Be Prepared for Longer Airport Security Lines and Additional Checks

The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has been rolling out new rules over the summer at various airports globally as well as domestically. My friends who have been traveling out of Orlando have already been reporting long security lines and we haven’t even hit the holiday travel season yet. At my home airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor, I have yet to notice long lines, but I have noticed some changes to what they are screening in the carry on bags. Here’s what you need to know before your next flight.

Do You Know Your Rights and Limitations When It Comes to Overbooking Travel Issues? Part 1 – Air Travel

By now, I’m sure everyone has at least heard about the unfortunate incident on a United flight last week where a man was forcibly removed from a plane. I’m not going to get into what was wrong with that particular scenario, but being a frequent traveler and travel blogger, I read people’s comments on social media and quickly realized that the casual traveler knows very little about overbooking and denial of service. In addition, it’s not always easy to find information about a travel company’s policies to find out one’s rights if that happens so I hope the overview below will help.

First, know that overbooking doesn’t just happen with the airlines. Hotels do it. Rental car companies do it, too. Companies in the travel industry have learned over the years that they can count on a certain percentage of no shows and cancellations. Then, they sell more seats or rooms or cars than they have available, gambling that there will be enough cancellations or no shows to cover it. Sometimes that happens; other times it can turn into a nightmare for a traveler who has very little recourse.

Since this is such a huge topic, today I’m just going to cover airlines. Next week, I will cover hotels and then the following week I will cover rental car companies so be sure to check back for more information.

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

I’m going on a cruise in a few weeks and once again, there’s the question of do I need travel insurance? Unfortunately, it’s not a simple yes or no answer because so much depends on what coverage one already has, where one is traveling, how much money has been spent, and more. Here are the questions I had to answer for myself before determining whether or not I should purchase travel insurance.

It is NEVER a Good Idea to Sit in Someone Else’s Assigned Airplane Seat

As my family boarded our flight today, we noticed that there was a child sitting in my husband’s assigned seat. Because we had booked my husband’s flight separately and later than my son’s and mine, my son and I were in the window and middle and my husband was in the aisle one row behind us. I paid extra for his seat (I get free priority seats and he doesn’t) and my plan was to ask if the person in the aisle seat next to me if he would switch since it was only one row, but if he wouldn’t, it was no big deal, my husband still had a seat he could live with. It was on an aisle toward the front of the plane so we were good. Yet, as we got to our seats, mine and my sons were empty, but my husband’s had a child in it.

Tips for Traveling with a Lap Child on an Airplane

As I was flying to Orlando a few days ago, I saw a family traveling with lap children. It was a lovely family, a dad, a mom, and two adorable daughters. Unfortunately, due to lack of information, airline controls, and planning, both parents’ nerves were frazzled before we reached 35,000 feet. Hopefully these tips will keep others from having to go through what they went through.