Guest Blog: Issues that international travellers have with US airport security

We have asked a few select guest bloggers to join us on this blog as part of a six week mini series on hot button aviation topics that effect you, the traveler. These guest bloggers will no doubt enrich your travel experience by bringing in their own various perspectives and experiences from different horizons. Today we would like to introduce Darren Cronian as the fourth guest blogger*.

Darren, living in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, writes and rants about the problems that consumers face with travel. He is asked regularly is why he started writing his blog. Is is because In 2005, he visited a high-street travel agency and was not impressed with their customer service and felt that the travel agent had no interest in helping him find a holiday. He arrived home, annoyed, and wanted to rant, so welcome to the Travel Rants blog.

He has learned a lot about the travel industry, and continues to learn. Considering he had no working experience of the industry has been quoted in a number of national newspapers and interviewed on BBC Radio. He was filmed as part of a consumer programme that was aired in December 2009. Read more about Travel Rants in the media His travels include Australia, Malaysia, Norway, and Czech Republic. His favorite travel moments are snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, and climbing over Sydney Harbour Bridge.

You can connect with Darren on any of the following social media platforms, in addition to his blog. Browse his favourite sites and blogs on StumbleUpon, keep up to date with his travels on Dopplr, chat with him on Twitter, add your travel photos to his Flickr Group, become a fan of Travel Rants on Facebook, and watch his videos on You Tube.

The number of international tourists to the United States totals over 56 million every year, so I suppose you can understand why US airport security is much stricter compared with other countries. The United States though is not seen as a welcoming country to tourists and this does put a lot of people off from visiting.

Grumpy TSA staff

You are flying to the United States for a family holiday to the sunshine state of Florida; all of the family is excited about the prospect of two weeks of sunshine and theme parks but that excitement quickly disappears as soon as you land and make your way through airport security.

Yes, welcome to the USA, where the TSA staff are grumpy, unfriendly and not welcoming. It is a shame that these people are your first experience of this great country. It doesn’t take too much effort to smile and there’s really no reason to be rude when all you want to do is jump in your hire car and find the hotel.

The endless queues

You have flown for seven hours; the kids are bored and just want to start your family holiday. Rather than making the final leg of your journey as stressless as possible you then have to spend ages queuing to get through airport security. You are stressed, frustrated and you cannot see the end of the queue.

Quizzed like a criminal

You finally get to the end of the huge queue to be made to feel like a criminal by rude officials. In the UK we have a saying, that you’re not guilty until proven otherwise. In the United States, as you pass through the security your guilty until proven otherwise. You would have thought that airport profiling would have made security easier, but that’s not the case.

Can you imagine what it is going to be like when full body scanners come into force? I really do not think that this will improve airport security; it longer to get through. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is important that airports treat security seriously, but I do think that some common sense could be introduced.

Electronic System for Travel Authorisation form

The ESTA application takes up to 72 hours to be approved, gives flyers prior approval for entry to the US. This is now mandatory for international travellers who are passport holders in 35 countries with US "visa waiver" status, Britain being one of those countries. Prior to ESTA you had to complete the green I-94 card in-flight, so maybe, hopefully, this will improve the time it takes to get through US airports.

I am interested to read your experiences with US airport security.

*The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harrisburg International Airport.

Guest Blog: Codesharing Explained

We have asked a few select guest bloggers to join us on this blog as part of a six week mini series on hot button aviation topics that effect you, the traveler. These guest bloggers will no doubt enrich your travel experience by bringing in their own various perspectives and experiences from different horizons. Today we would like to introduce Brett Snyder as the third guest blogger*.

Brett is the President and Chief Airline Dork of Cranky Flier LLC. He self-describes as having the airline bug since he was young. As a kid, he never missed a chance to go to LAX and pick up airline timetables. His grandmother even took him to an airport hotel for my birthday one year so he could watch the planes land. By the age of 12, he had become a travel agent and soon after was volunteering at Traveler’s Aid.

Brett has worked in several places in the airline industry:

• USAir Sales Intern (1996-1997)
• America West Sales Intern (1997-1999)
• United Dulles Operations Intern (1999)
• America West Pricing Analyst/Sr Analyst/Manager (1999-2002)
• Eos Intern (2003)
• United Marketing Planning Product Manager (2004-2005)
• PriceGrabber.com Business Director of Travel (2005-2007)

Today, his main focus is his blog along with his Cranky Concierge air travel assistance service. He also freelances and consults for other companies. To see a list of everything Brett's doing today, visit his ethics page. You can also follow Brett on twitter, @CrankyFlier.

