the years I have learned to get to know clouds--which ones are benign, and which ones are malevolent. Some times, even on partly sunny days in hot, humid weather, you get these big piled up fluffy columns of clouds that are not yet thunderstorm material, but you know they will be. They are safe to fly through, but pack a heck of a wallop. One more reason to fly as early in the day as you can (he says, gripping the armrest at 2:30 PM, descending into the maw...)

How to Drive from New York to London

Monday, July 9, 2007 10:24 PM (permalink)

Step 23 is a Doozy.

Study Finds Air Travel Hassles on the Rise - Weather??

Monday, July 9, 2007 10:22 PM (permalink)

A recent study found that air travel hassles are on the rise. Well, I could have guessed that--but as a researcher I am pleased to see it quantified. But the real scary thing here was the comment from a spokesman for the Air Transport Association that the majority of delays can be attributed to bad weather.I think I only got a C in logic, but here goes--if air travel is getting worse, and the delays are due to weather--is the weather getting worse?

Dealing with Air Turbulence

Monday, July 9, 2007 10:04 PM (permalink)

Somedays you get the bear, and somedays the bear gets you. When you fly a lot, you are bound to hit a day like I had today:

I used to be a pretty nervous flyer. Back in those go-go 90's, I would take the edge off with a glass of wine, but decided that was only curing the symptoms, not the problem. So I worked hard to overcome my nervousness, and am now a reasonably comfortable flyer. Still, when you get a day like today, only a small percentage of thrill-seekers really enjoy flying--the rest of us are not too happy. "Flight Attendants Please Be Seated Immediately" is quite possibly the second least desirable thing the pilot can say. Number One, of course, is "Oh, Shit." (I once flew through the edges of a tropical storm while seated next to a Continental pilot deadheading his way to Newark. At one point in the middle of a hellaciously rough ride, things got eerily quiet--as if we had all put on noise canceling headphones. The pilot next to me said, I kid you not, "this isn't gonna be good." That was about the low point of my entire life.)

Anyway, I had a pretty rough ride at 36,000 feet today (followed by a baby-smooth ride at 13,000 feet on a turboprop--go figure) and had to reach deep into my bag of travel tricks to resist the siren call of the Chardonnay. Here's how I cope with severe turbulence (and by severe, I really mean severe--the kind you get once a year or so if you fly frequently):

1. You cannot steer the plane using the armrests. They are not attached to the rudder. Let them go.

2. Instead, I put the shade down, close my eyes, and go as limp as possible. I put my hands on my knees, palms up (so I am not squeezing the blood supply out of them) and pretty much act like a rag doll. The more tense you are, the more exaggerated the bumpiness feels.

3. Put a cup on your tray. Look at it from time to time. You will see that it barely, if at all, moves. If it is half full of water, it is likely you won't even spill a drop. This helps you to realize that it the plane isn't really moving as much as you think it is.

4. Still don't believe me? Try this someday (this fascinates me, by the way). Go to the airport on a windy day and watch the planes land. A landing plane has its flaps fully extended, and is basically a gigantic parachute to catch wind. If you have ever landed in high winds and felt the plane get jerked all over the place, you feel like you are getting kicked down a flight of stairs. But watch a plane land in this kind of weather, and you may see the wings dip occasionally--but you won't see it getting the crap kicked out of it. Again, it feels worse than it really is.

5. Gravity and Physics don't just stop working. They are laws. You will not fall from the sky.

6. Music helps me, but it really has to be relaxing and familiar. Today's selection was Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol II. Your mileage may vary. Anything with a beat, or that gets me pumped up for the gym or raises my blood pressure in any way is to be avoided. Noise canceling headphones or in-ear monitors are great, because they block out the rushing of the wind and the sounds of other passengers expressing their own discomfort. Just imagine you are in a cocoon.

7. Smile. Really. Unscrew your face and you will relax more.

8. Keep your eyes closed--not looking out the window really helps avoid overreacting. Your frame of reference is such that when the plane dips or banks a few feet, your view of the outside world changes dramatically. Close your eyes, block out the light, and you will see that you are actually not moving as much as you think.

