Recently in Airports Category

At the outset, hat tip to the ticket agent I spoke with yesterday on Delta's "Special Member Services" desk. As I wrote yesterday, the weather around the south resulting from Tropical Storm Fay had me worried about getting out of New Orleans and up to NYC. The gentleman from Delta-land suggested that, since I was a Platinum frequent flier, I should just go to Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) as early as I could and get away from the storm. I'm no stranger to the 6am MSY-ATL flight; I firmly believe that the sooner you're on a plane, the better. The airlines agree as well, particularly the ticket agent working the "First Class/Medallion" line at MSY. I handed her my ID and explained I was on the nonstop to LGA this evening. She needed no further explanation, keying in my name and re-booking me. Since leaving early in the morning is "same-day travel" as my evening flight, there was no charge for the changes.

I was re-booked on the 0640 flight from MSY to Cincinatti-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). CVG is one of Delta's main hubs, along with Salt Lake City and the mothership at ATL. (CVG's air traffic has changed dramatically, and I have more about that on my YatPundit blog.) The itinerary had me connecting there to the CVG-LGA flight that I'm on as I type this.

We took a pretty roundabout route to get up to CVG from home, flying east along the Gulf Coast to around Ft. Walton Beach, FL, then turning north into Georgia, passing between Macon and Atlanta, finally turning back a bit west to come into CVG. This added about 15 minutes to our flying time. A delay of any kind can be perilous when making a connection at a hub airport, but this one worked out fine. We came into CVG at gate A18, and the next flight departed from gate A25. Since this flight is on a "regional jet" (ComAir/Delta Connection), the boarding process is less complicated. It's much easier to get 50-60 people aboard than 140 people on a MD88, or even more on one of the larger jets. That meant I had time for a bathroom stop. I had time to migrate to the center of Concourse A and the food court. I passed on that idea, however; having eaten Popeyes Chicken for dinner last night, the prospect of a Quarter Pounder now wasn't that appealing.

So, today was a "regional jet" day. The MSY-CVG flight was on a Chataqua Airlines' Embraer 145 regional jet. This is a 52-seat plane that has three seats per row. when you enter, seat A is on the right, with C and D on the left. I was in seat 3A, not bloody bad for walking up at 5:15am for a 6:40am departure. Seats on a regional jet tend to be even more cramped than their larger cousins, so it was nice that the agent at MSY took pity on my fat butt and put me on the side where the window seat is also the aisle seat. The flight was just fine, in spite of the circuitous route, since we had a pilot with a sense of humor ("Welcome from the front office. I'd like to introduce your flight attendant, Carol, who is a goddess in blue polyester.") Carol was also old enough to be his mother, not an uncommon situation with these very-young (and very low-paid) pilots on the regional carriers. She didn't even have to ask if I needed more Cran-Apple juice, as I nodded off after reading up on three chapters of the computer class I'm teaching tomorrow.

I woke up just as we were on final approach to CVG. De-planing is just as easy on the 145 as boarding. What was weird today was a regional jet parking at the airport's A concourse, but I'll save that for political commentary. Within half an hour, the gate agent at A25 was boarding the connecting flight a Bombardier CRJ-900. This jet has the same seat layout as the Embraer, but with the addition of three rows of First Class seats. Hat tip to the lady who re-booked me (gotta get her name next time, she's helped me numerous times and deserves an e-mail to Delta), for putting me in 1A, right up front. We were slow pushing back from the gate--the pilot said the ground crew was short-staffed--so departure was 20 minutes late. That didn't quite bother me for two reasons: First, getting into LGA is a matter of getting into the air. Barring weather issues, the FAA lets you land once you take off. Their strategy is to keep you on the ground until they can fit you into the metro NYC patterns. Since we weren't on a "ground hold," life was good. Life was better for the second reason, a flight attendant willing to freshen up my pre-takeoff glass of wine.

I would have had one of those lovely Delta "snacks" had I kept to the original itinerary on the MD88. The regional carriers just do the basket of junk food, so my chardonnay was accompanied by a pack of peanut butter crackers. Still, the wine is cold, and I'm taking a taxi to my hotel, which is a block from Times Square.

The Road Warrior has a tough call to make every Sunday. Do you sacrifice your day, taking the early flights out, or do you spend the day at home, heading to the airport at 4pm-5pm, hoping that the travel world hasn't gone to hell in a handbasket while you barbecued for family? Since Delta resumed nonstop service to LGA, I'm usually OK with the latter, even if it means not getting to Midtown Manhattan until 1am. Weather is the kicker, though, and the widespread remnants of a tropical system is about as bad as it can get. Best to take the long way to LGA.

