Time for another Facebook Giveaway!

Hey fans, friends, subscribers, tweeps, and MDT social networking community! We've put together another giveaway just for you! What's the scoop you ask? Our Facebook fan page has been seeing weekly increases in fans joining our social networking community and "liking" what we're doing and we're super appreciative. To show just how much we appreciate our fans we're giving away a $50 restaurant gift card and a free parking voucher when we reach 2,500 fans. At that point out, all of our fans* become eligible for the giveaway.

The gift card is redeemable at Varsity Grill here at MDT and the parking voucher is for use in our onsite parking garage. But, it doesn't stop there... if we reach 3,000 fans we'll do a 3rd giveaway of another $250 airfare gift certificate! Congrats to Jim M. and James F. the first two winners of our Facebook Flyaway giveaways!

This is one of the ways we'd like to thank you for your continued support of our social networking community and the airlines serving HIA! Did you know that you can connect with our social networking community from our website? Be sure to let us know what you think of the new integration!

*If you are an employee of Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, tenant or an airline serving SARAA/HIA, you and your immediate family members are not eligible for these giveaways.

Ho Ho Holiday Travel Tips!

When preparing to travel, lay out all
your clothes and all your money.

Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
-Susan Heller

For those of you traveling to visit family between now and the end year, we have a few helpful travel tips to fly your way!

The key for a successful and less stressful trip is to be prepared. By following these simple suggestions, traveling to/from Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), or any airport for that matter, will a bit easier and more convenient:

1) Know the security rules before you pack. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a 3-1-1 campaign to educate travelers on the carry-on baggage restrictions. For specific details, visit www.tsa.dhs.gov before you pack your bags.

2) Call your airline’s toll-free flight tracking phone number for an update on your flight before coming to the airport. Flight status information is also available on your airline’s website.

3) Arrive at a MDT parking lot about 90-minutes before your scheduled departure.

4) Follow the signs and park in the Long Term/Economy lot. Shuttle buses run (24 hours a day) every 8-10 minutes from the numbered shelters in the lot and brings you curbside at the terminal building.

5) When picking up a passenger arriving at MDT, please use our free cell phone lot until your passenger arrives. Federal security mandates prohibit parking along the terminal curbside. Only the active loading and unloading of a vehicle is permitted in front of the terminal building.

6) Regarding the holiday gifts and food you want to travel with: gifts packed in your carry-on and checked luggage should be unwrapped. Don't pack snow globes in your carry-on luggage, please pack them in your checked luggage. Please be sure to review the TSA's policies for how to travel with holiday foods.

For a full run down on our holiday travel tips visit our website.

Finally, we ask that you remember to bring a smile and be patient. Generally the weather looks good nationwide for the upcoming holiday travel week, however delays can happen at any time. The airlines want to get you to your destination safely and on time, while the TSA has a responsibility to make sure that everyone getting on an aircraft is doing so without any prohibited items.

What do you still have questions about that we've not covered? We hope our tips contribute to making your trip to Tulsa to visit Aunt Beatrice and her world famous fruitcake as stress-free as possible! Although, you'll have to buy your own roll of Tums to help digest that fruitcake!

Guest Blog: Flying With Kids

Late last week we asked a question on our fan page wall about flying with children and if parents enjoyed doing so. We received a quick positive response from fan Jessica J.W. Baker and she also had a plethora of helpful tips for making flying with your children enjoyable. We asked her to put all of those tips into a blog post, happy reading! And, thanks to Jessica for this insightful and practical information.

When Harrisburg International Airport (via Facebook) posed the question, “Do you fly with your children, and do you enjoy doing so?,” I immediately replied “Yes and yes.”

In response, HIA asked if I had any tips to share with parents who might be traveling with children for the first time this holiday season, and my mind raced!

Our 5 year old daughter (who first flew when she was 10 months old) loves to fly as much as we do, so it’s never really been a challenge for us to hop on a plane. In fact, as she loves to observe and learn, my “teacher-brain” tends to kick in, and we use the trip as an excuse to explore something new.

So, here are a few ideas you may find helpful when preparing to travel with children.

1. Whenever possible, give the child a window seat!!!

2. Prepare a special bag of "dollar store-ish" finds (like bags of birthday party favors, a new paperback book to read together, etc.) that are to be opened on the plane, one-by-one, [periodically] throughout the flight(s).

3. For even more fun, wrap the surprises in coloring book pages (or online find print-outs), and make the first present the child opens be a pack of crayons or colored pencils.

4. Glow in the dark figures (we have a tendency to go with packs of glowing dinosaurs) are great. Turn on the overhead reading light, hold the animal up for a few seconds, then allow the child to curl up in the corner of the seat and "peek" at the toy in the dark. Then they turn into great toys to play with and read to, as well as provide the child someone else to “teach” about all of the cool things they are learning on their trip.

4a. Make sure you also pack a few extra Ziploc bags, in case the packaging is not reusable. Don’t want the little creatures falling all over the floor and all through your carry on when you disembark!

5. DEFINITELY take advantage of "early boarding" if available, and,

6. Once you get to your seat and stow all items, head to the bathroom of the plane and let the child check it out and use it. Then, if the child needs to go during the flight at some point, all aspects are familiar and he/she is already familiar with the feeling from being there while on the ground. It's such a different experience, too, that it's often like a mini-field trip during the middle of the flight - great when restlessness sets in.

7. Before takeoff, ask the flight crew if they have five or six extra, "prepackaged" hand wipes. Inevitably something will hit the floor or get shoved into some little crevice, and you'll want to give it a quick wipe-down before the child resumes playing with it. If you can't take your own due to lack of storage in your carry on, etc., the flight crew is usually willing to give you a few.

8. Instead of making the flight simply a "way to get somewhere better," make it sound like the biggest part of the adventure. Take a map of the area over which you will be flying and share what is under/near you as you travel. Explore the nooks and crannies of the plane, let the child make a list of questions to ask the flight crew (even if they want to write them a note and ask the steward to fill in the answers and give it back if he/she has time), and ENJOY IT TOGETHER!