9. The wings of a Boeing 747 can be bent to almost 90 degrees before they fail. Your wimpy turbulence won't do it.

10. When all else fails, go ahead and have that drink.

Off to Sioux City

Monday, July 9, 2007 10:03 PM (permalink)

Tomorrow I get to check two more states off my list (Iowa and Nebraska), as I head up north for an interesting project with a great client in Sioux City. I am a fiend about packing light (I scare my wife sometimes) but I am going to be challenged by this trip--while it is in the 70s here in Chapel Hill today, it may acutally be below zero tomorrow night in Sioux City--and windy, to boot. I haven't had to even mention the words "wind chill" since I left Maine for good 20 years ago. Yeesh. So, I need some light but warm layers. Any suggestions out there?

Iain Banks on Rough Flights

Friday, March 9, 2007 3:41 PM (permalink)

I fly a lot. It used to bother me, but over the years I have managed to shake off all the unreasonable bits of my fear of flying. That doesn't mean I don't have a doozy every now and then. Takeoffs and landings never bother me--it's the clear air turbulence that you are neither climbing out of or descending through, but are stuck with that usually gets me reaching for those little bottles (once, chardonnay; now, Advil).

There is some amount of turbulence on every flight, and maybe 1 in 10 gets pretty rough. Those no longer bother me. But about once every five years, on average, if you fly as much as I do you get one that makes you want to find religion. They say that a Boeing 747's wings are designed to flex to an almost vertical position before they fail; I had one flight where I swear I saw that happen. After such an experience, you can either never get back on a plane again (don't have that option) or decide that if you can fly through that, you can fly through anything (a more sensible response).

Still, someday you may get one of those flights. I just finished reading The Business by Iain Banks, and was struck by this passage, which sums it up exactly:

"The flight was horrific. We got there; we got to Siliguri, but it was pretty damn frightful. One of those flights where you contemplate death and terror so closely that no matter what happens, even if--when--you arrive safely, the you that got on the plane really hasn't survived at all; the you that gets off is different."

Love that.

[Turbulence]

Possibly Related:

• How To Avoid Rip-Off Walkup Fares
• What a month! Staying sane and avoiding jet lag.
• Flight Aware: All Flights Movie

Is Anyone Home at Hotels.com?

Monday, June 5, 2006 10:07 PM (permalink)

On a recent trip to London, I wanted to stay a night at a hotel near Paddington Station, so I could be close to a train I needed to catch early on the second day of my trip. London is a city I know pretty well, having lived there for a year, but I don't know the Paddington area that well. While I generally use Orbitz or SideStep for my travel arrangements, I decided to try Hotels.com in order to use their advanced search to be sure my hotel was near the train station (and, hopefully, of a quality befitting the dignity of my station.)

I ended up having a terrible experience--the hotel informed me when I arrived (at 9 a.m., after an all-night flight) that my room was being renovated, and the repairs weren't finished. So I was moved rather unceremoniously to "one of their other properties," which turned out to not be a hotel at all, but a furnished corporate apartment over in Princes Square (and not at all near Paddington.) Sadly, I had prepaid the room through Hotels.com, so rather than eat the cost of the room (especially at our current exchange rate with the Pound) I took the room, but sent Hotels.com a polite but firm expression of my disappointment--surely someone could have called me the night before to tell me my room was torn apart, so that I could have had the option to make other arrangements.

Their response was to send me $60.00 (??) in travel vouchers, a figure which bears little relation to the amount I spent on the hotel, and appears to be someone's best guess at the value of my "pain and suffering." Case closed, at least as far as they were concerned. Well, not so much--especially since those vouchers will never be used.

Yesterday, you see, I learned that my personal data may have been stolen from Hotels.com.. High-tech hacking? A Mission Impossible-style highwire act in the corporate data center? Nope--left on a laptop, stolen from a cab. Now, I realize that the immediate blame for this falls on the Ernst & Young auditor who had the data on the laptop, but why in hell is my credit card information and personal data on some dude's laptop in a cab in the first place? Why isn't it locked away in some gigantic Hal 2000 behind a vault at Hotels.com? Why did it ever leave the building?.

