Where to Travel

Archive for August 16th, 2009

What To Do If You Miss Your Flight
Traveling by airplane is quicker and more efficient than traveling by car, but that does not mean that you will not run into problems. Probably the most common problem, as well as the biggest headache, is a missed flight. A missed flight causes a variety of problems. If it was a connecting flight, you will likely miss all of your connections as well. The airplane has to fly with an empty seat, which they do not like, and, often, your bags will not miss their flight, and will arrive at your destination without you. What should you do if you miss your flight? The very first thing that you should do is head to the reservation desk. Tell the clerk that you have missed your flight, and do not leave until you have a plan, in writing, for how you will continue your trip. If missing your flight was your own fault, you may expect to pay, if not the full ticket price, then a penalty on a reissued ticket. If you miss your flight because your connecting flight arrived late, the airline will work with you to get you in the air as soon as possible. In most cases, the airline will put you on the next available flight, with their airline. In some cases, particularly if there is a chance that you can catch a further connection, or the next available flight is not until the next day, the airline may put you on the next available flight with a different airline. Either way, do not leave the area until you know what flight you will be on, and when it departs. Why Miss a Plane? One may miss their flight because of a variety of reasons; some cannot be helped while others are just a mistake. It is rare that you miss a plane because of traffic or oversleeping. Most missed flights occur in connecting flights. Often, the layover time between connecting flights is not sufficient to allow the passenger to disembark and find the terminal for his departing flight. Many airports are large, and for someone who does not travel a great deal, can be confusing to navigate. Once they arrive at the correct terminal, they must still go through security. Another reason for missing connecting flights is if the plane experiences mechanical difficulties. It is common for a plane to sit on the tarmac, passengers on board, while mechanics work to repair a problem on the plane. In this case, the passengers who have a limited amount of layover time may not make their connecting flights. Sometimes, if many of the passengers on board are in danger of missing their connecting flight, the connecting flight may be held, but, as you can imagine, this creates another set of problems on the arrival at the next airport. Weather is another cause of missed flights. Sometimes a plane is held and not allowed to take off because of lightning or heavy winds. Other times a plane may be held while it is deiced. Even if a plane makes it into the air, strong winds or turbulence can slow the plane down in flight, causing is to arrive behind schedule. Mechanical problems are clearly the responsibility of the airline, but weather conditions and tight layover scheduling are not, and the airline may be less accommodating of problems relating to weather or scheduling than they are in problems related to mechanical issues. Where are Your Bags? While you may have missed your flight, it is unlikely that your bags did. They are probably tucked safely away on your original flight. If your arriving flight was delayed long enough that the connecting flight left before your plane arrived, you may be able to collect your bags, but this is not typically how it happens. People are often in the airport when their flight leaves. If you have departed from your plane, but do not make it through security before your connection leaves, there is a good chance that your bags were transferred and are on your original flight. This is one of the reasons that you should always carry any medication as well as a change of clothes with you in your carry on. While the chances are good that you will be reunited with your bags in the future, that will not make you feel any better when you are sitting in the airport lobby, waiting for dawn and the next flight out. Minimize Your Chances of Missing Your Flight The best way to minimize your chance of a missed flight is to allow plenty of time between connecting flights. While no one wants to spend all day in an airport lobby, you should ask the ticket agent for enough time to disembark, visit the restroom and make it to the next terminal. The larger the airport you are flying into, the more time you should allow, as moving from terminal to terminal can take a considerable amount of time. While you cannot control the weather or the mechanics of the plane, you can make sure you have amble time to make your connection.Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who writes about topics and tips involving the travel industry and special deals, often discussing specific subjects such as cheap flights at http://www.flightcentre.ca/flights/.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

Tips To Get The Best Rates On Flights
Travelling can be expensive, especially when you’re going to be travelling by plane. Everyone always wants to find the best deal that they can for their flights, but in many cases they are not sure exactly how to go about this. There is more to finding the best rates on flights than simply logging on to a website and looking at their flight offerings; here are some suggestions as to how you can save money on your flights and make sure that you find the best rates available to you when you travel. If you are travelling on relatively short notice, one way to find a good rate on the flight that you take is to call the airline booking desk and check to see if they have any cancelled reservations. Airlines will often offer lower rates on flights with cancellations in order to get the seats filled, though the discounts only apply to the specific flight that the tickets were cancelled for. This means that you may have to adjust your schedule in order to be able to make the flight on time, but you can save quite a bit of money by travelling this way. Another option to save money on flights is to book them in advance. While not all airlines offer discounts for advance booking, there are several that do as a way of encouraging people to make their travel plans weeks or even months before they are scheduled to leave. In addition to possibly being able to lock in a lower ticket price, booking in advance can also help to ensure that you can get the seats that you want. If the airline that you are using does offer advance booking discounts, you will likely need to book your flight at least two weeks before the date that you are scheduled to depart. For those who do not book their flights in advance, they will most likely encounter less choices and higher airfares. Provided that you do not have to travel on a very specific schedule, you can usually save money by taking flights during the week instead of travelling on the weekend. The majority of the business that airlines have comes on the weekends, so they will generally offer discounted fares to those passengers who travel during the week in an effort to boost weekday bookings. Also red-eye flights as well as flights with at least one stop usually are offered at a lower cost than a direct flight. Be aware that there are generally exclusions to this pricing policy made around holidays, so you should take the time to check the rates before booking your flight if you want to get the weekday travel discount. One simple way to save money on your flights is to plan out your tip well in advance and take the time to shop around and see whether one airline has better rates to your destination than another. The cheaper flights might be at different times, require more lay overs, or route you though different cities, but the difference in prices between flights to the same city can be significant if you are willing to shop around and possibly spend a little bit more time in transit. A popular method of getting good rates on flights is to make use of online flight and travel booking websites. Many of the top websites are able to get deals on flights that you will not be able to find elsewhere, but it is important that you take the time to compare the offerings of different sites if you choose to go that route. Just as different airlines can have different rates for similar flights, different discount booking websites can charge different amounts for the same flights. By checking several websites and comparing their rates you will likely be able to save more than if you simply visited a single website and booked your flight. Along the same lines, you can generally save money on your flight if you book it as a part of a package along with lodging and car rental. Some travel agents and booking websites can even include tickets to popular entertainment events in with the cost of your package. While you may pay more for the package than you would for just the airline tickets, if you are in need of lodging or a rental car then you can generally get them for less by booking them together than you would if they were booked separately. This does not mean that you should not check for separate prices as well, since sometimes you will be able to find a great deal on your flight or hotel room that you would not be able to beat with a package deal.Mike Cole is a freelance writer who writes about topics pertaining to traveling and budget vacations, often discussing traveling tips associated with finding cheap flights at http://www.flightcentre.ca/flights/.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com