Today Brett will explain the a concept employed by airlines, Codesharing.

Codesharing. That word seems to strike fear in the hearts of travelers. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but for many, it is a great annoyance. Airlines love that they can sell tickets to people traveling from Harrisburg to Outer Mongolia all on one airline, but customers hate it when they find out that they aren't getting what they bargained for.

Not long ago, codesharing was confined mostly to regional relationships. You would book a flight on Northwest, but you might end up on a flight operated by Mesaba, for example. At least that plane was painted in Northwest colors, so you actually knew that this was affiliated somehow. But then, the airlines realized there was more money to be made.

Soon airlines began codesharing with other airlines. The practice has exploded now to the point where some airlines are finding they need more than 4 digits worth of flight numbers even though they operate nowhere near 10,000 flights.

Let's look at Harrisburg (HIA), for example. Theoretically, HIA is served by 6 airlines: Air Canada, AirTran, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways. Do you know how many airlines actually serve the airport? Thirteen. Seriously. Only AirTran flies all their own airplanes to HIA. For the rest, it's a smorgasbord of fun. I pulled some random dates in January found this:

• Air Canada - all flights operated by Air Georgian
• Continental - all flights operated by Commutair
• Delta - all flights operated by Pinnacle, Freedom, or Atlantic Southeast
• United - one flight operated by United to Chicago, rest operated by TransStates or GoJet
• US Airways - one flight operated by US Airways to Charlotte, rest operated by Piedmont, Mesa, or Air Wisconsin

As if that's not confusing enough, you can buy a ticket on a US Airways flight under United's code. Heck, you can buy a ticket on Air France to Harrisburg but it's actually a Delta marketed flight operated by Freedom.

Let's say you're a Mozart fan and you want to fly from HIA to see his home in Salzburg, Austria. I found one option on United 8035 connecting to United 8833 and then United 9484. Guess what? That first flight is operated by GoJet, the second by Lufthansa, and the third by Austrian. Not one is operated by United itself. It's enough to make your head spin.

So what are you supposed to do about it? The good news is that if you pay attention, it's easy to figure this out. Airlines are required to disclose who is actually operating your flight. Once you find who is flying the plane, you can then do some research to see if it's an airline you actually want to fly.

• If you're worried about comfort, go to a site like SeatExpert or SeatGuru.
• You can also try SkyTrax for more info on service.
• If you're concerned about safety, go look up each airline at the Aviation Safety Network

Remember, if you don't like what you see, then keep looking for another flight. Happy travels!

*The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harrisburg International Airport.

Guest Blog: Tips for Evacuating an Aircraft during an Emergency

We have asked a few select guest bloggers to join us on this blog as part of a six week mini series on hot button aviation topics that effect you, the traveler. These guest bloggers will no doubt enrich your travel experience by bringing in their own various perspectives and experiences from different horizons. Today we would like to introduce Beth Blair as the second guest blogger*.

Her strong online presence includes penning the monthly USATourist News Magazine and, in the blog world, co-owning TheVacationGals.com where she blogs about her travels and offers valuable insight and tips for hitting the road (and skies). Her blog posts have been featured on major news websites including Travel Meredith, Fox and NBC affiliates, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times, and others. She writes regularly for Fodors.com and Homewood Suites' SuiteTrip.com.

A former flight attendant, Beth enjoys sharing her insider’s perspective and knowledge on all aspects of travel. She is frequently quoted in the media, including Chicago Tribune, FoxNews.com travel, RealSimple.com and Woman's Day magazine and is a PBS SproutforParents.com travel expert. Beth also appeared on ABC-15 Sonoran Living Live in Phoenix, Arizona. Follow Beth on Twitter @BethBlair.

Today Beth will be sharing her tips on how to evacuate an aircraft during an emergency.

January 15th is the one-year anniversary of US Airways Flight 1549’s Hudson River ditching (aircraft water landing). The fact that every passenger and crew member on board survived stunned the world and made Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger a household name.

It’s true that the majority of airplane accidents are survivable - especially if passengers can escape within the first 90 seconds, also known as the “golden period.” Of course, the possibility of your flight actually being involved in an airplane accident is very unlikely; however, tell that to the crew and passengers of Flight 1549 and they may have a different opinion – because, despite statistics, they know it can happen.