Many companies now require their people to use travel sites like Expedia or Orbitz to book travel. One of the companies I work with frequently, Hitachi Data Systems, still has their own travel department. Since I'm self-employed, I normally insist on making my own arrangements.

As much as people talk about how airlines dump on their customers, there are still some perks to be had by the fliers who stay monogamous. This morning was a good example of that. My original schedule for the coming week was to teach a four day class (HDS Enterprise Storage Foundations) in Santa Clara, CA. I usually fly into SFO when going to Silly Valley, even though you see the planes taking off overhead from SJC when you walk out the door of the HDS office. SJC doesn't do redeyes, so I drive the 30 or so miles back up 101 to the bigger airport.

The airfare for this particular trip was obscene--over $1300--because I booked it so late. The SFO-ATL redeye on Thursday nights is always a zoo to book. It's very popular, overbooks, and upgrades are impossible. In spite of all this, it gets me home at 8am on Friday, so it works, even when the plane is packed like a train in Mumbai.

All that went out the window at 2pm yesterday (Friday), when I got a call that an instructor is ill and can't teach a class in NYC. They could cover my class with a less-experienced instructor, so I'm now off to teach Enterprise Replication Fundamentals (a very fun class similar to one I taught a lot for EMC), in NYC. Changing the flights was a snap, I just called the "Delta Special Member Services" line and they put me on the 5:30pm nonstop, MSY-LGA, returning Friday morning on the nonstop.

When I woke up this morning and looked at Da Paper, I didn't like the track of TS Fay. It's not that I'm worried for the house or the city, but the combination of possible weather delays with the natural delays of flying into the New York City area give me great concerns. The 5:30pm flight looked really risky, so I called Delta back. There are a number of options for earlier flights that go through ATL, but all would cost more.

That's when the ticket agent on the other end made a fantastic suggestion. He suggested I just go to the airport early in the morning and do the "same day confirmed" strategy. In other words, go up to the ticket counter at, say 5am for the 6am flight and fly standby. Because it's same-day changes and I'm a "Platinum Elite," there will be no charge. Even if I didn't have that super-studly status with the airline, the change fee would still only be $25.

The moral of the story--loyalty to an airline still helps when plans change.

My friend Kate from This Mommy Gig is taking a bit of a trip later this year by air, with her two small children. Traveling with littles has never been an easy proposition, even before all the various and sundry TSA regulations we air travelers labor under these days. Still, it can and must be done, so here are some suggestions to make the experience less painful for all concerned.



One note before we get started: I'm a "Platinum Elite" frequent flier on Delta Air Lines. I speak Delta, sort of. Other airlines have different languages. I've cross-checked Delta's policies with Southwest's, since I also fly SWA a bit as well.

I've broken these suggestions down into a bit of a chronology.

Booking Travel: The first thing you must decide is how your children will be traveling. You don't have to book a separate seat for your child under 2 if you intend to carry/hold the child throughout the flight. If kiddo is over 2, or if you want to strap 'em into a car seat, you need to purchase a separate ticket. For a mom traveling with two littles, booking two or three seats is a tough call. You can save some money doing the "infant in arms" thing, but then you have less maneuvering room for second kiddo if you're holding the smaller one. Perhaps a baby sling would make sense for the flight, even if you don't use it regularly. If I were Kate, I would probably book three seats, put baby in a car seat on one side, older kiddo on the aisle, and sit in the middle between them.

Most airline websites can be cryptic when it comes to notifying them about "infant in arms." If there's no box to tick on the site, be sure to tell the ticket agent at the airport about your kid when you check in.

If you'll be doing regular travel with kids and you'll be purchasing their own tickets, do set them up in your airline's frequent flier program. If you're traveling across the US, that's 2500+ miles each way. If you do that twice a year, that's 15K miles for three people. You can get award travel with 25K miles, so it adds up fast.

Departure Day

Get to the airport early. Sounds like a cliche, but it's more important with kids in tow. If you're parking a car in the airport's long-term lot/garage, be prepared for a bit of a hike to the terminal. If you're pushing a small child in a stroller and expecting the toddler to walk, be prepared for a cranky kid by the time you get to the check-in desk. If you're checking baggage, you'll need to check-in for your flight at least 30 minutes prior to departure, so factor this into your walk from the car.