Ernst & Young has offered everyone affected free enrollment in their credit monitoring service--a nice gesture, but one that really only serves to remind me that seemingly everyone can monitor my personal data for free except me, unless I have been wronged somehow. But these sorts of things are happening with much greater frequency lately, and it all comes down to what can only be termed as a cavalier attitude towards customer privacy. Hotels.com blames EY for this, and I suppose they have a point; however, someone let them put my credit card info into the back of a cab. Hotels.com sent me a nice letter--no $60 this time!--encouraging me to "take appropriate action" to protect my personal information. I have chosen to do so by notifying Hotels.com that I want my account information thoroughly expunged from their system.

Seriously, folks--vote with your wallet. It is the only thing that will ever compel change.

Travelling, Illustrated

Saturday, June 3, 2006 1:35 PM (permalink)

A very cute movie composed of nothing but public domain ISO symbols that you see in any airport in the world. I especially love the end, when our intrepid stick figure traveler returns home. Check it out here.

How To Avoid Rip-Off Walkup Fares

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:49 PM (permalink)

Had an interesting experience at PHL last week, and thanks to a very nice and helpful customer service rep, learned a handy little tip to save you some "stupid tax." After missing my Southwest fight, I scurried over to the USAirways desk to see about getting the next flight back home to RDU. I was informed that the "walkup" (i.e., "stupid") fare was almost $800!!! Yikes. Luckily, my enterprising counter rep helped me out after I pleaded with her to let me come home to see my son without spending his inheritance. Instead of purchasing a ticket on the next flight, I bought one for an upcoming, vastly cheaper flight several days out. She then charged me a $100 "Change Fee" and moved me onto that day's flight. Total cost--less than half the stupid tax fare, which only rich people or scatterbrains (ahem) pay. One tip--be sure there is space on the flight you need that day before you try this!!! Hope that helps...

What a month! Staying sane and avoiding jet lag.

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:47 PM (permalink)

Well, February and March have been a blur for me so far. I started out with a trip to Nashville to speak at the Country Radio Seminar, then off to Philly for a little Classic Rock. Then, a cup of coffee at home and a short quote in USA Today before heading out to San Francisco for some World Class Rock and even more that rocks, before ending up in Toronto to moderate a panel about Jack at Canadian Music Week.

Now, I am tired.

One thing I did do, however, that definitely kept me sane, was stay on Eastern Standard Time, no matter where I was and what I was doing. While I wouldn't do this on vacation, it is a must for me when I am travelling on business. For one, I just can't afford to be sleeping away in the morning while the office is open, because the rest of my days are usually devoured (and rightly so) by my clients. So this means getting up at 4 am every morning on the west coast, and getting to bed by 9 at the latest. If you never set your watch back, get some exercise in the morning, and lay off the wine at dinner, you can cruise right along all week on EST without even noticing, and skip the jet lag permenantly. I am tired enough when I get home just from travelling without accumulating an additional time-debt. I am crap at jet lag; if you are too, then give this a try. You might be amazed how easy it is to leave your watch unmolested and just refuse to change time zones.

Southwest Airlines 101

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:10 PM (permalink)

I fly Southwest a lot. I love Southwest not because they are cheap, but because they are operationally superior to other airlines (which, in turn, makes them cheap). Sure, they can't always guarantee on-time departures (only Al Roker can help you there), but any variable that can be controlled, they control.

Take, for instance, the "cattle-call" boarding process. For the uninitiated, basically when you get your boarding pass you are assigned a letter - "A," B" or "C." at the gate, you line up in one of the three corresponding lines, and then each line boards in alphabetical order (all the "A's" first, and so on). There are no assigned seats. The earlier you get your boarding pass, the more likely you are to get an "A." If you show up and buy your ticket 10 minutes before wheels up, you are likely to get a "C."