9. Use the available in-flight magazines as a source of a game. Perhaps a "scavenger hunt" for select letters, words and/or pictures (dependent upon the age of the child), or - one of our favorites - "If You Had All The Money In The World, What Would You Buy For...?" Randomly name a friend or family member, and look through the magazines together, searching for something that you would buy for that person – really matching it to his/her personality and interests. If you're on a REALLY long flight, your surprise bag could include index cards and a glue stick, and the child could tear out each selected picture/item and make a card for each person, writing about why he/she chose that specific gift. Upon arrival, the child will have something to give to that special person…or even mail as a postcard! :)

10. Remember to plan and pack things for the trip home – before the trip even begins! Don’t depend upon having extra time to pull something together during your trip, and don’t depend upon exhaustion to bring sleep on the flight home. Flight delays do occur, and you will save A LOT of time and money by planning a few things (like those listed above) “just in case.” Also, catching a glimpse of a bag labeled “SURPRISES FOR THE FLIGHT HOME” gives the child something to look forward to throughout the trip, and you’re less likely to encounter your child’s “evil twin” as you pack up to get back on the plane.

Your trip’s itinerary should not start when the plane arrives at your destination and end when the plane takes off to head home. As soon as you leave your house, the adventure begins, and the more you make of it, the easier it will be…for everyone!
____________________________________
J.J.W. Baker
December 4, 2010

Have you used any of these tips that Jessica recommends, or something similar? What more can you add to her suggestions?

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @AAAESean

Introducing the 6th guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today’s guest blogger is Sean Broderick, a career aviation journalist and public relations pro who currently handles external communications for the American Association of Airport Executives, whose members represent some 850 airports. His responsibilities include managing the association’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Airports Shifting From Just Providing Connections To Making Them

One day this past July, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) suffered a partial power outage in two of its three terminals. The outage lasted about 90 minutes and affected certain key functions, including ticketing and concessions.

During the brown-out, followers of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Twitter stream, @DCAirports, were kept abreast of the situation, including whether boarding passes could be printed on-site. They also were told that MWAA’s Web site was down, and that flight status checks should be done on individual airline Web sites.

This is but one real-life example of what Steven Frischling astutely notes is a shift in airport attitudes—a shift that is perhaps most visible on social media platforms. As he said in a blog post earlier in this series, “Social media has finally allowed airports to…have a voice of their own,” rather than relying on “the voices of others around them speaking for them.”

From my perspective, social media’s evolution hasn’t so much created this attitude shift as help expedite, illuminate, and solidify it. For years, airlines were the air travel industry’s principal brand-builders and loyalty-creators. From frequent flyer programs to dedicated business-class lounges, it was airlines connected with passengers. Airports simply provided a place for passengers to connect.

For a list of reasons long enough to fill another blog post, those days are over—and I think that’s a good thing. For everyone.

Airports are working diligently to onnect with their customer base, often in tandem with airlines. In the social media arena, for instance, market-specific fare sales are pushed via airport Facebook pages, which is logical. If you live in Harrisburg, does it make more sense for you to seek out good travel deals on, say, Delta’s Facebook page, or on HIA’s? Put another way, which one of those Facebook pages is better equipped to deliver information that’s relevant to Central Pennsylvania residents?

As for the airlines, they now have permanently rooted local partners—the airports they serve—cultivating meaningful relationships with existing and potential customers. What better way to jump-start a new route, promote a fare sale, or simply strengthen a connection than to tap into this pipeline?

Passengers—the most important part of the travel equation, of course—are finally getting recognized, catered to, and served by the one variable in their own travel equations that’s sure to remain constant: their local airports. Think about it: for the last 40 years, the greater Harrisburg community has been served by dozens of airlines, but only one commercial-service airport: HIA.

So how can passengers benefit from this shift? Social media is a pretty good place to start. “Like” the Facebook pages of airports you frequent, and follow them on Twitter. Yes, this basically grants them permission to market directly to you, and the smart airports will. But the really smart ones will go well beyond the sales pitch—their marketing and communications plans will incorporate customer service, partnerships with tenants (like airlines and concessionaires) that have useful information for you, and the type of general relationship-building effort that makes airports valuable partners, not just self-motivated service providers.

Most importantly, remember that social media is, well, social. Provide feedback, both positive and negative, via the channels that airports use. Participate in the process, and they’ll be obliged to reciprocate. The result will be a better-informed traveler—and a better travel experience.

Which airports and airlines are you actively engaging with on Twitter and Facebook? Where are you turning to to find answers to your air travel related questions?

Guest Blog: No Wine Needed at Your Final Destination

Today we'd like the feature the 2nd guest blog of it's kind. A few weeks ago we put out an invitation for our Facebook fans and Twitter followers to author a guest blog post. An avid & active fan and follower, Mandy Arnold wrote the following customer testimonial post about her recent experience of flying from another airport in our region. Mandy is a local midstate resident with a plethora of travel experience and passion for her local community, marketing and more.

As a pretty loyal HIA user for the past six years, it wasn’t until recently when I did not fly HIA that I realized how much I really appreciated it. My time entails a pretty decent amount of planes, trains, and automobiles mixed in with a ridiculous amount of meetings across seven states. Navigating this kind of schedule means that every minute of my day counts. I stupidly lost sight of this concept when I decided not to fly HIA on a trip to the Mid-West. Well, it didn’t take much more than my super early wake up alarm at 4:30AM, which was a necessity in order to have any chance of making a 9AM flight in Baltimore. That’s right. A 9AM flight required that I leave my house at 5AM. As I sipped my coffee in an effort to awaken my senses, I kept thinking, “What am I doing not flying HIA? I could be in bed right now. I mean, who gets up this early? Not me.”

So, I continued in my zombie state, still hitting traffic on my way into Baltimore which thickened at even 6:00 in the morning, only to arrive at BWI at 7:15AM. I was again reminded of my temporary lapse in judgment when selecting an airport as I had to park nowhere near the check-in. Lugging my gear, which included my laptop, oversized purse and suitcase, I clumsily made my way to a bus station that seemed to be miles away. I’m sure it wasn’t, but after sitting in traffic and being sleep deprived, I was not in my best form.