Checking In. The check-in process at the ticket counter is more than a bit annoying these days for most airlines. Delta, along with most other major carriers, make extensive use of computer-based "kiosks" for check-in. The flier swipes their frequent flier membership card or the credit card used to purchase the e-ticket, and the reservation information pops up. You confirm it, print out your boarding pass(es), verify your ID with the ticket agent, and check any luggage you have. If you've purchased seprate tickets for your children, you'll need to repeat the process for them as well.

While the logistics of this process aren't that bad for an individual adult, they can be a challenge for a mom with a kid in tow. Factor this, along with the crowd of people that invariably forms around these kiosks into your time calculations.

Once you've secured your boarding passes and dropped off your luggage, it's on to the next big hurdle, the security check.

Dealing with the Transportation Security Administration

Be polite. Ever see Chris Rock's bit on "How not to get your ass kicked by the po-lice" on his old HBO show? If so, you get the idea. TSA officers are by and large professional--they've done a good job of weeding out most of the jerks. You need to remember that, no matter how stressed out you are at this point, no matter how cranky your kids are, no matter what idiotic thing your spouse just did, the TSA officers at the screening station can shut your trip down cold if they choose to do so. Getting you and your kids past TSA is going to take some work. Don't be the "sippy cup mom" -- even if the TSA officers aren't ball-busters, you don't want to make a scene. Be polite. Smile. And above all, follow instructions.

Liquids. Babies drink way more than they eat. There are exceptions to the standard TSA regulation that you can't bring liquids through the checkpoint in more than 3oz containers, but you're not going to be able to bring through enough milk or juice to withstand a major flight delay. If you're starting your travel day in a major hub airport (LAX, O'Hare in Chicago, Atlanta, JFK), odds are you'll be able to purchase milk and/or juice once you clear security. Don't count on this in smaller airports, however.

The best solution to the liquids dilemma is to put together a couple of bottles with formula, milk or juice. These will get past security. If you don't want kiddo to be drinking soda or fruit punch for potentially a couple of hours during a flight delay, bring powdered drink mixes (or baby formula). You can purchase bottled water on the concourse, or, in a pinch, make your drinks with water from a drinking fountain.

in any case, be sure to pack all your liquids in 1-quart Ziploc-style clear bags. When you get up to the x-ray machine's belt, remove the clear bags from your carry-on and place them directly on the belt.

Shoes off. This means you and your kiddos. No exceptions.

Navigating strollers. Your stroller has to be able to collapse and go through the x-ray machine, just like your purse, diaper bag, and carry-on luggage. The best type of stroller for traveling with an infant is one of those where you attach a car seat to a collapsible stroller. Disconnect the seat, put seat and kiddo on ground. Collapse stroller and put it on conveyer belt. Remove kiddo from seat and put seat on belt.

Metal Detector. The best way to go through a metal detector is naked, but since that's not socially acceptable, opt for minimal clothing. The best rule of thumb is, if you don't wear any metal, you don't have to take it off. Send toddler(s) through before you. Odds are the TSA officer on the other side is a parent, they'll help, and they'll keep kid in one place for you. Wait until kiddo is all the way through and TSA officer signals you can come through, otherwise you'll set the thing off and will have to go back. If you're carrying a baby, keep kid close to you and don't bump the sides of the detector.

You made it! Now, put your shoes on, get the kids' back on, re-build the stroller, and you can head to the gate.

At The Gate

How comfortable you and the kids will be at this point depends a lot on your airport. The basic rule of thumb here is, the bigger the airport, the more creature comforts you'll find. Sometimes this is a factor of the airline, as well--for example, Southwest Airlines often has kid play stuff at many of their gates at airports like Houston's Hobby or Dallas' Love. Access to food and drink will vary as well. Before you get to this point, check your airline's website for airport information and maps. Use Teh Google and see if your airport has its own website for information. Knowledge is power.

In any airport, there are some basic steps to take once you get past TSA.

Make yourself comfortable. At a minimum, you're now looking at 30-45 minutes before boarding, if you followed the recommendations of your airline. Use this time to settle in a bit at the gate. Find a couple of chairs and plop your stuff. If there's some open carpet area, pull out a blanket, sit on the floor, and let baby crawl. Screw the dirty looks you may get from road warriors or the child-free-and-proud crowd. And the horse they rode in on. Depending on your destination, your kids will be cooped up for at least an hour, maybe a lot more than that. Let them burn off some energy.