If the flight is not full, there will likely not be a "C" line (and I have been on flights that didn't have a "B" line, either.) For most flights, however, Southwest flies pretty full, so the lines (up to 45 passengers in each) are likely to be long. Waiting at the tail-end of one of these lines to board can certainly cause you to be a little cranky about the cattle-call, I grant you. The process, however, is sheer genius. The better your place in line, the more likely you are to get a good (or even tolerable) seat. Because of that, everyone gets in line (i.e., ready to board immediately) well in advance. On other airlines, I might be tempted to hang out in the gate area until the last minute, catching up on calls or stretching out with my laptop, possibly delaying things when everyone straggles on at the last minute and starts hunting for baggage space. Not so on Southwest--I am IN LINE, baby, because I am not sitting in the middle. That plane fills up quickly, people are in their seats in about 10 minutes, and when the pilot is ready to go you go.

The consequences of getting a "C" boarding pass are, at least for me, dire indeed. Not only might you be stuck with a middle seat, you will also likely not have any space in the overhead compartments for your carryon bag. If you are just making a day trip with your laptop (and are on a short flight), no big deal. But if you are going Philly to Phoenix to San Jose, it is a big deal. I pack everything in one bag without fail, and I never check this bag--this not only lightens my load but ensures I will be wearing clean underwear every day should my luggage get shot to Muncie in the baggage garble-a-tor at PHL. If you want space for your bag, and you want an aisle seat, you just can't afford to get a "C" in this exam.

Luckily, there are a few very simple tips to hack Southwest and be assured that your boarding experience is as tranquil as your flight will (hopefully) be.

• Get an "A" pass. This is pretty easy. With Southwest, you can print your boarding pass on-line as early as 12:01 AM the day of your flight. If you print your boarding pass at home, you are essentially guaranteed an "A." I browse to the site before I go to bed, enter my confirmation number, and leave it on my screen 'til I wake up. First thing in the morning I walk into my office, press enter and enjoy my "A."
• If you got an "A," don't bother getting in that line. Have a seat, rest those dogs. If you get up just as the "A" line is just about finished boarding (don't wait too long...) you will still get an aisle seat (or a window, if you swing that way) and have plenty of space for your baggage. So why fight over the difference between 11C and 9C? You will find that there are a lot of families boarding in this early batch, and they tend to sit together in middle and window seats, leaving plenty of cushy aisle seats towards the front of the plane no matter where you are in that "A" line.
• If you got a "B" (because you ignored step one), then get to the front of that line and wait. You will have to pay your lazy/unprepared/stupid tax here. You don't want to be at the end of the "B" line.
• If catastrophe strikes and you end up with a "C" pass, relax again--no sense getting in that line. Honestly, you will get a crap seat anyway and you probably won't have room for a big honkin' carryon wherever you are in that line. So don't bother waiting in that "C" line--just steel yourself to the inevitable and prepare to gate check your bag and enjoy your middle seat.

Hopefully, you will only need steps 1 and 2. Bring a snack, enjoy your lovely aisle seat, and thanks for flying Southwest.

Flight Aware: All Flights Movie

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:08 PM (permalink)

Check out this absolutely hypnotic animation of flight activity over the U.S. during a 24-hour period. While I am certainly aware of the incredible volume our east coast airports handle everyday (you try getting out of Newark on time at 5:00 PM--"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are currently number 83 for takeoff, so we'll be shutting the engines down...") I was still surprised to see how much air traffic there was in the middle of the night--even at 3 AM the skies are still busy.

(Via Subtraction, QuickTime required)

Hacking the Airport, Part One

Saturday, January 28, 2006 9:01 PM (permalink)

The past few years have not been kind to commercial aviation. Flying is a significantly greater pain in the keyster than it used to be, and a year of freakish weather hasn't helped much. When I moved from NYC to greener pastures, I knew there would be tradeoffs--sure, my mortgage is now less than I used to pay to park my car, but flights are a lot less convenient. Still, there are tremendous benefits to using an airport that doesn't require a train to get from the parking lot to the terminal. You may not be able to move to a less congested airport as I did, but there are a couple of other tricks you might find useful.