This trip continued in a downward spiral of inconveniences that amounted to more money spent, more time required and a not-so-happy Mandy coming home three days later. My trip came to a grand finale in true non-HIA fashion when I landed late and had to drive home from BWI in rush-hour traffic after a long week. Let’s just say the wine was uncorked and awaiting my arrival.

Why am I telling you all this? I’ve learned that the best way to travel is to not make the same mistakes I see the guy ahead of me making. For instance, don’t get behind anyone who doesn’t already have their shoes untied or their computer bag already unzipped by the time they hand their ID to the last checkpoint before choosing their preferred security line. Think through what you are really getting into when you fly and what kind of experience you really want.
Learn from my appreciation of HIA’s ridiculously close parking, in-and-out processes, and security staff that could only be nicer if they handed me cookies and coffee after completing the security scan. It doesn’t get much better than this.

So, whenever someone asks me what airport to fly through, I always say fly HIA. You’ll save time and your stress level will be about half of that if you flew elsewhere. No wine needed at your final destination.

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @BLBoitson

Introducing the 5th guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Brenda Boitson a local writer from right in MDT's backyard! Brenda's writing which covers a wide range of topics, including travel, can be located at Associated Content.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon the site http://www.airfarewatchdog.com. I was thrilled to be able to use it to find cheap tickets for a 2 stop, two week trip to San Francisco and Seattle. Now, I can access Airfare Watchdog’s latest and greatest rates just by reading my Twitter stream. While I have not had much time to travel by air in the past year, it has been a great resource to find cheap flights on trips I may want to take in the future.

This is just one of the ways that social media has brought air travel to the forefront of my mind when booking a trip. I have thoroughly enjoyed following two heavy tweeters, @HIAairport and @Runwaygirl to name a few, to see what is happening in the air travel industry, and at my favorite local airport. I can find out about the latest improvements, new non-stop flights, the greatest new planes on which to travel, and better yet, I have been able to win a few goodies too!

In the past year, I have enjoyed three writing travel weekends, all within the state of Pennsylvania. In the near future, however, I am working to book more writing weekends in Vermont, Harper's Ferry, and Montreal. While some I can access just as easy by car, I am looking forward to using my social media resources to book the Montreal trip in particular. With just a click to HIA’s Facebook page, Airfare Watchdog’s twitter stream, or connecting with sites that offer promotional flight deals, I should be able to find a great fare at the right time to complete my journeys.

Traveling via air has often left me feeling alone. When I did my multi-leg journey to San Francisco and Seattle, I traveled alone and did not get a deep sense of appreciation for being a customer of those airlines. With social media access, I can tweet directly to the airline representatives and get a near-instant response on questions I have about flights, baggage, meals, and extra fees I want to be aware of before takeoff. Even if I’m sitting in the waiting area outside of my gate, I can tweet or comment on the carrier’s social media pages, and take care of any concerns I may have.

I spend countless hours on the phone at work, so to be able to use social media to eliminate that extra phone call, means less stress for me. It is often easier for me to type up a question for a company, and check back for a response when I have the next opportunity to check my replies via Twitter, or my wall on Facebook. It saves me lots of time, energy, and makes me feel much more connected than being put on hold.

Social Media is the new wave of customer service. If done right, air travel questions and concerns can and have become exponentially easier to handle for everyday travelers. It is a great way to connect with your customers on the good and bad things about traveling, to resolve issues immediately, and also to receive feedback on things that may be improved. Carriers and airports can continue to learn much by connecting with their clients through social media sources, and I believe customers will feel a greater sense of appreciation for giving them their business.

Brenda mentions that she can get customer service issues resolved quickly with the advent of social media. Have you an experience of getting an question, complaint or issue resolved by a company employing social media?

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @flyingwithfish

Introducing the 4th guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Steven Frischling

is an airline and aerospace focused emerging media consultant, building and deploying strategies for airlines, aircraft manufacturers and the travel industry. He writes Flying With Fish a blog that has somehow managed to evolve into something far beyond what it was planned to be.

I sat down to write about travel and the importance of social media a few days ago. Once I finished the piece I realized I had over analyzed what I had written like is often done when pitching a corporation rather than having a conversation about the subject as a whole.

Others in this series by Harrisburg International Airport's series on social media has transforming how we travel have discussed the tools of social media. Tools, such as Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Blogs, etc etc etc, are important, they are not what makes social media … connecting and engaging is what makes social media effective.

Since HIA is hosting this series, I am going to focus on airports.

Most people never view an airport as a business. An airport to most travelers is a building, with some runways, gates and it’s a place you go through, but it is not generally viewed as a business. Airports need passengers to survive, especially airports that compete with other airports for traffic.

Where I live, the closest airport to my house lost its last airline in 2004 when US Airways Express terminated the service. The airport I prefer to use, Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), has now been left with a single airline, US Airways Express, since Delta Air Lines pulled out in 2006. These airports are fighting for passengers and their survival against larger airports such as Hartford's Bradley Airport (BDL) and Providence's TF Green Airport (PVD) … and in turn TF Green fights for passengers with Bradley Airport and the much larger Boston Logan Airport (BOS).

To compete, airports must find out the needs of their passengers, not only those in the 'home area' but also those coming to their region. social media opens up a whole new door for airports to explore travelers, build relationships with those who use or may use their facility, and improve the overall travel experience. I have often wondered if my 'home airport' would have a larger passenger base if they actively sought out passengers, recruiting them away from Hartford, Providence and White Plains (HPN). Frequently when speaking with travelers in my area I am met with "New Haven still has an airport?"

So how does an airport using social media change the travel experience? From the outset it is proactive. It puts the airport into a conversational space where they are able to alert travelers to their presence and recruit passengers for them.

While smaller, regional airports such as Harrisburg, Akron-Canton (CAK), Charlottesville (CHO) and Dallas Love Field (DAL) are able to connect with regular travelers, turning locals into brand ambassadors… larger airports that often seen as the 'large faceless corporations' of the airport world are also doing an excellent job in engaging.

