November 19, 2005

Flying at Thanksgiving

Are you flying this Thanksgiving holiday? We're not (and we're thankful for that!) but we've flown the very crowded skies many times during this busy holiday.

You might think that Christmas would be a busier time in terms of air travel but Thanksgiving takes the prize. The reason: the Thanksgiving holidays are concentrated into just a tiny window. Most Thanksgiving travelers will head to the airport on Wednesday and return home on Sunday. Christmas travelers will stagger their journeys throughout a two-week period.

If you're flying this Thanksgiving, here are our travel suggestions, learned from over a million miles in the skies:

• Pack an extra load of patience. You will need it. There will be lines. You will wait. There will probably be delays. There will be crowding. There will be people along the way, invariably in front of you, slowing down the whole process. Take a deep breath.
• Carry your own food. This is important whenever you travel but in crowded airports it's more important than ever. Hungry travelers are grumpy travelers. Avoid this by packing your own snacks (we even pack sack lunches for the outbound trip!) Make yours a romantic one by adding in little goodies your travel partner loves...Godiva chocolates, expensive nuts, whatever will make the experience just a little more special.
• Don't wrap any presents. Yes, you might be tempted to bring along some Christmas presents, already wrapped and ready to do. Don't. Leave the packages unwrapped and just carry the paper separately. You'll need to get through security with those packages and you them unwrapped before the appointed day.
• Get there early. Make a date out of it. Arrive at the airport early. Get checked in then go to the lounge for a drink or do a little shopping. Anything beats rushing and worrying about making the flight...that's definitely NOT romantic.

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