1. Join an Airport Lounge. This, to me, is not a luxury, but a necessity. $300-$400 just to have a bar and a cushy chair? Au contraire, mon frere. It is upon this little tip that the rest of this post depends. First of all, you needn't put all your eggs in one basket, airline-wise; I belong to Priority Pass, which lets me use a bunch of different lounges in every city I travel for just $400.00 a year. If you don't travel as often as I do, you can get a cheaper membership that allows 10 visits plus the ability to purchase more access (at 25 bucks) as needed for only $250 bucks.

Why is this worth it? Consider what $25.00/visit will get you:

• Wi-Fi ($9.99)
• A nice adult beverage ($8.50)
• An outlet for your laptop that doesn't involve you stretching your cord across the jetway (pricele$$)
• Quiet (1 Meeeelleeeeon dollars)

Here's the thing--if you travel ten times this year, you will be delayed at least six times. You might even be really delayed. This causes stress. You are stressed for two reasons: 1) you will be late to your destination, and 2) you are helpless, out of the office, and unable to be productive. Can't help you on #1, but I can work like the dickens in a nice quiet lounge. In fact, there is nothing I need to work that I can't get in an airport lounge. If you are stuck for two hours in an airport, it is astonishing what you can get done with your phone, a desk, reliable wi-fi and some peace and quiet. Plus, if you are at the end of your workday, enjoy a nice adult beverage while you catch up on emails and summaries. Now, isn't that worth $25?

2. OK--so you got your lounge membership. Now your day just became incredibly flexible. My number one delay-beating tip is to always take the first flight of the day where possible. For my frequent trips from RDU to PHL, that amounts to a Southwest flight at 6:10 am. Unthinkable, you might say--but that flight leaves on time, every time. The later the morning gets, the more airports like LAX, EWR and ORD get stacked up, even on sunny days. If there is bad weather anywhere along the flight corridors to Newark, incoming planes go into this funky chicken dance called SWAP (Severe Weather Avoidance Plan) which increases the distance between planes in the area even if your weather is perfect, and you aren't even going to Newark. EWR is the devil.

Also, not as much happens weather-wise at 5 or 6 am. If you travel in the southeast in spring/summer, you can pretty much set your clock around having a boomer around 4 o'clock, which snarls up the rest of the day. Getting out while it is still cold and dark means that all those happy air currents are just as sluggish and lethargic as you are, so they aren't yet causing trouble in the mosh pit of the upper atmosphere.

Finally, just as the roads get busier from 7:30-8:00 on, so too do the runways. If you leave on a 9 o'clock flight, I can pretty much guarantee you that you will hear these words from the cockpit: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are currently number 27 for departure, so we'll be shutting down the engines for a while. We'll update you on our estimated blah blah blah..." Yuck. Leave at 5:30, and all you will hear is "Flight Attendants please be seated," which is pure magic (unless you hear it at 32,000 feet).

3. What if you can't get a flight that early? For example, maybe the best or only flight you can catch doesn't leave until 9:30. Simple--pretend it leaves at 6 anyway. Let me tell you, getting to the airport in any city at 8 o'clock is a dicey proposition. Then once you get to the airport, you have to go through screening with every other Tom, Dick and Harriet trying to catch their flight as well. So, your commute gets longer, and the wait to get through security gets much longer. Go through security at 6 am, on the other hand, and you will sail right through.

C'mon, Tom, you aren't seriously suggesting I go to the airport 4 hours early to catch my 10:00 flight, are you? Well, yes...I am. That is part of being a grown-ass businessperson. You aren't going to the office anyway, so no one will even know you did it. Instead of spending an extra 45-60 minutes in traffic/security/hell, you are spending it in the nice cushy lounge you paid for in #1, above, getting ahead.

Now do you see what 25 bucks just bought you? An hour or two of stress-free, productive time. So when your flight does get delayed, or you have to circle above Miami for 45 minutes to wait out a storm, you started your day off like a champion.