For me a major airport that is shaping the way social media should be used by major global hub airports is London's Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport is a massive airport with airlines from every inhabited continent and yet those involved with Heathrow's social media are able to connect, be helpful and at times even playful with their passengers … all while helping build the airports brand image in, a city with five international airports, along the way.

A recent experience that brought a smile to my face upon landing at Heathrow and receiving a message saying "Welcome to Heathrow! There are Crunchie bars waiting for your at WH Smith." While this may seem odd … a few hours earlier, while boarding a flight to London Heathrow I sent a message out on Twitter saying I was on a certain British Airways flight to Heathrow and I couldn't wait to pick up a Crunchie Bar … the folks at Heathrow timed their message to when they knew my plane was at the gate.

Airports are the gateway to a region and an airport's ability to create content and interact with passengers directing them to hotels, restaurants, attractions, allows for an interactive opening with the social media programs in place by tourism boards, local attractions and the chambers of commerce. This flow of conversation gives travelers’ access to instant local insights and suggestions … something that never happened during the planning and transit stages of travel before.

Social media has allowed airports to become full partners with the airlines and those who support travel to a region in being proactive and reactive to travelers needs. Social media has opened the floodgates for airports to become competitive in recruiting and retention or passengers from not only the local population, but also those who visit. Social media has finally allowed airports to explore new revenue streams and have a voice of their own, not the voices of others around them speaking for them.

For airports … social media has been a fundamental game changer for their benefit and the travelers who use them.

Happy Flying!

Have you had an airport engage you on Twitter? Which airports do you fly to/from aren't using social media, but you wish they did?

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @BethBlair

Introducing the 3rd guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Beth Blair writes for Aviation Security International and a travel blog. You can find her personal site and blog at BethBlair.com.

How social media as altered the way we air travel
The social media trend has not only made our world feel smaller, it’s making travel easier. Every day travelers are turning to their favorite social media sites for updates on news, bargains, trends, air delays or other valuable information that may impact their days on the road and in the sky.

This summer I was on a family trip and as I tweeted our adventures, locals offered advice on bakeries, restaurants and coffee shops. This isn’t rare. Twitter has played a major part in social media evolution and for good reason. It’s the fast-food of communication. (link to Benet’s post?) Just as every tropical island and cruise ship has its own ambiance, so do airports. Travelers don’t hesitate to jump on Twitter to ask fellow travelers where to find an airport pub or massage chair. Better yet, I’ve witnessed people meeting in person for the first time while passing through an airport. A few years ago, they would have walked right past each other.

Airlines in SM
It’s been fun watching airlines and other travel industry businesses partake in social media networks and as the months pass they get better and better. Airlines use social media for damage control, flight bargains and assisting with circumstances such as lost luggage. Oftentimes, a passenger may simply send a tweet out of frustration and the airline looks at it as an opportunity to provide outstanding customer service.

Another common trend is employees, especially cabin and cockpit crews, blogging or tweeting about their experiences, pet peeves or offering advice to passengers. As for airline security, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been successful at running the passenger-geared TSA Blog that explains procedures and addressed newsworthy events.

The Joy of Blogging
Blogging in general has made quite an impact on the social media scene. From experiences and opinions to controversial news, the various realms of blogs have given travelers the opportunity to research, discover and gather insight on a destination long before they arrive.

On a personal level, my shared blog, TheVacationGals.com was created for us to share our experiences and findings during our travels. We each have unique voices, opinions and backgrounds which make for an interesting mix.

The blog has allowed me to share my experience as a former flight attendant, indulge my interest in travel safety and as a mom I enjoy assisting other parents with their air travel questions. For example, I have been able to voice concerns regarding the dangers of the long-time airline lap-child policy.

While companies are using Facebook and Twitter to start buzz about their products, their blogging customers are sharing their experiences about the products. When it comes to air travel, luggage is always a big conversation piece as are comfort and health products. For parents, topics like strollers, food, entertainment, car seats and the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) are at the top of the list.

The proof is in the photos
A photo is worth a thousand words and that certainly seems the case when one photo is placed before thousands of people. Visual stimulation tends to build trust between a poster and a viewer and this is reflected daily in social media. Twitpic and Flickr are just a couple of photo-sharing sites used in social media. Photos of a grotesque hotel room would turn off most future guests whereas a hotel with a gorgeous beach-view would tempt travelers to book a room that day. Today, exposure in social media is better than a brochure.

Of course, not every photo relays the truth behind the story and this can be the case for flying. Earlier this year, a passenger took various photos of a major carrier’s aircraft being “held together” by what looked like duct tape. The photos made its way on to various social media sites. Sure, it looks bad, especially alongside the phrase, “If you can duct it…” However, this is one example where the photo didn’t explain the entire story. The silver adhesive was actually very expensive high-speed tape, a much higher quality of adhesive than duct tape. And it certainly wasn’t bought at Home Depot.

This story should be a remind to all social media users, that while Internet information is easily accessible today and erupting with information, it’s up to the individual to verify all information before coming to a conclusion. Happy traveling and tweeting!

Guest Blog: AirTran Delivers Nonstop Service Between MDT & FLL

Today we'd like the feature the first guest blog of it's kind. A few weeks ago we put out an invitation for our Facebook fans and Twitter followers to author a guest blog post. An avid & active fan and follower, Chris Stotz wrote the following customer testimonial post about his experience of flying AirTran Airways between MDT and FLL. Chris was born and raised near Harrisburg International airport in Central PA, but now lives in Fort Lauderdale.

I’m originally from central Pennsylvania but have been living in Fort Lauderdale since 2002. Finding a flight home to Harrisburg from either Fort Lauderdale or Miami airports always involved long and sometimes hectic connections in major airport hubs, usually resulting in about a six hour adventure between here and there. Last winter, the chaos of running through busy airports to make the connecting flight to/from Harrisburg became a thing of the past. While checking out updates on Harrisburg International Airport’s website (flyhia.com), I noticed the big announcement that I had been waiting eight years to see… AirTran would begin nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and Harrisburg. I remember sending out a mass email to family and friends still living in central Pennsylvania because this was big news. What a treat! Not only was there nonstop service between Harrisburg and Fort Lauderdale, it was on AirTran. AirTran’s low fares, hassle-free customer service, newer Boeing jets, and available in-flight WiFi service make them one of the best values in the air today (and one of my preferred carriers). Suddenly, what often ends up being a six-hour ordeal getting to Harrisburg would now take about 2 hours, without the stress of having to make a connecting flight.