As tempting as that carpeted area two gates down might look, resist the temptation to move down that way. Most airports are LOUD places, with generic airport announcements, TVs blaring CNN, and lots of conversations are guaranteed to drown out anything the gate agent working your flight might say. Keep within close range of the desk for your gate.

Eat, Drink, Poop. Get the kids fed, hydrated, and changed. This should keep you busy right up until they call your flight.

Take advantage of pre-boarding. Southwest always calls for families with small children before starting general boarding; Delta often doesn't. If you're on an airline other than SWA, check with the gate agent and let them know you've got small kids and a stroller. They'll take care of you, helping you tag the stroller for gate-check, and waving you on board, usually prior to their call for first class passengers.

Your stroller can't go into the main cabin of the aircraft; it must be "gate-checked." You'll leave it at the end of the boarding ramp, and one of the baggage handlers will load it into the baggage compartment. Upon landing, they'll pass the strollers up to the boarding ramp at your destination, where you can reclaim it and head into the airport.

Get settled on the plane. If you've purchased two seats, the airline will usually give you the window and middle seats, so the poor soul passenger in the same row as you is on the aisle, and doesn't have to try to get out over you and kiddo to use the lavatory. Put the car seat in the middle, unless you anticipate that your child is going to be a screamer, then you take the middle, so you're a bit of a sound wall. Put your diaper bag under the seat in front of you, where you can grab it in-flight, then get yourself and car seat buckled up.

Be prepared for hostility. Kids often get fussy on planes. People often get annoyed. Be prepared for it--it's going to happen. Smile, nod, and ignore them. Putting on your best "fuck you" look isn't going to accomplish anything, so just smile, nod, and ignore. If you get lucky, kids will sit still, and maybe even nap. And pigs will fly out of my butt.

At The Hub

Most airlines use a "spoke-and-hub" system these days. For example, if I want to travel from New Orleans to just about anywhere on Delta, I have to fly to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta first. If I was on Continental, it would be Houston-IAH, United, Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), well, you get the idea. This means your trip may well involve two flights, one to the hub, and another to your final destination. If you find yourself having to make two hops, be sure to leave 1+ hours between your flights. If the airline's website won't let you book the trip with ample time between flights, get off-line, call them up, and explain that you're in mommy-mode. You're going to need that time to move you and the kids from gate to gate.

De-planing. When the plane lands, there will be a huge rush of people into the tiny aisles of the cabin, and lots of activity as they all pull their luggage from the overhead bins. Your best play at this point is to keep both you and the kids in your seats until the pushy people move past. Besides, you need to wait for your stroller to be brought up from the baggage compartent anyway.

Moving to your next gate. Many hub airports have trains to connect the concourses or terminals together. Keep firm hold on toddler while you push stroller and you'll be fine. If the airport doesn't have some sort of mass transit, ask a gate agent to get someone driving an electric cart to come fetch you.

Get comfortable again/Eat, Drink, Poop. Repeat these steps from above while you wait for your flight. Be prepared for delays in the event that weather or Air Traffic Control won't let you get away from the airport on time.

Do it again. Get on the plane, get settled, entertain the kids as best you can.

At The Destination

You'll go through the same de-planing ritual at your destination. This time, however, you'll move towards baggage claim. This may involve mass transit, depending on the size of your airport. Don't kill yourself here--again, you've got to get the stroller, and they have to send your luggage (along with everyone else's) to the front of the airport.

Once you've claimed your checked luggage, you're out of the system. If someone is meeting you at the airport, have them do so at baggage claim. If you're renting a car, you'll have to navigate that process, but then you're back on your own.

Congratulations, you survived. Now you can do it all in reverse to go home!

Two weeks ago, I was teaching in Santa Clara, CA. As I was making my way to the gate to catch the redeye home, I heard a woman screaming hysterically at Gate 40. The police had the screaming woman on the floor behind the desk in an attempt to keep things as private as possible. Still, this woman was yelling her head off, making animal noises and swearing at cops.

I figured that she must have been unstable to get this way in the first place, and I guess that happens sometimes. This morning I read a letter to Cary Tennis' advice column in Salon.com that makes me wonder how often this sort of thing does happen:

I am writing to you because I have been through what feels like a
very traumatic experience and I need to find a way to put it behind me.
Recently, I was on a flight from my local airport to another
destination for work purposes. The flight was to be three hours in
duration. As is my normal pre-flight ritual, I took two Klonopin
(strong tranquilizer also known as Clonazepam) of a low dosage
prescribed for anxiety around flying, and I had two glasses of white
wine at the airport bar. Aside from drinking before a flight, I drink
rarely. This is my ritual every time I fly and I never veer from it. I
also take a daily anti-anxiety medication to help address this same
flying issue. Lastly, I take Topamax, an anti-seizure medication.

