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Air Travel

This page has links to specific air travel topics on our website and external links to web sites with comprehensive air travel information. The United States has a major air travel problem with record delays and lost baggage. The websites we list here will help you minimize your inconvenience and give you ideas on how to avoid or cope with delays. We also have many other topics related to air travel which will help you save money and time.

Look, if you can't take it anymore, go to the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights (CAPBOR) Website and support their effort to get Congress to stop treating people like animals*. You can at least sign their online petition in a matter of seconds.

Well, there is even a website devoted to airline meals. And well-done at that!

Air Travel Tips

Fly early in the morning. Storms occur in the afternoon and these are one of the primary reasons for flight delays.
Don't book tight connections. You are likely to be delayed before takeoff or enroute or upon landing. Give yourself plenty of time to catch your next flight.
Fly a day early. If you are catching a cruise, or are attending a special event like a wedding, or you are catching a cheap flight overseas from a gateway city in your country, fly a day early and stay overnight in the city from which your cruise or overseas flight departs.
Sign up for free flight status information. All airlines offer to alert you on changes in your flight status via email or your mobile device. Sign up for that and don't be surprised. Also, go online to check your flight status and, if the airport offers it, check the security wait times.
Don't Forgot Your Stuff. Chances are if you leave something on an airplane you will never get it back. If you realize you forgot something before leaving the secure area and rush back to your gate, you may have a chance to still retrieve it. Otherwise it is goodbye and so long. Security will not let you back into a secure area without a boarding pass and getting through to the airline will often lead you into voice menu hell. Retrieving lost items is not a priority for airlines. You just need to avoid leaving things behind. Always put your gadgets back into your carryon when you are not using them, or, when they announce to buckle up because you are about to land, at least at that time make sure you have everything and put it away.

Never, no not ever leave your stuff on a plane that is a continuing flight where they let you leave the plane while waiting. The airlines are not responsible for anything that gets stolen and things do get stolen. Take it with you!

Our Pages Related to Air Travel
Airlines - Links to all the world's airlines.	Airline Safety - Here are some websites with information on air safety.
Air Fares - Links to all the major air fare	Airline Seating - Not all seats are created equal, even in economy.
Air Passes - Save money traveling within regions of the world.	Airport Transit - How to get to and from airports in the world.
Air Travel - You are here. Everything you want to know about air travel.	Airports - Links to airport websites worldwide.
Flight Location - Links to real-time flight information systems.	Frequent Flyer - We link to popular frequent flyer websites.
Air Consolidators - All about air consolidators to save you money.	Air Travel Rights - Well, you do have a few rights. Become an activist!
Air Charters - Air charter information for the rich and not so rich.	European Low Fare Airlines - Comprehensive links to find them.
*And if you want to fly in a real fighter jet and be in a dogfight, see our Fighter Flights topic.*

AirlineTickets. This website has a nice user interface to information about airline tickets organized in 10 topic areas. Just click on a topic and they display a short, informative article about it.

About.com - Air Travel. Probably the best site on the web for comprehensive air travel categories and extensive links. Think of it as an "Air Travel Portal."

Fodor's Airline Forum. These people are well-known for their good travel information. Here you can see a list of articles and reader inputs related to air travel from their Travel Forum and Travel Wire sections.

Frommer's - The Fifth Freedom: Freedom to Save with Foreign Carriers International Routes Interesting article about another way to get a cheap air fare from New York to Europe.

Smarter Living- Air Travel Topic. They are one of the best travel sites on the web. They offer a lot of advice and information on travel in general. We drop you off at their site search results for air travel where you will find a good list of recent articles or use their search box to find a specific topic.

Bocat.com Up To The Minute Airline News. This is an excellent list of the latest airline news.

Flightstats.com. FlightStats will help you travel smarter. A friendly site trying to help out the air passenger. They will help you get the best air travel experience and know that price is only part of the picture. They cover the latest travel deals, compare on-time performance of a flight you are considering taking, find the latest published fares and frequent flyer promotions and see what users have to say about an airport. They also have a travel forum where you can ask questions and have mobile support. They also have a Flight Status tool where you can find the latest status of a flight by either (1) entering in the date and departure and arrival cities, (2) the flight number and departure date or (3) the airport + date and time period.

FAA - Traveler Section. This is the FAA Traveler information section of their website. It includes useful advice and links covering all phases of air travel from before you leave home to your arrival at your destination.

SKYTRAX. SKYTRAX provides air travelers with a comprehensive guide to make their flight even better. You can find information on the best seats on a plane, check the latest customer reviews of airline lounges, airlines and airports. They have a chat forum and much more information. A unique website.

CarSurvey- Air. CarSurvey.org has an ongoing project to process and post feedback from travelers on hundreds of specific flights (departure-destination, flight number and date) on airlines worldwide plus they have other interesting statistics on air travel.

OAG. OAG is a well-known independent provider of travel information products and services. They offer business travelers, companies and the worldwide travel industry the information needed to make effective travel plans. They are best known for their flight guides. Customers can access this information through a variety of media, ranging from printed guides to wireless mobile applications, to a company's Intranet or Local Area Network.

*Footnote. O.K., so even if homo sapiens are higher-order animals, we are nevertheless animals which explains why we have this problem. We have just recently come out of the jungle and learned to walk upright. We are going through the reactionary stage of human evolution. We don't prevent problems, we just react to them. We prefer that they get totally out of control before applying even a band-aid. That is human nature at the beginning of the 21st century. Hopefully we will be past this period in human development by the beginning of the 22nd or 23rd century at the latest, and your great grandchildren will look back and be thankful they didn't live in our time. Maybe one of your grandchildren will be the historian to give a name to the period we are going through now. maybe it will be called the Really Stupid Period in human history.

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