I’ve made several quick weekend trips to visit family in central Pennsylvania from Fort Lauderdale since the new seasonal, nonstop service began. If I had to think of one word to describe each AirTran experience between Fort Lauderdale and Harrisburg, it would be “smooth.” No issues, no delays, no worries. Each time I was dropped off at Harrisburg International Airport for my return flight to Fort Lauderdale, I browsed the retail options in the Harrisburg International Airport terminal like Perfectly Pennsylvania, grabbed my coffee at Starbucks (I can’t believe there is now a Starbucks inside the HIA terminal), and boarded my quick flight back to South Florida. Smooth! Why drive to large, crowded airports in Baltimore or Philadelphia when HIA has everything a traveler needs… including nonstop flights to popular destinations?

Fort Lauderdale, about 20 minutes north of Miami, is home to the second-largest cruise ship port in the United States. Winter days are balmy, usually around 80-degrees with little or no humidity. The beaches are lined with towering palm trees and the ocean water is warm and blue. With AirTran’s direct service from Harrisburg, Fort Lauderdale is now a quick, easy, and affordable getaway for people in central Pennsylvania looking to escape the harsh, cold winter, even for just a long weekend. With AirTran, you can get to Fort Lauderdale from Harrisburg faster than it takes you to drive to the mid-Atlantic beaches.

For me, the best part of the nonstop service between Harrisburg and Fort Lauderdale is somehow home doesn’t seem so far away anymore. See you in the air!

Have you flown nonstop on AirTran Airways to/from MDT? What's been your experience with those flights?

If you enjoyed reading Chris's post and would like to guest blog for fly HIA blog, please let us know. Send an email to info@saraa.org with your interest!

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @CrankyFlier

Introducing the 2nd guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Brett Snyder. Brett is the President and Chief Airline Dork at Cranky Flier, LLC. In addition to his blog, Brett operates Cranky Concierge air travel assistance service. Today Brett shares his thoughts on Delta Air Lines reservations and the Twitter movement.

Next stop on the Delta tour? Reservations. I was particulary excited about talking to Allison Ausband, who runs the reservations team, because Delta is doing some really interesting things. Besides using some more unique flexible work schedules, Delta is also bringing together social media with reservations to create some spectacularresults.

There are about 5,000 reservations agents at Delta, and they’re scattered around several call centers around the world. Well, at least 4,000 of them are. The rest are actually home-based, similar to what JetBlue does with its agents and the team is humming right along. Right now, there are also call centers in South Africa and Jamaica that take calls from the US, but the long term plan is to bring that all back in-house. Yep, that’s right. Love it.

But of all those agents, there are eight that are particularly interesting to me. Those eight (and growing) make up the DeltaAssist team, the group that manages @DeltaAssist on Twitter. Though the group started off handling issues only during business hours in Atlanta (something I criticized here), it has already been expanded to work on weekends. It will eventually become a 24×7 operation, and that’s where it needs to be. And really, it needs to be there very soon. You can’t have part-time coverage for a 24 hour operation.

The agents on this team are given wide-ranging power to resolve any issues that arise, and if they can’t, they contact whomever needs to fix it. Ultimately, Allison views this team as just another line of business, like the reservations sales team.

Though the benefit this team brings seems obvious to me, I asked Allison how Delta was measuring success. Her first answer was this.

What we’re reading makes it worthwhile. Even if it’s not a favorable comment, it’s real-time learning.

While I agree with that, I can’t imagine that’s how they measure success, so I pressed on and she gave me two answers.

1. Fewer complaints
2. Fewer calls into the reservations center

Allison explained that the response has been phenomenal. The group tells customers that “someone’s listening in cyberspace and there’s a human behind it.” In other words, it gives a human face to a generally impersonal process.

While Delta hasn’t fully fleshed out its metrics yet, it likes the trends that it’s seeing. DeltaAssist agents can respond more quickly to customers when they’re in trouble. Since it’s not on the phone, the agents can multi-task and be more productive. And best of all (in my opinion)? Twitter limits you to 140 characters, so it makes customers get to the point. That lets the team help more people with less time. In fact, I had the chance to use it this week for a Cranky Concierge client, and I think that highlights how efficient this is.

crankyflier: looks like flt 63 ATL TPA may cxl – trying to help [client confirmation #] – is it possible to reaccom even if no cxl yet?
DeltaAssist: We can, although the only flight with 2 seats still open is leaving @ 10:50p. ^WG
crankyflier: Well, can we grab those seats and then they can still hang around 63 to see if it goes earlier?
DeltaAssist: All set. ^WG

Fantastic. No need to call anyone, and you have to explain it very concisely. The problem, of course, is that some might abuse the system, and I asked if they’d seen that so far. In her Southern accent, Allison slyly notes, “We have some regulars.” And that’s a constant issue for the airline – figuring out how to help people and when. Allison knows that Delta can’t respond to everything in cyberspace, so the airline is turning toward technology to help find what needs urgent assistance and what might not.

DeltaAssist will never take over the job of reservation agents completely, but it will be a strong complement. Regardless of the channel that people use, all agents are now being reminded that there are rules, but they aren’t in stone.

“We want agents to know, they’re listening to the customer. They need to do what’s right.”

That sort of empowerment isn’t something that we’ve seen at legacy airlines in recent times, and I hope it doesn’t ring hollow in this case. Granted, after my recentguest post from a former Delta reservations agent, it does make you wonder how easy it will be to make this change in empowerment stick. When I was there, they were sending reservations agents into recurrent training to make it clear that they had more power to make things right.

It also helps that there is complete support from senior management.

“We wouldn’t have been able to get all these resources if [the execs] didn’t believe in what we were doing.”

That’s true, and it’s certainly welcome.