Tranquilizers, booze, and anti-seizure meds? Good grief, I worry if I take Tylenol PM and a glass of wine when I fly! Well, there are consequences for stupidity, of course:

I must have fallen asleep immediately in my seat and the next thing
I knew, I was in a wheelchair outside the plane with police officers
who were handcuffing me. I demanded to know what happened and was
hysterical. I slipped my left hand through the handcuff on two
occasions. I asked to be released several times, and was permitted to
phone my husband, who said he could barely understand me due to my
crying. He asked the police to wait for him to arrive, but I was then
transported to a local area hospital. I am informed that I kicked
hospital security as they tried to move me to a bed. I was then tied
down in four-point restraints, with one arm pinned above me. I know
that I screamed to be let go. I was never arrested.

Wow, do you think mixing meds and booze might have contributed to ending up in this situation? What we don't know here (because the storyteller clearly has left it out) is any indication of why she ended up in a wheelchair in the gate house. I've seen people who have had to be removed from flights for medical reasons, and I've seen drunks escorted off of planes, all at several different airports. In none of those cases were physical restraints involved. In the case of a couple of drunks, cops stood by, but the drunk followed the instructions of the gate agent once they saw the cop.

Which means there's a LOT more to this story than meets the eye.

OK, I know this is Cary's advice column, so naturally he focuses on the writer's motivations to get on the plane in the first place. Still, there should be some mention of perscription drug abuse here.

I taught a class for Hitachi Data Systems last week in Santa Clara. The HDS office there is right next to Norman Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), but, like usual, I opted to fly into San Francisco International (SFO).

The main reason I choose SFO over SJC is that there is a wider range of flights from ATL to SFO. The only morning flight combination that put me into SJC a week ago Sunday was MSY-SLC, SLC-SJC. The problem with that itinerary was that the MSY-SLC flight was on a CRJ-100 regional jet, operated by SkyWest. It's over 2.5 hours from MSY to SLC, with the Salt Lake to San Jose leg being a short hop. Regional jet seats are not comfortable for that long a period.

So, in spite of the fact that going east before going west adds an additional two hours of flying time, and I'm flying into an airport 35 miles north of my destination instead of one right next to it, off I went to SFO, so I could sit in a comfy seat.

Since I regularly fly Delta Airlines, the planes used for flights from ATL to the west coast are usually B767-300s or B757-200s. Both have 24 seats in First Class. In spite of my Platinum status with Delta, it's tough getting a First Class upgrade on the ATL-SFO flights. Flying is becoming such a hassle for so many folks that many business travelers that regularly take long-haul flights are able to get their companies to pay for business or first class travel on their flights (or at least on every other flight). Can't get an upgrade when the cabin's full of paying customers!

Because of this trend, it's even more important to narrow down the big jets when possible. The B767 has a two-aisle deck plan. The seats are arranged 2-aisle-3-aisle-2 in economy. The window seats are also wider and more comfortable than those on the B757, which is arranged in the classic 3-aisle-3 configuration. If I book a flight far enough in advance (3+ weeks), I'll pick the B767 and go for a window ("A" or "G") seat as close to the front as I can get.

I prefer window seats to aisles on the long flights because I'm blessed with the ability to sleep on planes. If I choose an aisle seat, I invariably get awakened by one of the other two persons in the row (middle or window) who need to go to the lavatory.

I had seat 11A in a B767-300 on the ATL-SFO flight last Sunday. I arrived at ATL on the 0600 flight (on a MD88) from MSY, which was uneventful. I didn't get upgraded on that flight, which was unusual. Ms. Linda in the Crown Room said my upgrade looked good, but I'm starting to think that the New Orleans gate agents don't follow the list produced by the computer system 100%. I'll check in with them directly next flight about my upgrade. We arrived at ATL on-time, at the main terminal (the "T Gates"). I shifted over to "B," had a coffee in the club, and did some work. There's a Dunkin Donuts now on "B," so I migrated there to get some breakfast, then off to the gate.

Delta B767s have the individual in-flight entertainment systems. These now include not only movies, but a number of basic cable channels, such as ESPN, HGTV, FoodTV, and others. They also have a good selection of music in all sorts of varieties. The tunes and basic TV stations are free in both cabins, but economy passengers have to pay for movies. There's a credit card slot at the bottom of the console. Cabin service was good on the flight, but I didn't take advantage of the first service, as I had fallen asleep. Tailwinds put us into SFO about 25 minutes ahead of our 1305PDT arrival (4:35 scheduled flying time).

