06/22/2022
Great Information for YOU. My clients whom we appreciate, that plan to travel this summer:
Flying this summer is ROUGH!!! I feel like as a Travel agent I should attempt to share some tips to get you through airline travel for the foreseeable future. ✈️✈️
1. Things are not good..... if its less than 7 hours - DRIVE! I'm not kidding. There is nothing enjoyable about flying right now. On any airline. If you must fly, keep reading. 🚗
2. Aftet you have booked your destination with us, download and use the app of the airline you will be flying. You can do everything on it - get your boarding pass, track your bags, see your incoming plane, and change a flight. It sure beats waiting in the long line to talk to an agent! Trust me - Usually these apps will tell you a flight is cancelled before the crew even knows! 📲
3. Ask for a flight MUCH earlier than you need to - a whole day early if its important!! This week I've heard about many people missing important things like weddings, funerals, cruises, international connections, and graduations. The tears were very real, for very real reasons, and there was nothing I could do! If you have to be somewhere, spend the extra money, go a day early. Have a glass of wine and stay in a hotel, enjoy your night not being stressed while everyone else misses their events. 🍷
4. ALWAYS try to fly the first flight in the morning so you have all day to be rebooked if the s*** hits the fan. Yes, that means it might be a 3:00 alarm, but morning flights don't cancel nearly as often.⏰
5. This is not unique to this year, but keep in mind summer is thunderstorm season. A single storm can shut down a whole airport. Airlines can't fly through them. Storms usually build as the day gets later. Book early flights! ⛈
6. Schedule long layovers - Your 1 hour layover is NOT enough anymore. 30 minutes, not a chance. 3 hours minimum. 🏃♀️🏃🏃♂️
7. What you see on the news is an understatement. Airlines are short staffed and overworked. Not just pilots and flight attendants, but also ground crews. Without ground crews there is no one to park the planes, drive jetways, get your bags on/off planes, or scan boarding passes. This causes many delays that snowball throughout the day. Sometimes HOURS.(Another reason morning flights are best!) 👀
8. When flight crews get delayed airlines time out. They can NOT fly longer than 16 hours. It's illegal. So it doesn't matter if you have a wedding to get to, when they are done they are done. The way things are now, there are no back up crews, so when this happens your flight cancels. (Now you are starting to see why those morning flights are best!) 😴
9. Avoid connecting in Newark. It is literal hell. You have a 50/50 chance of your flight being canceled or missing your connection. They have been canceling flights at their starting points just to keep the planes out of Newark because there just aren't enough people to manage the planes, so the gates stay full. Also the restaurants are expensive, it is not a great place to be stuck. 💩
10. Be nice. As stated above, staff are overworked and tired. They will not help you if you are mean. No one cares that you are going to miss your cruise if you are an a-hole. So even if they can help, they will save their help for someone nice. Tensions are high. Their patience is gone. If you make them mad - you will not be flying on their planes. They will leave you behind without a second thought, and laugh about you later. 🥰
11. Being drunk on an airplane is a federal offense, so don't overdo it. If you drink too much at the bar waiting for your delayed flight you risk not being allowed to fly at all. Staff are too tired to deal with your drunk a** when they have legitimate issues to deal with. 🍻
12. Get trip insurance if you have a lot of money invested. I hate the whole idea of this, but I also hate the idea of my clients losing money. Example: An attendant was working a flight yesterday that customers waited over an hour for a gate. A family of 8 missed their flight to Rome. The only flight of the day. They were going to a cruise which they would now miss. They were all crying, there was nothing that could be done. (Also a reason to fly a day early!) 🛳
13. Flights are FULL. If you buy the cheap seats you will not be able to sit with your family. It is clearly stated when you purchase your flight!! Be sure to book your travel package with Unlimited Insights Travel to select your seating as Flight Attendants aren't there to rearrange the whole plane just so you can sit with your family because you tried to save $100 on a third party website. 💸
14. Speaking of third party websites and saving money..... Like I said flights are FULL. If a flight is oversold, and no one volunteers to give up their seats, who do you think is the first to be bumped? You guessed it, the family that saved a few $$ by using sites like Expedia, Kayak, Hotwire etc. 🤷♀️ So be sure to book with your agent at Unlimited Insights Travel.
15. Pack smart. Don't be "That guy" Don't hold up boarding because you have your extenders open till they are busting and you can't figure out how to make it fit in the overhead. (Passengers are stressed too, they can be aggressive when boarding a delayed flight) 🛍
16. Take showers, brush your teeth, leave the perfume off, don't eat stinky food (caesar salad and tuna fish I'm talking to you!), and bring headphones. Trust me. These things sound basic, but add to stress on crowded planes. If you are stuck on the tarmac for 3 hours after a 4 hour flight, you will thank me for this. 💜
17. Bring a sweater if you tend to be cold. Attendants are tired of half naked girls asking to turn the heat up. NO. Wear clothes!! Side note: If you dress like this and ask for heat, there's a chance they will turn the AC up. 🥶
18. Thats not water on the bathroom floor. For the love of God wear shoes to the bathroom!!! 🤮
19. Don't tell a Flight Attendant they look tired. They are and they know. You may cause them to ugly cry right there in the galley. 😭
20. Happy Travels!
Remember...Call Unlimited Insights Travel for all of your travel booking needs. (910) 377-1399 or email [email protected].