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @avweekbenet

Introducing the latest in fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Benét J. Wilson. Benét is the Online Managing Editor for Business Aviation at Aviation Week in Washington, D.C., and is a consummate traveler and blogger.

The Internet has revolutionized and democratized the world of travel. In the old days, we had to rely on travel agents for booking our tickets and trusting that they would give us the best fares. We also had to rely on them, along with travel writers, for intelligence on where to go and where to stay.

But with the advent of the Internet, those functions became available to anyone with access to a computer. We can now book our own travel, find independent reviews on resorts and hotels and tailor our own vacations.

But for me, the one thing that has transformed travel is the growth in social media. And the one tool that has revolutionized how we experience our travel is Twitter. The 140-character microblogging site has the ability to give travelers instant information about any part of their trip.

For example, I flew to Geneva, Switzerland, back in May for a major business aviation show. The day after I arrived, I came down with a horrible cold. We all know that nothing is worse than being on the road and getting sick, especially if you’re out of the county.

I jokingly sent a Tweet asking one of my followers to go to Walgreens, get me some lotion tissues, some Sudafed Cold medicine for day and NyQuil for the evenings and along with some Riccola cough drops and fly them to Geneva. The next thing I know, I had tweets suggesting medicines I could buy in Geneva. One of my followers was even kind enough to Tweet her suggestions to me in French and German so I could show it to the pharmacist.

I took her good advice and got some great medicine and felt better after only a day. I again joked about how much better I felt, but admitted I had no idea what I was taking. Several of my European followers assured me that the medicines recommended to me were the right ones to take.

One of my favorite Twitter travel people is Stacy Smalls, AKA @EliteTravelGal. She is constantly tweeting about her amazing travels and giving advice on where people should go. She also handles her client emergency requests (and even requests from non-clients), because you never know when you’ll need help.

Another favorite is Brett Snyder, AKA @crankyflier, who brings humor and clarity to the airline business in his blog of the same name. But he also has a business – Cranky Concierge that sprang up after Twitter followers asked for help in rebooking flights after flight delays and cancellations. During Iceland’s volcano eruption, Snyder solicited clients via Twitter and came up with some really unique connections to get people out of Europe.

And if you mention almost any city in the world, I guarantee you will get some great suggestions on Twitter for places you don’t find in the guidebooks or deals that may not always be visible. A friend recently had an 8-hour layover in Singapore and wanted suggestions on what to do. One of my followers told me that the airport’s Singapore Visitors Center offers FREE two-hour tours of the city, including transportation. There’s also a free shuttle that takes you to points in the city.

So you will never see me travel without my two smartphones and their corresponding Twitter apps: the Blackberry Curve with UberTwitter and the iPhone4 with Echofone (both great recommendations from my Twitter followers). And to borrow my favorite airline tag line – this one from the soon-to-be-departed AirTran Airways – go. There’s nothing stopping you!

American Eagle: Deep in the Heart of Texas

One of our 7 airline partners American Eagle, a division of American Airlines, along with its parent company, is headquartered in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Our roving photog decided to embark on a journey to this amazing metroplex and chronicle the trip on Twitter, Facebook and eventually in a video on the HIA Observation Deck. The point of the social media journey was to take you, the follower, fan, subscriber; community member along too!

The journey began with a 7:30 am departure from MDT to Chicago - O'Hare (ORD) on American Eagle, followed by a 9:55 am connection from ORD to Dallas/Fort Worth airport (DFW) on American Airlines. The air travel experience from start to finish was a breeze thanks to capable and friendly airline staff and easy experiences at ORD and DFW. The air travel came to a close with an 11:50 (local time) arrival at DFW.

Upon arrival in DFW, our photog was off to visit the American Airlines Training & Conference Center (AATCC) and the nearby C.R. Smith Museum. These two facilities are an aviation geek and prop-head's dream come true. The AATCC shares it's campus with the Flight Academy, home to different training programs, including but not limited to pilot, first officer, and flight attendant school. The campus is located at what was formerly the Stewardess College in the 1950s.

The C.R. Smith Museum is a chockful of American Airlines goodness: memorabilia, audio/visual learning, aircraft parts, simulators and of course a retired member of the AA fleet, the Flagship Knoxville, a DC3 that began her maiden voyage in 1940. We would need an additional blog post to share entire museum experience; very interactive, and fun!

Have we interested you yet in hopping on a plane to visit DFW via ORD on American? Have you already visited these facilities? What did you enjoy the most about your visit to DFW?

Emergency Exercise by the Numbers

The post event wrap-up of our full-scale emergency exercise, we're pleased to say, is a positive one! On Saturday evening, 9/18 at 8 pm we we conducted our exercise as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. The exercise was executed by 108 emergency personnel from the community, 75 volunteer victims, and 40 airport and airline personnel.

The 108 emergency personnel included fire, police and EMS from York, Dauphin and Lancaster counties. These personnel joined forces with airport fire and police personnel to rescue 75 volunteer victims, 13 adult dummies and 2 infant dummies in a simulated plane crash on the east end of MDT's runway. The victims and dummies were assigned varying degrees of injury and had to be treated accordingly by the first responders.

The participating fire, police and EMS included 33 apparatus from Lower Swatara Township, Middletown, High Spire, the PA 193rd Air National Guard, Londonderry, Steelton, Swatara Township, Hershey, Union Deposit, Bainbridge, Fairview Township, DESSP, Life Lion, Hershey, Northwest, Manheim Township, and Community Life team. Other participating agencies were Emergency Health Service Foundation, American Red Cross, Dauphin County coroner, Dauphin County Communications and the PA 193rd Air National Guard Airfield Management Security Forces.

As you can see a LOT of time, effort and personnel went into exercise. In a matter of 90 minutes these combined community efforts provided scene safety, assessment, victim treatment, transport, fire fighting, and many other activities in an effort to build team skills in the event that an actual emergency incident would take place on the airport campus. These concerted efforts made this exercise a success!

MDT would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of the participating agencies, personnel and volunteers that helped make this exercise happen. We would also like to thank you, the community for staying up-to-date on the exercise as well!