SFO baggage claim is usually OK and didn't let me down this day. Soon I was on the airport's train system and off to the centralized rental car facility. Avis had me ready to go with no grief. I was on Hwy 101 heading into San Francisco by 1:35pm.

I chose the 2220PDT "redeye" flight home on Wednesday evening. As much as I wanted to see friends in the East Bay area, I felt it important that I get home while I still had two full days remaining in the week. We wrapped up class early in the afternoon, so I drove down to Capitola on the coast for a few hours. On the return, I went up I280 to head straight for the airport. After stopping for an iced tea and to gas up, I steered the rental back into the centralized facility, cleared Avis, and took the train to Terminal 1.

Delta's Crown Room Club at SFO is lovely, but it's got a catch--it's outside the security gate. Built at a time when this wasn't a significant obstacle, it's not that big a deal now, other than you have to make sure you factor clearing TSA into your timing. Because there are so few late-evening flights, the club's ticket agent usually announces a boarding warning that factors in the crowd at the checkpoint.

Redeye flights are usually laid-back. People in the club are having drinks, watching primetime TV, and generally settling themselves down in anticipation of sleeping a bit on the plane. I haven't been upgraded on a redeye in two years; not expecting to be upgraded here, I had a couple of glasses of wine, checked in with family on the phone and friends on the computer. The announcement came for the SFO-JFK flight, then for the SFO-ATL flight about twenty minutes later.

SFO has a priority lane for first class/medallion customers, but that didn't matter this evening; the line was empty. My flight was deaprting out of gate 48. There was a huge brouhaha going on at gate 42, however. A DL flight from Hawaii had just landed. Several SFPD officers were restraining a woman who was screaming at the top of her lungs, resisting them, swearing and cursing the entire time. The waiter at the pub next to the gate said the gate agent told him she started in like that at two hours into the flight. Airports always have some sort of unexpected entertainment.

I had a window seat in the second exit row of a B757. The seat isn't as comfortable as some, because of it's position next to the bulkhead, but the window seat ensures I won't be disturbed. The exit rows are good because they provide better leg room (have to have more space between seats so people can climb out onto the wing). The seat backs of the row ahead of you are locked, they're also good if you want to use a computer in-flight. The wine in the club had its desired effect. I was alseep while we were taxiing and didn't wake up until we were in-ange at ATL.

We arrived at ATL just before 0600EDT. It was, from all descriptions, a smooth flight. I made my way from "A" concourse to "B" where my 0820 flight to MSY was parked. After a quick cup of coffee and e-mail check in the Crown Room, I headed back down to the concourse. There's a Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken on "B" at ATL, and they do great breakfast biscuits. The line was a zoo, so I didn't have time for a biscuit. I opted for a DD coffee instead.

Delta upgraded me for this leg of the trip before I had even left. That often happens when the plane is a B757 heading to New Orleans. They'll fill the plane, but not many people are willing to pay for first class for a one-hour flight. I was able to get a bit more sleep before arriving at MSY to the "humidity wall" that's the first sure sign I'm home.

One of the reasons it's important for a road warrior to consistently fly one airline is to make sure you're noticed and appreciated by that airline. Well, as much as an airline can appreciate someone, that is. I nurture my relationship with Delta Air Lines by spending a lot of money with them, over $30,000 last year, and well on the way to a similar total with them next year.

There are a number of privileges and perks that one acquires as one moves up through the levels of an airline's preferred flier program, such as access to club rooms, free upgrades to first class, preferred seating selections in coach, etc., and one that's very important for getting home at the end of the week: standby priority.

Every computer company for whom I've taught for the last ten years always cautions students not to book too early a flight on the last day of class. Sure, they'll say, a lot of instructors will make an effort to get you out early, but some classes, particularly 2- and 3-day offerings, it just doesn't work that way. They'll tell folks to book flights after 6pm to make sure they don't get hung up. Having been a high school teacher, I'm well aware of the limits of the human attention span. It's not just adolescents, but adults that have trouble paying attention after 3-5 days of lectures. My students come to learn and take away knowledge that improves their skills as computer professionals, and when they hit saturation point, it's time to stop and send them home.

