“Flight cancelled!” That email notification popped up just as I was heading to bed the night before a recent early morning flight. This situation and other travel travails have become all too common in this post-pandemic world. But there are some easy-to-implement ideas that can make travel less stressful.
I’ve provided below seven tried and true travel strategies I’ve learned—some the hard way—as a full-time professional speaker and road warrior for over 25 years. (HINT: Communicate with C.A.R.E. is #7)
1. Do. NOT. Check. Luggage.
- I stopped checking luggage a couple of decades ago when I took an international trip to Hong Kong for a speaking engagement and my luggage didn’t make the connection at LAX airport. (Note: If you must run to make your connection, there’s a good chance your luggage will not make it.)
- Even more important than avoiding the concern over lost or late-arrival luggage, is having flexibility and options. For example, if you arrive early at your connecting city and want to go standby on an earlier flight, it will be easier to do so when your luggage is with you. Or, if you miss your connection and get stuck in a strange city overnight—you’ll have everything with you.
- As the self-appointed “carry-on queen,” I’ll share a few tricks for travelling light: Pick a couple of basic colors for the trip so that you can mix and match, be willing to wear some clothing items more than once, and roll clothes (or use packing cubes) to conserve space. For business travelers: Ship supplies and equipment in advance instead of carrying them on the plane (For example, I have books shipped whenever I do book signings at my speaking events.)
2. Build in a Big Buffer When Booking Flights
- Don’t risk missing your college student’s graduation, a friend’s wedding or a boss’s business meeting because your flight gets cancelled and the next available flight isn’t until the following day. Build in a buffer by leaving a day in between departure and event date. I recently flew from my home in San Diego to Atlanta on a Thursday morning to make sure that despite delays I would arrive in time for a friend’s Saturday night milestone birthday party. I’ve also gotten in the habit of taking overnight “red-eye” flights two days before speaking engagements. For a recent conference keynote on a Tuesday, I flew out on a Sunday night. That time it resulted in the best-case scenario of on time arrival and I got to play tourist on Monday afternoon. In the worst case with delays, I would have at least arrived in time for my presentation.
- Choose flight options with at least a 3-hour layover so that you have a buffer if your first flight is delayed. Because of delays, my recent 4-hour layover in DFW airport shrunk to 15 minutes with me sprinting to my connecting gate. (Hint: Travel in running friendly shoes.)…
3. Download the Airline App. Download the Airline App. Download the Airline App!
- On the night that my flight was cancelled—mentioned in the opening sentence—I immediately went to my American Airlines app. I selected one of the suggested alternate flights for the morning and chose one of the handful of remaining available seats. Without the airline app, I would have had to call the airline and endure the voicemail eternal hold, or search on the website. By then, other passengers could have claimed the few remaining seats.
- The best benefit of having the app is that when you are already in route and your connecting flight cancels, you can re-book yourself on the app rather than waiting in the mile-long line at the airline customer service desk...
4. Join An Airline Loyalty Program—even if you only travel a few times a year
- You gain status and earlier boarding when you fly the same airline regularly. Early boarding is key because you avoid the risk of having your luggage checked under duress at the gate when they run out of overhead bin space
- Plus…You can accumulate frequent flyer miles and use them to fly for free.
5. Sign up for TSA Pre or Global Entry
- With TSA Pre, you’ll always get in the short line at TSA security and you won’t have to go through the annoying ritual of removing your shoes.
- Global Entry allows a similar convenience when travelling overseas. I completed the paperwork and paid the additional fee for this when I took a personal trip to Germany before lockdown. Now that I’m traveling again domestically for business, I’m enjoying the benefits of TSA Pre that are included.
6. Pack Snacks—and other Comfort Items
- I suggested the snack-packing strategy in an article “Top 10 Rules for Road Warriors” that I wrote over 20 years ago for the National Speakers Association Speaker Magazine. Today, this tip is truer than ever! With limited food on planes and limited hours in some airport restaurants, having a snack to hold you over is critical. (My healthy favorites are pretzels, apples and trail mix.)
- Pack other comfort items—from devices with pre-downloaded movies, to light jacket or wrap to ward against cold airplane temperatures. (I carry one of my many colorful pashmina scarves which doubles as a blanket on the plane and a neck scarf if needed when I arrive.)
7. Communicate with C.A.R.E.
- Airlines are short staffed and crews are overworked. Give them some grace! Plus, my friends who work for the airlines will confess that your requests will get a much better response if you communicate with kindness rather than cursing.
- In a 2017 blog “Do You Care?” I shared the story of two gate agents who demonstrated such positive customer service skills following a flight cancellation that I was inspired to create an acronym to sum up their communication style: C.A.R.E. stands for Consultative, Attentive, Results and Empathy. Now more than ever, that’s a great reminder of how we might want to treat each other, not just for less stressful travel, but also on a day-to-day basis.