You can read through our archive of live tweets during the exercise and also view photos of the exercise.

Post Exercise Wrap-Up

Please accept our apologies for the wrap-up post delay, as we're still collecting a few informational pieces to put together a robust piece together for you on the full-scale emergency exercise from 9/18/10!

We'll go live with our final blog wrap-up tomorrow! Stay tuned!

An Intro to HIA's Full-Scale, Emergency Excercise

This evening (9/18/2010) beginning at 8 pm, Harrisburg International Airport, along with local emergency responders, will be conducting an FAA required full-scale, emergency exercise. We expect that the exercise, held on the airport campus, to be wrapped up by 12 midnight. Local residents, guests and passengers at HIA will see lights and hear sirens during this time, as HIA and airline employees, along with the local responders simulate and respond to a staged emergency aircraft incident. Anyone seeing or hearing any part of the exercise should not be alarmed, this is ONLY an exercise!

Emergency Exercise FAQ

So what's the point of an airport conducting an emergency exercise?

The goal of the exercise is to enable airport and community fire, security, medical,and other resources to join in an effective, coordinated response to airport emergencies.

How often do you have to hold an emergency exercise?

The FAA requires the exercises to be conducted every 3 years.

What do you do at the emergency exercise?

In the months prior to the emergency exercise taking place a oversight team at the airport decides what type of emergency incident will be simulated/practiced at the exercise. The type of emergency being practiced is then planned for, and then simulated on the day of the exercise. Types of incidents that are practiced varies from year to year and from airport to airport.

Who participates in the emergency exercise?

Fire, police, dispatch, EMT, paramedic, airport personnel, airline personnel participate in the exercise, along with a number of their friends/family as volunteers.

What do the friends/family volunteers do at the exercise?

These volunteers will pretend to be "victims" of the type of emergency incident being practiced at the exercise. They are often dressed with make-up and paint called "moulage" to simulate different types of injuries that may/might be received in a real event.

How do you determine if the participating parties have learned what they are supposed to?

At the close of the exercise, the parties involved meet for a debriefing meeting wherein a group of people that had been selected to observe the exercise share their observations. All aspects of the exercise are discussed and performance rated. The goal of the exercise debriefing is to make sure all parties involved know what went well and what aspects needed improvement.

What other questions do you have? Post them as a comment and we'll be happy to answer them! The FAA provides a full airport exercise guide, feel free to take a look.

We will be covering the exercise with live social media coverage as it unfolds, so stayed tuned to Facebook and Twitter for live updates!

And tomorrow we will publish a post-exercise wrap up blog post!

Are you a Social Air Traveler?

When you cruising through the terminal looking for your gate, you may notice that many of your fellow air travelers are engrossed in their smart phones, iPads, netbooks, laptops, or any number of other electronic handheld devices. Some of those travelers may even be occupied by multiple smart devices. What are they doing? They're emailing, uploading, downloading, texting, tweeting, posting, writing, compiling, computing, researching, reading, surfing, sharing, shopping, and the list of activities is endless! Did we miss any?

Each day more and more of these activities are becoming socially connected to those around us. We have ever increasing opportunities to share what we're doing with just about everyone that we're connected to through social networking sites. This revolution in how we participate in online activities makes us social at work, play, travel, life, and more. How are you connecting with your Social Graph?

If you are traveling alone, do you connect online via social media to keep in touch with your family and friends? If you're traveling with a colleague on business, do you converse over the web or over a cup of coffee?

How do you prefer to be social when flying?

Time for another $250 Facebook Giveaway!

Hey fans, followers, friends, subscribers, tweeps, and social media community! We've put together another giveaway just for you! What's the scoop you ask? Our Facebook fan page has been seeing weekly increases in fans joining the HIA social networking community and "liking" what we're doing and we're super appreciative. To show just how much we appreciate our fans we're giving away a $250 airfare gift certificate when we reach 2,000 fans. At that point out, our fans* become eligible for the giveaway.

The gift certificate is good toward airfare on an airline of your choice. The trip must originate or end at HIA. So if you live out of the area, but are planning on flying into HIA you could employ the gift certificate toward your trip! But, it doesn't stop there... if we reach 3,000 fans we'll do a 3rd giveaway of another $250 airfare gift certificate!

This is one of the ways we'd like to thank you for your continued support of our social networking community and the airlines serving HIA! Did you know that you can connect with our social networking community from our website? Be sure to let us know what you think of the new integration!

*If you are an employee of Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, tenant or an airline serving SARAA/HIA, you and your immediate family members are not eligible for these giveaways.

More than Just Planes : Fleet Maintenance at HIA

On any given day at Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) there are more than airplanes, ticket agents, and baggage handlers operating to make sure passengers get to their final destination. There are large numbers of people and machines required to make an airport work. If you take pause for a moment you will find everything from trucks and heavy equipment to tractors and lawn mowers to police cars and fire apparatus working hard on airport property. The trucks transport airport maintenance staff, and support equipment around the property to make sure the airfield and facilities are in working order, the snow removal equipment clear the snow from the airfield during winter storms so aircraft can land safely and efficiently, the tractors and lawn mowers keep the landscape around the terminal manicured and grass near the runway neatly clipped so that aircraft crews have a clear view of the runway. Police vehicles patrol the property to keep safety and security a top priority at HIA and shuttle buses get you from the parking lot to the terminal front door in a timely fashion. There are approximately 220 various pieces of equipment and vehicles in the airport fleet that require periodic maintenance or repair. This fleet does not include the aircraft, luggage tugs, and other miscellaneous equipment used by the airlines.

With such a large fleet of equipment and vehicles working hard all year long, parts and pieces are

bound to require upkeep and maintenance. HIA has a staff of 3 qualified technicians in our fleet maintenance department that are well-trained to keep those 220 fleet members in working order. The technicians include Bill, Joe and Bob combined the guys have approximately 90 years of combined mechanical experience in fleet and vehicle maintenance. They share knowledge of vehicle emissions testing and repair, vehicle maintenance inspections, hydraulics, diagnostics, engine electronics, vehicle safety inspections, vehicle restoration and routine maintenance, metal fabrication and welding, air conditioning testing and repair, and many other areas of expertise. All of these skills and certifications allow the team to maintain a piece of equipment as small as a weed whacker and as large as the aircraft fire fighting vehicles owned by HIA.