Does that sound like the rationalization of an experienced computer trainer who games the system to get home early? Maybe, but if you've taken one of my classes, you know it's true. I'll never book a return flight earlier than 5:30pm, but when we do wrap up early, I'm out. Unless the office is next to the airport, it's always better to get away from an office before rush hour. Airports are fairly self-contained, with food, drink, internet access, and other amenities. Better to be there than miles away.

Better still to get on a plane.

Changing same-day travel plans isn't all that hard. Airlines know that the best they can hope for on any given day is for good on-time arrival and departure percentages. They know that things can go horribly wrong in that department, so the more people they can move through the skies as early as possible in the day improves those percentages. If you're on a 6pm flight and you get to the airport at 2pm, your airline will be more than happy to send you out early if a seat is available. The sooner you're gone, the sooner you're no longer their responsibility.

Time was any flier could simply walk up to a ticket agent and request a change in a reservation, and they'd be accomodated as best as possible. As airlines struggle to cut costs, they discovered that one of the things they could change extra for was schedule changes. It's worth it to a lot of road warriors to pay $25-$50 to improve their chances of getting home that night. Of course, the higher level frequent fliers are usually exampt from those fees. Additional, the higher-ranking folks get standby priority.

Standby priority is one of the road warrior's best friends. It determines who is going to get those last three seats on the 3pm flight. There are a number of variables that factor into standby priority, with same-day travel disruptions being the most significant. Folks bumped from a delayed or cancelled flight will always get top priority. If it's a smooth-flying day, however, the road warrior pecking order kicks in. For Delta, that's Platinum, Gold, Silver. Platinum fliers go to the top of the "standby list," that display on the monitor near and dear the hearts of everyone trying to earn the privilege of going down the jetway on that particular flight. The folks on the top of that list are the ones who will move to the "cleared list," and gain the coveted boarding pass.

Since airports are indeed their own little worlds, road warriors would do well to give the standby process a shot. Unless you want to have a few cocktails before your flight and you're paying for them out of your own pocket, there's not much you're going to accomplish away from the airport, and even the Silver Medallion flier might get a seat on the early flight.

There's another benefit to trying for an earlier flight on travel day for the flier who checks one or more pieces of luggage. While the rules say that you're supposed to travel with your bag, most of the airlines don't bother with this detail. if you put yourself on the standby list for an earlier flight, your bag often travels on that flight, whether or not you get a seat. So, even if you can't get home before your scheduled flight time, your time at the departure airport is rewarded by finding your bag(s) waiting for you upon arrival.

You'd think that the minor detail of being in another country would complicate the process of traveling from YYZ back down to ATL, but the US and Canada have worked out a pretty good arrangement. As soon as you check in for a flight whose destination is the US, you walk behind the ticket agent and enter a line manned by US INS officers. Fliers "enter" the US while still in Canada. The process is the same as if you've just arrived at the international terminal of any major US airport, except you're not tired, stiff, and in need of a restroom.

The only problem I can find with this system is that the food selection once past all the legal stuff is pretty dismal. That wasn't a huge issue this trip, though, since I was trying to get out early. I arrived at YYZ just before 2pm, after dropping off the rental car. I was informed that I had a pretty good chance of getting a seat on the 3:20pm flight. That flight would arrive at ATL in time for me to get the 8:35pm ATL-MSY flight. I hopped the shuttle bus out to the satellite terminal where the Delta Connection/ASA CRJs park just as the flight began boarding. I checked in with the very-efficient (and very-cute) gate agent, Anne, and she was able to confirm me on the flight as well as the connecting ATL-MSY leg. She handled the re-routing of my checked bag, and I was walking outside to board the CRJ in no time flat.

The 2-hour flight down to Hartsfield-Jackson was peaceful, even though I was in seat 14A, the left-side window seat in the last row of the CRJ-200. I sat next to a petite lady so we didn't encroach on each other's space all that much. i dozed off right after takeoff, waking up just as we went on final approach.

The CRJ arrived on Concourse "C," just like a domestic ASA flight. In spite of being the absolute last passenger to deplane, I was one of the first through the jetway, because so many people had to wait for their gate-checked bags. The flight home was departing from "A," and the Crown Room agent on that concourse double-checked my first class upgrade status. When the ride is a B757, the odds of getting to sit up front are excellent. I flew home in seat 6A, glass of wine in hand, ready to be home, if only for a day.

Last week's class was at Hitachi Data Systems' office in Toronto. Traveling to Toronto isn't that much worse for me coming from New Orleans than any US city. The routine for a Delta frequent flier is essentially the same, fly to ATL, connect there to the destination. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) isn't a big destination for Delta, so the connecting flight was a 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jet.

