How to Save Time and Money at the Airport

By
Millicent Wong
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How to Save Time and Money at the Airport

Airports are full of pitfalls from long lines to overpriced food and tight seats.

For some people, said Katy Nastro, a travel expert for Going, an app for cheap flights: “Airports are like travel prison: they are neither here nor.”

But technology, preliminary planning and some creative strategies can help you parry the problems with the airport.

Your airport trip can start 24 hours before departure if you should check in, pay the fees for tested bags that accelerate the BAG decline and register for flight notifications by text to keep up with the planning.

Next, find out when you should go to the airport. The rule of thumb is to come two hours before departure to domestic flights (three for international) in order to enable enough time to check bags, to achieve security (especially if you have no accelerated approval) and board.

“The biggest challenge for airports is the variability of how long it can take to get there and get to the gate from CURB,” said Gary Leff, the author of the Aviation Blog View from the grand piano.

Use a card app to get a sense of travel time to the airport a week or a few days before departure. Flight times of the airlines usually contain the waiting times of the security services.

If you check a bag, you may have to do this at least 45 minutes before the domestic drains (check your airline for Cutoff times). Add this to your transit time and together with a comfortable pillow.

The fastest way through security is to register for an accelerated release.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, travelers who are enrolled in TSA Precheck are usually waiting for 10 minutes or less in safety. Membership, which costs between 76.75 and 85 US dollars, depending on the provider of registrations, is good for five years.

The global entry, which accelerates travelers through customs examinations when returning to the USA, includes enrollment in TSA Precheck. It costs $ 120 and is good for five years.

Clear enables members to use their alleys on 59 airports across the country to get to the front of the safety lines (199 US dollars per year).

If you are through traffic and security, try to fly standby on an earlier flight, and recommends Brian Sumers who writes the Airline ObServer to the newsletter.

“Since the pandemic, the free standby has been back,” said Mr. Sumers and noted that even Southwest Airlines, who had previously banned practice, offers standby when space is available.

Airports are notorious for bloated food prices. A sandwich that costs 5 US dollars in a grocery store can easily run at the airport twice as much.

So bring your own meals and snacks with you. Simply make sure that you can extinguish the security (for example, yogurt is considered a liquid, and containers over three ounces can be confiscated). Also bring an empty water bottle to refill after securing security.

If you are not BYO, Harriet Baskas recommends a author -based author who writes the travel blog at the airport, search and order starters or parts in children's size in order to keep the costs low.

Many airports have significantly expanded the availability of electrical transactions for the fee of devices. But one thing can be competitive, and sometimes the outlets don't work.

“I worked happily away when I believed that my laptop or my phone was only to find out that the entire bank of the driven chairs was triggered,” said Ms. Baskas. “I learned to check first before I settled in.”

She recommends taking a multi-outlet cable so that you can share a plug with other travelers.

Make the problem with your own external battery. George Hobica, who founded the Airfarewatchdog's flight engine, takes a powerful enough to charge several devices at the same time.

Use the waiting time to stretch your legs. Exercise offers both physical and mental advantages, and long airport concours offer comfortable hiking.

Colleen Lanin, who writes the Travel Blog Colleen and covers family trips for 16 years, suggests tiring the children with movement before getting in.

“When my children were young, I paid them a small amount of money for every round they ran around our garden before we set off, and they were able to spend their income for an article in the airport gift business,” she said.

During the layovers, she encourages the parents to find a quiet area and play a game with red light green light, or Simon says.

As long as you monitor the flight ban on an app, there is no reason to be at a crowded goal where the seats are scarce. Find a comfortable, non -occupied gate and wait there.

Airport websites will help you find yoga rooms (San Francisco), art exhibitions (Philadelphia), live music plans (Austin-Bergstrom), outdoor terraces (Denver) or a butterfly garden (Singapore Changi).

Or ask an airport employee about recommendations.

“People on the information cabins usually like to share favorite points, and they don't have to be a child to ask them for colored pencils and a coloring book or a collecting port trading card,” said Ms. Baskas.

When a flight is delayed or canceled, the passengers inevitably tend to speak to the Gate Agent. But register while waiting. With the airline app; You can usually get information more efficiently.

“As a rule, customers have the same access to seats in the app as agents at the desk,” said Sumers.

In the event of storms or cascade delays, the availability of seats can be liquid.

“If you are vigilant in the app, you may find places that were not available a minute before,” added Sumers.

You may not be able to escape an airport, especially during a delay, but you can treat yourself to a break.

Ms. Baskas holds 30 US dollars in her wallet to buy a treat like a special dessert or a hardcover book.

“It feels better at the moment and will not appear on the credit card invoice later to remember a stressful time,” she said.