FlyerTalk Forums - Printouts I should take with me on the plane

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Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmchicago (Post 10029533)

I always make sure my cell phone is FULLY CHARGED. Nothing worse than your battery failing after a half-hour or so on hold with that call center in (insert 3rd world country here).

It's indeed a good idea to make sure your cell phone is charged, but there are also rechargers you can take along, some plug-in ones with adaptors, others that just work on flashlight batteries. I got one of the latter on sale at the local drug store for ten bucks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmchicago (Post 10029533)

I always make sure my cell phone is FULLY CHARGED. Nothing worse than your battery failing after a half-hour or so on hold with that call center in (insert 3rd world country here).

good one. as luck would have it, the last 2 times I didn't fully charge my phone before my flight, resulted in ban encounters, with the phone dying

Quote:

Originally Posted by guv1976 (Post 10022789)

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

I would never put photocopies of my driver license or passport in my baggage, because of concerns about identity theft. All you need to include is your home (or business) address and telephone contact, plus a copy of your flight itinerary.

Agree totally with this! If I am doing a multi destination trip I put typed itinerary with dates and locations in case the airline is trying to get my luggage to me and I leave the initial city before it is found.

Also a good idea to put a contact number for someone not traveling with you such as your parents. Tracking people down in transit can sometimes be hard. At least my parents know where i am and where I am headed and can handle any logistics if someone is unable to contact me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cha-cha-cha (Post 10030884)

I just got one of the battery powered chargers, which I've now put into my bag in case I get caught short somewhere.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cubbie (Post 10025273)

Don't know if this is helpful, but my approach is this: I often have two or three or four upcoming trips to plan. I use a different colored plastic file pocket for each trip, and as I make reservations (flight, hotel, rental car) or gather other information (maps, restaurant recs, etc), I file them in the appropriate folder.

I used to do exactly the same thing, down to the colored plastic file pockets :) But nowadays I do it slightly differently. Instead of printing to paper right away, I print to pdf files (using PDFCreator... free and open source software). I maintain a separate folder for each trip, with all the assorted reservation and other docs. As my reservations change (cheaper car through priceline at last minute, seat upgrade coming through, ...), I add to it or replace docs. Right before the trip I print out on paper what I actually need and either take the laptop with the electronic versions with me, or copy the whole folder onto a TrueCrypt-protected Thumbdrive to take along.

Benefit: no unnecessary printing of docs that are obsolete by the time I take the trip. And I have a long-term record of all my reservations in case there is a problem/question later on.

And thanks to Goalie I now also have a folder with TSA-related docs :)

There is now a mobile charge station at the FRA SEN lounge - Terminal B.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Business as usual (Post 10025099)

If you travel with a laptop or mobile Web device, you don't need to print anything other than what it takes to get onto the plane. Bookmark all the sites of your travel providers to have fast access to terms and conditions, TSA rules, etc.

Put all of your itinerary and reservation/confirmation info onto a site like TripIt.com and you're set.

Much easier, neater and cooler.

Don't do this if you need to travel to India, or similar countries... You will often not get into the terminal building because you will have to show your "ticket" to a guard. A printout of a reservation is usually fine, but I don't think they will accept anything on a screen of a Backberry, since they need to stamp it. Twice. And then have another person check that the ticket is stamped and stamp it again.

Last year a similar problem was occuring at CDG: You couldn't get to the check-in counters without a ticket, or e-ticket confirmation. If you had an e-ticket, but no or only electronic confirmation, you needed to queue at ticket desk to get a printout. Not sure whether it is fixed.

Generally, I have everything electronically, but also print out all confirmations. Staff at hotels, car rentals or airports take you a lot more seriously if you can show a printout if they can't find your reservation for some reason.