How to Save Time and Money at the Airport

New York Times

01-05-2025

From long lines to overpriced food and scarce seating, airports are rife with pitfalls.
For some people, said Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going, an app for cheap flights, 'airports are like travel purgatory: You're neither here nor there.'
But technology, advance planning and a few creative strategies can help you parry airport problems.
Your airport journey can begin as early as 24 hours before departure, when you should check in, pay checked bags fees, which will expedite bag drop, and sign up for flight notifications by text to keep up with scheduling.
Next, determine when you should leave for the airport. The rule of thumb is to arrive two hours before departure for domestic flights (three for international), allowing yourself plenty of time to check bags, get through security (especially if you don't have expedited clearance) and board.
'The biggest challenge with airports is the variability in how long it may take to get there, and to get from curb to gate,' said Gary Leff, the author of the aviation blog View from the Wing.
Use a map app to get a sense of travel time to the airport a week or a few days before departure. Airline websites commonly include security wait times.
If you're checking a bag, you may need to do so no less than 45 minutes before domestic departures (check your carrier for cutoff times). Add this to your transit time, along with a comfortable cushion.
The quickest way through security is to sign up for expedited clearance.
Travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck usually wait 10 minutes or less at security, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Membership, which costs between $76.75 and $85, depending on the enrollment provider, is good for five years.
Global Entry, which speeds travelers through customs screening when they return to the United States, includes enrollment in TSA PreCheck. It costs $120 and is good for five years.
CLEAR allows members to use its lanes in 59 airports around the country to get to the front of the security lines ($199 a year).
If you do breeze through traffic and security, try to fly standby on an earlier flight, recommends Brian Sumers, who writes the newsletter The Airline Observer.
'Since the pandemic, free standby is back,' Mr. Sumers said, noting that even Southwest Airlines, which previously prohibited the practice, offers standby if space is available.
Airports are notorious for inflated food prices. A sandwich that might cost $5 at a grocery store can easily run twice that at the airport.
So bring your own meals and snacks. Just make sure they can clear security (for instance, yogurt is considered a liquid, and containers over three ounces can be confiscated.) Also, bring an empty water bottle to refill after clearing security.
If you can't B.Y.O., Harriet Baskas, a Seattle-based author who writes the travel blog Stuck at the Airport, recommends browsing food courts and ordering appetizers or kid-size portions to keep costs down.
Many airports have vastly expanded the availability of electrical outlets to charge devices. But nabbing one can be competitive, and sometimes the outlets don't work.
'I've merrily worked away while believing my laptop or phone was charging only to discover that the entire bank of powered chairs was unplugged,' Ms. Baskas said. 'I've learned to check first before settling in.'
She recommends taking a multi-outlet cord so you can share a plug with other travelers.
Get around the issue with your own external battery. George Hobica, who founded the flight search engine Airfarewatchdog, takes one powerful enough to charge several devices at once.
Use wait time to stretch your legs. Exercise delivers both physical and mental benefits, and long airport concourses offer convenient walking tracks.
Colleen Lanin, who writes the travel blog Colleen Travels Between and has been covering family travel for 16 years, suggests tiring the kids out with exercise before boarding.
'When my children were young, I paid them a small amount of money for each lap they ran around our backyard before we headed out, and they could spend their earnings on an item at the airport gift shop,' she said.
During layovers, she encourages parents to find a quiet area and play a game of Red Light Green Light or Simon Says.
As long as you are monitoring the flight boarding call on an app, there's no reason to be at a crowded gate where seats are scarce. Find a convenient unoccupied gate and wait there.
Airport websites will help you find yoga rooms (San Francisco), art exhibits (Philadelphia), live music schedules (Austin-Bergstrom), outdoor terraces (Denver) or a butterfly garden (Singapore Changi).
Or ask an airport employee for recommendations.
'The folks at the information booths are usually happy to share favorite spots, and you don't need to be a kid to ask them for crayons and a coloring book or a collectible airport trading card,' said Ms. Baskas.
When a flight is delayed or canceled, passengers inevitably start lining up to talk to the gate agent. But log in while you're waiting. With the airline's app; you can usually get information more efficiently.
'Typically, customers will have the same access to seats on the app as agents at the desk can see,' Mr. Sumers said.
With storms or cascading delays, seat availability can be fluid.
'If you're vigilant on the app, you may find seats that weren't available just one minute before,' Mr. Sumers added.
You may not be able to escape an airport, especially during a delay, but you can treat yourself to a break.
Ms. Baskas keeps $30 in her wallet to buy a treat like a special dessert or a hardcover book.
'That makes me feel better at the moment and won't show up on the credit card bill later to remind me of a stressful time,' she said.