This was a four-day class, running from Tuesday to Friday, so I went out on Monday. Usually Monday morning travel has its advantages, the biggest of which is it's not Sunday, but this was the Monday after the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. JazzFest is one of those events where people actually pay for first class tickets if that's what they have to do to get to New Orleans. That meant the odds of me getting upgraded to first class for the outbound flight were slim. One of the perks of being a Medallion-level customer with Delta is that they allow me to choose seats from the "preferred" sections. This includes the exit rows. Many of the jets in the Delta fleet have two over-the-wing exit doors on each side. To make sure that those doors are unobstructed, the seat backs of the rows directly in front of the doors are locked upright. If you choose a seat in the second exit row, you get extended leg room (wider to allow passage through the exit door), and the passenger in front of you can't plop his back into your lap. Given that I don't drink cocktails or wine on an early morning flight, the exit row isn't all that bad.

The MSY-ATL flight was uneventful, other than the usual bumpy air over Alabama. We arrived on-time in nice weather. I was able to amuse myself with Twitter while we taxied to the gate T-2. The "T" gates are part of the main terminal building. A glance at the connecting flights monitor upon deplaning boosted my spirits-the outbound flight was not leaving from concourse "E" as my boarding pass listed, but rather from "C." I decided to stop in the Crown Room Club on "T" and relax there before going out to "C," from which most of the regional jets operated by Delta Connection partner airlines operate.

The front desk agent in the "T" Crown Room reminded me that there was now a club on "C," so I turned around and headed there anyway. The Crown Room on "C" is relatively new, and it's absolutely gorgeous, with a waterfall in the entrance, lots of high ceilings, and great views of operations at the gates. It's also got a big "business section," a series of carrels set up for computer users. The wi-fi was the solid T-Mobile signal I've come to expect in Delta's club rooms. Soon enough it was time to head to the gate.

Atlantic South Airlines (ASA) is a "Delta Connection" airline. They operate "Bombardier" regional jets as Delta "codeshare" flights. The employess of ASA are separate from Delta, meaning pilots and flight attendants negotiate salaries independent of th main airline. Pilots on Delta Connection jets are usually the younger guys and gals who are just getting started in civilian aviation. The CRJ-200 is small, so they only need a single flight attendant. Most carry-on luggage that can easily be stowed overhead in a larger jet won't fit on the CRJs, so they "gate-check" these bags. You drop off your bag on the jetway and pick it up planeside upon arrival. My backpack will fit in the CRJ's overhead with the computer out, or it will slide under the seat, so I don't have to sweat gate-checking. All settled in with my Bernard Cornwell novel, I was ready for the 1:45 flight. We were slow getting out of ATL; like most larger airports, there are more flights scheduled for departure in a given hour than there are takeoff slots. We finally got in the air and headed north. This flight was also uneventful, other than my fat butt doesn't quite fit well in the CRJ's smaller seats.

Arriving at YYZ is not all that different from any other large airport. Delta operations at Pearson are limited these days to regional jets, so passengers deplane using the built-in stairs of the CRJ and walk outside to the terminal building. Once everyone is off the plane, a shuttle bus arrives to transport you to the main arrival terminal. Clearing Canadian immigration and customs is fairly simple. When they ask me what I'm doing for four days in Canada, I tell them "photographing streetcars." Toronto has an extensive trolley system, so it usually deflects any other questions. A few years back, a lovely border agent popped me for CA$150 for a work permit of some such when I actually said I was coming up to teach in Ottawa. Never again, I'm a tourist coming to take pictures.

Once through immigration, I retrieved my checked bag to pass through customs. Nothing to declare, and off I go to fetch the rental car. At most airports, the rental car lot is a separate facility, but they're all in the parking garage next to the terminal at YYZ, so there's no shuttle bus ride. HDS has a corporate arrangement with Avis, and yes, they try harder to impress me. My ride for this trip was a Chrysler Sebring...convertible! I walked up to the Avis "preferred" counter right when another guy was standing there, demanding to see the manager, because he objected to the type of car they gave him. Not the size (mid-size, full, etc.), but the make/model. I walk up with a smile, show my license, and am handed the keys to a convertible. I never know if these things are arranged beforehand or if it's karma, but I like when that happens.

With my bag securely stored, I was ready to be away from the airport.

I was checking the weather for my flight to LGA tomorrow, and came across this New York Destination Guide on Weather.com. I like these, they're concise and offer lots of useful stats/info.