The HIA owned equipment is maintained almost exclusively on site by our fleet maintenance department. The maintenance team pride themselves in doing as much as they physically can in the maintenance facility located on airport property. Team manager, Bob, indicated that they rarely send work out, but if they must it’s usually a job requiring specialized knowledge and equipment, for example, heavy engine work or an automatic transmission rebuild. The guys are routinely up for a challenge though; they have a myriad of training courses available to them from vehicle and equipment manufacturers. These training courses assist the department in staying technically and technologically up-to-date. Bob pointed out, that while you cannot always upgrade to brand new equipment and vehicles, you can add to and modify the existing fleet. The team’s ability to remain creative and proactive is a standard operating procedure everyday.

The ultimate goal of fleet and vehicle maintenance is to maintain all equipment in a continuously safe state of operational readiness in order to keep the airfield and facility operations supported. Did you know in the winter months that HIA has a fleet of specialized snow removal equipment that, at times, needs to work around the clock to keep the airfield clear of snow, sleet and ice? If one of these vehicles breaks down, it’s up to Bill, Joe, and Bob to get it back in working order. Many of the snow removal vehicles are custom built and require highly specialized parts in a timely fashion. By design, the guys are prepared and keep an inventory of parts in stock, and can get a vehicle back into the snow removal rotation in a snap! For example, the brushes on the high-speed runway brooms machines that are used in snow removal wear out from continuous use in heavy snow. The truck can be pulled into the shop, brushes changed out, and the truck returned to the rotation in less than 90 minutes. How’s that for efficient? That kind of quick turnaround in vehicle maintenance lends itself to your flight landing safely and on-time at HIA in winter weather. The department continuously plans for efficiency of operations regardless of the weather conditions.

When asked what were some of the more unusual vehicles they’ve worked on as a department, Bob indicated that the specialized snow removal equipment is pretty unique in it’s size and sophistication, but that the most unique items we have worked on were the Segway Human Transporters that HIA police formerly employed to patrol the interior of buildings. He also pointed out that the air traveling public might not realize that the jet bridges used to board an aircraft are also part of the equipment maintenance responsibilities. Someone needs to make sure that the wheels and other features of the jet bridges work properly!

Does this sound like a career that would be interesting to you? Bob said that specialized training, certifications and on-the-job experiences the team has learned along the way does not normally come from a traditional college education. With the technology exploding in the industry, ongoing training and accrued knowledge is never ending. Their team has a great culture; they all have differing strengths and weaknesses, but they all care about the equipment in the fleet to the point of knowing the individual character of each piece. Their mutual respect for the equipment combined with their differing expertise allows them to cooperatively take on nearly any task with great success!

“Individually we are limited but together we are limitless!”

What unusual pieces of equipment or vehicles have you seen on the airfield when you've flown to/from HIA? Which of the types of equipment or vehicles mentioned would you like to know more about?

Beat the Heat: Summer Travel Tips

This time of year is known for abundant sunshine, high temperatures and depending on where you are, very dry or very humid days. We've put together recommendations for your consideration for when you're throwing things into your suitcase, when you're on the plane, or at your sunny final destination!

• Pack light: If you're heading to a sunny destination, be sure to pack clothing that is light colored and light weight. Darker colors attract more of the suns rays and heavier materials will keep your body heat trapped in longer. So avoid the these types of clothing if you can!
  
  
• Defend your skin: Don't hesitate to bring your sun screen and remember to apply, apply, and reapply. Even if a sunscreen self-advertises as waterproof, it will eventually wear off after multiple dips in the ocean or pool, and you can sweat it off too! It's better to safe than sorry, so keep your dermis safe and sunburn-free.
  
  
• Protect your eyes: Sunglasses or a hat with a brim are both great ways to keep the sun out of your eyes. The added benefit of a brimmed hat? An additional way, in combination with sunscreen, to keep the sun off your face!
  
  
• Drink up: Keep yourself hydrated! Water is a good option, but if you're sweating profusely you may wish to consider drink options that are rich in electrolytes to replenish the sodium and potassium your body's lost. Sport drinks, like Gatorade or Powerade, are a good option for electrolyte replenishment.
  
  
• Respect your limits: Yes, you want to see everything that you possibly can when traveling, but your body will tire out quicker in the heat. If you're feeling sluggish, flushed, or warmer than usual, take a break, find some shade or a cool indoor environment, and hydrate!
  
  
• Keep kiddies cool: All of the aforementioned tips apply to the littlest of travelers also!
  
  
• Mind Fido too: Don't forget that heat is hard on animals. If you're traveling with a pet, keep it hydrated and don't work/play/run it too hard. Dark-coated animals mind the heat more as their fur will absorb more of the suns rays.

Do you have tips to add that we've missed? Do you have recommendations for those traveling with small children and/or pets that you've found to make the trip more tolerable?

Facebook Fan Page Giveaway

Hey fans, followers, friends, subscribers, tweeps, and social media community! We've put together a giveaway just for you! What's the scoop you ask? Our Facebook fan page has been seeing weekly increases in folks joining the HIA community and "liking" what we're doing and we're super appreciative.

To show just how much we appreciate our fans we're giving away a $250 airfare gift certificate when we reach 1,500 fans. At that point out, our fans* become eligible for the giveaway. The gift certificate is good toward airfare on an airline of your choice. The trip must originate or end at HIA. So if you live out of the area, but are planning on flying into HIA you could employ the gift certificate toward your trip!

But, it doesn't stop there... if we reach 2,000 fans we'll do a 2nd giveaway of another $250 airfare gift certificate! This is one of the ways we'd like to thank you for your continued support of our social networking community and the airlines serving HIA!

Did you know that you can connect with our social networking community from our website? Be sure to let us know what you think of the new integration!

*If you are an employee of Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority or an airline serving SARAA/HIA, you and your immediate family members are not eligible for these giveaways.