Posted by Tom at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I work with some great people, and one my favorite "Expedians" is Willy O.  In working directly with travelers, he suggested I write about the use of the term direct flight when travelers actually mean to say nonstop flight. He said he's has travelers calling in to ask why their itineraries show a stop when they've requested a direct flight.

Willy, has a great point and as someone with whom I'd trust all of my bookings, he knows of what he speaks. Travelers often use the words nonstop and direct interchangeably. Well, that has got to stop; it's for your own good and here's why.

Nonstop means just that: no stopping along the way. You are going from Point A to Point B. You take off and you land only once.

On a direct flight, you don't change planes but you may have multiple stops. You go from Point A to Point B and land at your destination, Point C. While you stay on the same plane the entire flight, it is by no means a nonstop flight.

The distinction can have a huge impact on the traveler.

For instance, Willy recently traveled on a Honolulu - Seattle flight which continued on to Chicago. A passenger on the flight had a mid-trip meltdown upon learning that the flight stopped in Seattle.
He declared to the flight attendant, "They said this is a direct flight to Chicago." She replied, "It is, and it has a stop in Seattle." (You can see where this is going.)

The poor guy had changed his original nonstop Honolulu- Chicago reservation to catch this earlier flight. Even though this new flight left earlier, he would arrive in Chicago later because of the Seattle stop.

Here's what I propose. Place a rubber band around your wrist. Newspaper roll strength is fine. Now every time you say direct when you really mean nonstop, I want you to pull and release the rubber band. Remove the rubber band when you have removed direct flight from your travel vernacular.

This is tough travel love, but the next time you skip an unwanted Cleveland, Seattle or Denver stop, you'll thank me. (Though, lovely cities they are.)

Posted by Tom at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's that time of year when travel takes on a whole new, dare I say, ugly uglier face. I recently received a question from a reader of my Business Class column and thought it would benefit travelers everywhere or those just crazy enough to travel over the holidays (uh, that would be me).

 I can't believe I was convinced to book a trip the week of Thanksgiving. I'd appreciate any tips you have for travel that week.
—Susan J.

Susan, my first inclination is to suggest you schedule an appointment with your doctor to have your head examined, then sign up for a couple assertiveness training courses.

Who am I kidding? Of course I'll be right in line with you as I too was convinced (make that coerced) into traveling during the holidays. (How did this happen?)

My over-the-river-and-through-the-woods odyssey requires a transcontinental flight, two layovers and a travel time more suitable for vampires and barn owls than a natty travel writer.

But I will neither despair nor whine further (at least in public) as I've harvested a cornucopia of travel tips for your (and my) consideration.

• Book a nonstop where available. (So didn't happen.)
• Consider arrival and departure times in relation to rush hour traffic. (Miami at 4 a.m., not a problem.)
• Pack luggage the day or night ahead.
• Plan airport parking or ground transportation. (See who your real friends are.)
• Create a travel checklist. Don't forget ticket information, Web check-in printout, ID, cash, extra-strength aspirin, eyeglasses, cellular phone, patience, etc).
• Double check your departure time well before your departure.
• Check in online and print boarding pass prior to leaving for the airport (usually up to 24-hours ahead of flight time).
• Have a meal before traveling. Flights of three hours or less rarely have meals. (Feel free to read between the lines.)
• Leave earlier than normal for the airport. (Anticipate parking, security screening, sibling rivalry, tantrums, traffic, larger crowds.)
• Be aware that airlines usually release pre-assigned seats 30 minutes prior to departure if you have not checked in. (This is a strong argument for checking in online first.)
• Flights will likely be overbooked. If you're late and miss your original flight, later flights may not have space to accommodate you.
• Remove all old destination tags from luggage. Add ID tags to luggage and inside luggage.
• Don't bring wrapped gifts through security. (The gift card is your new friend.)
• Upon checking in, verify your checked baggage receipts match your final destination. Portland, Maine is not Portland, Oregon.
• Keep valuables, cellular phones, chargers and medications in your carry-on luggage. (See TSA security rules.)
• Adhere to TSA and airline carry-on luggage policies.
• No joking; take security seriously. (Holding cells don't serve turkey and security guards are rarely good conversationalists.)
• Bring snacks for long flights (no liquids from home allowed)
• Email your itinerary to appropriate parties
• If being picked up, give very specific instructions to the chauffeur, and include your cell phone number.

Once on the ground, you're on your own.

As a grown adult who is still relegated to a seat at the kiddie table, I resist offering any advice outside the realm of travel.

Perhaps this year my place setting won't include a sippy cup.

Posted by Tom at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was heading to work today, navigating the many mazes of mass transit in my fair city, when I spied a fellow commuter with suitcase in tow. suffice it to say this intrepid soul was taking the bus to the airport. Riding the bus is a fine precursor to airline travel, seems to soften the expectation of the latter.

Anyway, the man lumbered with one of the largest wheeled duffle bags that I'd ever tripped over. If it had contained food, a family of four could have survived a winter in the Sierra Madres with this rolling cache of consumables. I felt sorry for him, knowing all to well the bag would be battered, bruised and damaged in some way before its return home.

Stay away from giant pieces of luggage. Here's my geometry-based reasoning. Remember the movie "The Blob", the 1958 sci-fi thriller that starred Steve McQueen? If not look here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/

In reality any time you double the surface area of something, whether Blob or suitcase, you more than triple its volume.

So a huge suitcase, like the Blob, really can't support itself or retain any structural strength. The bigger the suitcase, the more likely the damage to contents and its exterior. The Blob really couldn't have supported itself, let alone have eaten Cincinnati; and that goes double for the over-sized duffle bag.

Posted by Tom at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Welcome to Overheard Bin!

When it comes to travel, everyone has a story, some good, some bad, some excruciatingly long, others perfectly to the point. Whether a tip, a tale or a did-you-know-that, we hope our blog will be one of the layovers on your next itinerary.

For me, I suppose I have travel in my blood. At six months old I was diapered, dazed and destined to board a flight with my parents and sis from San Francisco to Tokyo. A mere 33 hours and Honolulu fueling stop later, we touched down in the Land of the Rising Sun. Three years later we made our return flight and I haven't stopped traveling since.

To this day I prefer the drone of a prop engine to that of cricket's call to put me to sleep. Yep, travel consumed (read warped) my formative years, but I suspect or at least wish to believe I'm a better person for it. Travel made me adapt and gave me a perspective I'd otherwise not enjoy; understanding that it's a small world and I have it pretty good, and no matter how much I travel, there's really no place like home. (Why am I clicking my heels?)

Posted by Tom at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)