What if you were to find yourself in such a situation - would you know what to do? Here are some basic tips every air passenger should know before boarding an aircraft:

Wear safe shoes. The trend these days is to wear easy-off shoes to get through security quickly; however, ensure the shoes you choose will protect your feet during an evacuation. You may be facing anything from freezing water, fire or snow.

Know how your seatbelt works. As silly as it sounds, passengers struggle with their seatbelts under normal circumstances. During an emergency, when seconds count, struggling with a seatbelt could become a nightmare. Fasten it low, snug and practice its easy release feature when you first sit down.

Know where the floatation devices are located. Keep in mind that not every aircraft has a life vest, but your seat does double as a floatation device. If you end up with a life vest on, never inflate it while still in the aircraft. If the plane becomes submerged under water you will not be able to lower yourself through an exit with an inflated vest.

Study your exit. This is especially important if you are sitting in an emergency exit row as not every exit is made the same. Some 40 pound exit windows are a “pull in and throw out” while others have a pull handle which pops the exit open. Also, don’t forget to look behind you for your closest exit. It is human instinct to exit through the door you entered – even if the closest exit is directly behind you.

Look outside before opening an exit. Don’t open an exit if there is smoke, fire, water or any other obstruction that could make exiting through that escape route unsafe. If the exit is blocked, direct your fellow passengers to another exit.

Never return to the aircraft. After flight 1549 passengers were quoted saying that they almost returned inside the cabin to retrieve belongings or were asked by other passengers to do the same. Never take that risk.

*The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harrisburg International Airport.

Guest Blog: Get Rebooked Quickly & Stress Free When On A Delayed Or Cancelled Flight

We have asked a few select guest bloggers to join us on this blog as part of a six week mini series on hot button aviation topics that effect you, the traveler. These guest bloggers will no doubt enrich your travel experience by bringing in their own various perspectives and experiences from different horizons. Today we would like to introduce Steven Frischling as the first guest blogger*.

Steven, aka: Fish, and founder of The Travel Strategist, is a globe trotting photographer and recognized airline travel expert who has a knack for making sense of detailed, complex travel scenarios and understanding the intricate nature of the commercial airline industry. In the interest of sharing his in-depth knowledge of travel logistics and the intricate workings of business travel, Frischling founded the popular travel blog Flying With Fish in 2006. Flying With Fish offers regular travel tips for "Those Who Fly & Those Who Want To Fly Smarter." You can follow Steven's daily aviation and travel-related tweets on Twitter.

Today Fish will be sharing his tips on efficient and stress-free rebooking for those travelers affected by delayed/cancelled flights.

Winter is the time of year when travelers fear the weather and unfortunately are most likely to deal with unexpected delays, cancelled flights, rerouted flights and 'unforeseen' weather affecting their travel plans.

Whenever a flight is significantly delayed or cancelled there is usually a chaotic rush to be the first people in line at the gate-area counter. A planeload of passengers vying for limited amount of rebooked seats is often a slow and irritating process. This process is not only frustrating for the passengers, but the airline personnel as well. Delayed passengers tend to be angry and take their frustration out on the airline gate agents and this further slows down the process.

Should you be on a significantly delayed flight or a cancelled flight you have options to reduce your stress. Everyone wants to catch the next flight and you can increase your likelihood of a favourable rebooking while also saving yourself the irritation of standing in line only to be told "There are no more connections tonight to Portland via Detroit." So what can you do? You can always make sure you have the following information with you:

1) Always have the phone number to the airline you are flying with handy. If the airline has multiple phone numbers, find them and fly with them. The less time you spend fumbling for this basic information, the more likely you are to get yourself traveling again.

2) Know your alternate travel options for both your airline and their airline alliance partners, or code-share partners on the route you need to fly. You can get this information easily on the airline's web site, the website of their airline alliance or other online airline reservations sites. Knowing your options will save both you and the airline you are working with a lot of time and legwork.

3) Always have the itinerary of your current travel information. This information needs to include not only your intended flights, but also your PNR/Record Locator. This information is found on every airline reservation, and is emailed to you even when you book through sites such as Travelocity & Expedia.

With this information you can skip the long angry line of passengers and find a quiet place to sit down, call the airline, endure the irritating hold music and wait for an agent to rebook you on the phone. Very often agents on the phone have more options to help displaced travelers and if you are calm, polite and patient they are also often able to compensate you with a few extra frequent flyer miles if you are a member of their frequent flyer program.

Once the agent on the phone rebooks you, walk to the next gate and get ready to fly.

Happy Flying!

-Fish
http://www.flyingwithfish.com/

*The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harrisburg International Airport.