Mine are as follows:

1. never never check bags. Use a rollaway and a bag.

2. My bag has a bunch of electronic goodies: headphones, power adapters, car charger, Stowaway keyboard, any medicines.

3. Take lots of books. I will have 5 or 6 books with me even on a short trip. I would hate to run out of reading material.

4. Always preboard. Have status, will preboard. Then I get overhead space and do not have to use the seat in front of me (or a frontal lobotomy). This is a huge benefit of airline status.

5. In my hotel room, I put things very carefully in a few piles so I can quickly retrieve, repack and check out.

I am sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of now.

This is a big one for me. I never use the drawers in a hotel room. I'm usually in a hurry to check out in time, think about getting to the airport, did the upgrade clear, etc etc . . . to worry about remembering to check each drawer. Good topic.

Absolutely agree on 1 and 3. You can never be too rich or have too much reading material.

Often disagree on 4. If I'm in international business/first (where there has always been more than enough overhead space) or if I have only a tiny bag, I'll board at close to the end as humanly possible. Airline seats are not so comfortable that I want to spend any more time in them than I have to.

Agree. I hate boarding early (even domestic), unless I have a rollaboard, which I usually ship to my customer's site and leave there for the duration.

One of my pet peeves is the unpredictable window of 'final boarding' calls for flights. Often, I end up waiting for a long time at the gate or, alternately, my reserved seat is released. The lounges are sometimes helpful with this, sometimes not helpful.

The airlines must stick to a window where, say, at 20 minutes the pushy people at the gate have all boarded, but no seats will be released until 10 minutes before departure time. That gives those of us who hate the crowds the luxury of boarding in a calm environment. On int'l flights some airlines used to escort travelers from the lounge to board during this window.

6. Take all the stuff out of my pockets before going through the metal detector, instead of acting like it's a really big surprise to encounter a metal detector.

I always do this while waiting for the cab driver/rental car person to give me my receipt.

Also, I never wear a belt when travelling. Loose clothing, comfy shoes, no belt.

We also carry room spray or a travel candle for hotel rooms. That way, every room has the same familiar smell and any musty odors are masked.

Exactly! It amazes me that people still do that. Yes, I'm aware of the infrequent traveler, but it seems to be common sense. It's like waiting 20 minutes to exit the airport parking lot, and you can see the lady in the car in front of you fumbling through her purse for her wallet AFTER the attendant scans her parking ticket and tells her how much its going to cost.

1. I ALWAYS check a bag, as I want to be as unencumbered as possible in the airport and on board.

2. I carry-on one backpack and store it under the seat in front of me (I never book a bulkhead if I can help it). I hate dealing with overhead bin space or having to get up and root around the bin for my stuff.

3. As I travel from the car to the plane, I gradually start moving things from my pockets to my backpack. On locking the car, the keys go into the backpack, not my pockets. At security, my Palm and any large volumes of change move to the backpack. As I sit down on board, EVERYTHING else goes into the backpack - wallet, phone, pocket lint, everything. The seats are too small and uncomfortable to deal with a bunch of stuff in my pockets.

4. At security, I have developed the tic of ritualistically patting my pockets before going through. There's often still things there like my wallet and small amounts of change, boarding pass, etc., but I still do a pat down as if I'm checking to see that they are empty. I never get wanded.

5. I never put my laptop back in my bag at security. I view it as my job to clear the area as quickly as possible. I also never know which tables are "you put something here and we'll cavity search you." So I move on to the first gate or bench.

6. I am psychotic about not running out of reading material. I generally have 1-2 magazines per hour at a minimum, even if I plan to watch the movie, etc. I have never used up all my reading material. On a flight to Australia, I packed a separate duffle bag with books and magazines to carry on!

7. In the hotel room, I'm so bad about just living right out of my suitcase.

1. Never check a bag, its just a hassle.

2. Always take the same bag(s). My backpack which goes under the seat and holds my book, CD player and other neccesities for the flight and my duffle bag with the clothes that goes in the overhead bin.

3. Board right away, somestimes the first on the plane. This way I can get oriented and get space near my seat.

4. Always have gum. I can't fly unless i have a pack of Juicy Fruit with me.

5. Treat where you are like home. I try to keep my hotel rooms and airplane seat like if I was home. I try not to leave a mess, have everything neat and within reach.

6. Leave lots of time for the trip to the airport. Even though I drive very fast, I always make sure to leave the house about 2 hours before my flight, things can go very wrong on I-95, plus extra time at the airport is a blessing in my book.

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DC-10's Forever!

At the hotel I always find and examine the fire escape. Last week I was at the Hampton Inn at the Orlando Airport on T.G. Lee Blvd.

The interior stairwell was crammed full of boxes, linens and pillows. There was enough room to pass, but could be really bad if there was a fire.

I didn't think much about it until I saw the horror of the nightclub fire in Rhode Island.

Last night I called the Orlando Fire Department to report the condition. They promised immediate action.

Do hotel rooms even have drawers any more? I don't notice.

0. Always make it a point to say "Hello" to any agents I recognize at check-in and make time to pop into the RCC and the 3333 room to say, "Hi", even if just for a second. Never know when you might need their help.


6. We always use public transportation whenever possible when we travel. It really does give us a better feel for our destination city. It can also same a huge amount of time and hassle in high traffic areas.



[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 02-22-2003).]

1. Always research optimal ground travel method prior to taking a trip to a new city. Learned this lesson the hard way on my very first business trip ever: flew into ORD at 5PM on a rainy day, needed to go to the loop, stupidly got into a cab and sat in traffic for over an hour watching CTA trains whisk past every few minutes.

2. If the trip requires a rental car, research the airport's rental car system ahead of time. I like Hertz, and Hertz is *usually* the optimal company to use, but not always. Learned this lesson the hard way the first time I flew to TPA. Hertz Pres. Circle: still had to wait in line. National Emerald Aisle: jump in the car and go. Predictable efficiency is the main thing that matters for me when it comes to renting a car. I like upgrades as much as anyone, but if the choice is wait for a Jag or jump immediately into a Grand Am, I'm taking the Grand Am every time unless I have a real reason for needing a really big car.

3. Generally avoid checking luggage. There are some destinations to which I absolutely refuse to check luggage (Miami and LAX to name two) because the process is so consistently inefficient. If I have golf clubs or something: I ship them directly to my hotel or to the course. If I'm flying early in the day to a hub (I go to ORD and DFW a lot), I'm more likely to check luggage because I know most of my fellow passengers are continuing onward, and luggage retrieval is therefore more efficient.

4. I always preboard and put my one carryon above me. Laptop at my feet because I typically use it inflight.

5. For early morning flights, I grab a USA Today. Very easy to read when my brain is still waking up. Small words, pretty colors, cute graphics, short stories: you warm up with a slow jog before a serious workout, don't you? You could pull a muscle leaping in to the WSJ before the coffee comes around.

For those who didn't see this thread originally, it's worth reprising
"How to Survive a Hotel Fire"
http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/003721.html

Yes. They are very convenient for sweeping all the & %$% that the hotel thinks I want to read into.

Less of a fire hazard that way...