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New York Times
01-05-2025
- New York Times
How to Save Time and Money at the Airport
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.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Major airline under fire for cutting plate sizes in its lounges so flyers eat less
American Airlines travelers are undergoing portion control when they visit one of its famous Admirals Clubs, customers are claiming. Travel expert Gary Leff claimed the airline is offering small plates with all foods to save money at its lounges. 'They want to make sure that customers eat less, or at least take less, in order to control food costs. And they do this with very small plates,' he wrote on his blog View from the Wing - Thought Leader in Travel. Already believing the Admirals Clubs 'lags the offerings of Delta and United,' Leff said the small plates also create a mess in lounges. 'They don't hold much food, and they don't do a great job of holding it in. 'If you pick up food using tongs and place it in the plates, some items like salad invariably fall onto the ground,' he wrote. Leff also slammed the quality of the Club food, but noted it could be a reason why some locations aren't busy. Admiral Club members are required to adhere to rules, including paying for certain foods and not taking items away from clubs. Leff slammed American Airlines' Admirals Clubs and claims its features 'lags the offerings of Delta and United' A reader provided an example of full-sized bratwurst in an Admirals Club at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina. The smaller-sized dishes were the only plates at the Club, and the bratwurst didn't fit. Leff used the 'awkward' moment to give a tongue-in-cheek explanation of the basic purposes of a plate. The travel expert explained that dishes are used to help keep food off surfaces, spilling or dropping on the ground, prevent it from spreading food everywhere, and serve as a barrier between food and dirty tables. They can also provide a 'flat, often decorative space to arrange food attractively,' he said. Leff believes American mainly uses the small plates for portion control. 'I suppose if the lack of proper plates for Admirals Club food is a stopper, you could always just limit yourself to the Snack Tower of Sadness,' he joked, referring to a selection of snacks presented in tall plastic tubes. 'Or, American could take seriously the idea of their premium pivot and invest in dishware, not just food.' Reddit users were just as frustrated, and a few travelers claimed they watched Admirals Club attendees often ' dropping food from tiny plates.' Travelers interested in visiting a lounge must be Admirals Club members, Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard holders, purchasing a day pass, or traveling in premium cabins on qualifying flights Admirals Club lounges are a hotspot for American Airlines fliers worldwide. One of the airline's newer locations opened in 2023 at Denver International Airport in Colorado. Travelers interested in visiting a lounge must be Admirals Club members, Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard holders, purchasing a day pass, or traveling in premium cabins on qualifying flights. Besides American, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are known for offering high quality services through their lounges. Delta Sky Clubs are hot commodities in the eyes of flyers - especially its new first class lounge inside JFK. United offers three types of airport lounges, opened its newest United Club Fly location in February, reopened a Polaris lounge this week, and is scheduled to open a revamped club in June.
Chicago Tribune
13-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
What are United Airlines' ‘future options' for Denver airport site?
United Airlines' development plan for 113.7 acres it bought near the Denver airport has raised questions about what the carrier plans to do with all that space. The airline has said it will build a new flight center to supplement its main training facility in northeast Denver, but has remained mum on the entirety of its plans. An aviation website said Jan. 31 that it 'doesn't take more than 100 acres for pilot training.' And the Chicago Tribune last year editorialized that the Windy City headquarters could be at risk. United, the dominant carrier at Denver International Airport, submitted an initial plan to the city in November for the land it bought for $33 million. The infrastructure master plan prepared by the architecture firm ZGF said the airline will build a new flight training center, which it wants to have running by fall 2027. Ample space would remain once a flight center is built. The master plan includes five office buildings to the west of the training facility. The plan plots 1.6 million square feet for 6,171 employees, but doesn't specify what the buildings would house. Gary Leff, a financial executive and founder of the frequent-flier website View from the Wing, wrote in a Jan. 31 blog that United officials have said there were no imminent plans to move the airline's headquarters. 'Saying that no move is 'imminent' was not a denial,' Leff wrote, adding that United has scaled back its presence in Chicago's Willis Tower, where its lease runs to 2032. 'And United lacks a corporate campus like Delta and American now have.' 'We do not have anything additional to share on our plans for the land we've purchased in Denver. The land provides United with future options, of which there are no set plans beyond using the land to expand our Flight Training Center capabilities,' United spokesman Russell Carlton said Monday in an email. United has said Denver is its fastest-growing hub and has roughly 10,000 employees in the state. Denver is also home to the training center where all United pilots go. The current 23-acre center is in northeast Denver and has reached its maximum capacity. The proposal is the first step in rezoning the land from agricultural use. Ryan Huff, spokesman for Denver's community planning and development, said the staff anticipates completing the review by the fourth quarter this year. Other steps, including review of a site development plan, will follow. The infrastructure master plan shows four buildings for the additional flight training center totaling 865,000 square feet on the site at the corner of 64th Avenue and Yampa Street. The first phase of development would include the training center and an energy plant. The larger northwest portion is referred to as a 'Future Site' in the plan, which said the land is reserved for 'flexible development' with premium views of the mountains and access to open space facing Peña Boulevard, the main route to the airport, and light rail. Is there a new United corporate headquarters in the future of the site? United CEO Scott Kirby, who attended last year's grand opening of the expansion of the current flight training center, said there were no other specific plans for the rest of the 113-acre parcel. 'There's nothing that's 'Yes.' There's nothing that's 'No.' It's optionality,' Kirby told The Denver Post.
