Printouts I should take with me on the plane
 

I tried to see if there was a thread that already covered this specifically, but I couldn't find one that has a specific list. So...

What should I print out to take with me onto the plane?

1) I have already made copies of my itinerary and passport/driver's license and stuffed a copy of each into each luggage.

2) I have a printout of my fare rules, just in case of voluntary or involuntary bump, so I know what I should expect.

3) I have a printout of alternative routes that I can refer to when talking to an agent so I can get rerouted quickly during a bump/delay/cancellation.

4) I will print my BPs after OLCI when I get to that time.

5) I printed out the rules for lounge access, as I have read about occasional hassles in gaining entrance at certain airports (read: UA RCC) and FTers recommending the OP to bring a copy of the rules.

Is there anything else I should bring along?

I take printouts of all my hotel reservation confirmations, and keep them until I pay the bill on checkout.

Also a printout of every phone number I might want to use, both personal and travel-related, both at home and in the foreign country. (They may be in your cell phone but what if you lose it ...)

If I have travel insurance I take along the relevant documents.

I put on line (accessible only to me) the web sites of any financial or other companies I might want to access on the internet while traveling.

Related suggestion: call all your credit card companies and tell them where you'll be traveling, especially if it's a foreign country.

How much baggage do you intend to carry? With check and extra bag charges, you'll need cash or a credit card, and if your wallet's stolen, the extra copies in your bags will do no good, because you won't have cash or cards to pay to haul them

Clause 534.1.1 of every airline's fare rules reads as follows or nigh unto it....

"We reserve the right to change the rules based upon the circumstances, and the rules shall be that which our rep states them to be at that moment, not necessarily applicable an hour later."

Copies of the rules are for later, when you're writing threatening emails, demand letters and briefing counsel on the law suit.


Far better would be a working cellphone to talk to a call center. Even after being 10th or 156th in line, talking to gate agents has about the same effect as did the Czech governments negotiations with Berlin in 1938. Having decided what was "expeditious", the German government acted accordingly. Soon after, there was no Czech government at all. That was followed by fewer Czechs, especially those who wanted to debate either policy or practices.


Not a bad idea....

I applaud you. If the a/c lavs run out of toilet paper or hand towels, you'll not be wanting. Meanwhile, the dreaded "It says what we want it to say!" rule, Clause 534.1.1 cited above, also applies to lounge access. Arguing until you're blue in the face, chewing the carpet, loudly reading the rules, even keeling over with apoplexy, are ineffective in the face of a gate attendant who has strong convictions (and can get you convicted by calling an airport cop who after the choke hold leaves you breathless and the Taser-trembles have subsided from outright convulsions to just a tremor or two, will stick you in a holding cell with no windows until after the last flight of the week has departed).


I find that clean socks and underwear go farther than obsessive/compulsiveness when traveling by air. Don't sweat the small stuff. Go with the flow. Save self-immolation for moments when it really counts.

Wow...I thought I was anal...

I always bring and make sure they are in my carryon:

- Copies of my reservations (hotel, car, etc.) <------- but I broke that rule on my last-minute trip to Eastern Washington earlier this week...I forgot to print out my car reservation...I am human.

- Google Maps telling my sorry @$$ where I need to go.

- My cell phone (which reminds me, I should enter in the airline cs numbers into it...I've been meaning to do that).

- Anything important (haven't started copying my drivers license yet, though...) that I feel I'll need.

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.

Your airline ticket is a contract subject to the terms in effect at the time you and the airline entered into it. So I think it is a good idea to bring copies of the fare rules and lounge access rules with you. While neither guarantees you satisfaction if confronted by an ignorant airline agent, the printouts at least give you something to show to the agent (or to a supervisor), and they might reconsider an incorrect decision when shown the applicable rule. Obviously, you don't want to escalate the situation to the point where jmoliver's nightmare scenario takes hold, but I don't think that you have to be a sheep, either.

I have turned up for flights with a booking reference written on the back of my hand and a passport in my pocket why on earth I would need to bring everything in triplicate and printed out is totally beyond me but then again I dont need to pack 2 pc of luggage with everything but the kitchen sink in it

Your e-ticket #s (in addition to your itinerary) can be critical. This is especially important if flying on a multi-airline ticket where they are on a different base underlying GDS, and sometimes the e-ticket #s don't go through properly. It has saved my hide more than once.

I keep a copy of my passport in my carry-on but not any checked luggage.

I also keep a list of all my credit card numbers and the customer service numbers to go with them. It is hard to report a lost or stolen c/c if the number you need to call is on the lost card.

Assuming you have web-based e-mail you can also e-mail copies of all applicable documentation to yourself and optionally to someone else. This is especially handy if you have a hand-held with web access. Some might argue this is less than optimally secure, though.

and if you're so inclined to carry some tsa stuff with you as i do because "i'm the orthopedic shoe 'n orthotics ter'wrist" ;), i have a "tsa information" folder which lives in my briefcase where you will find:

in my "little folder" you fill find:

• a current copy of the permitted/prohibited items list (printed from the tsa website the day before i fly)
  
• a current copy of the tsa website statement on "assistive devices and mobility aids" since i'm the orthopedic shoe terrorist
  
• a copy of the tsa memo stating that shoes do not have to be removed for those pax with medical conditions or disabilities
  
• a copy of the tsa's civlil rights policy statement (signed by kippie himself :rolleyes:) which states (to name one item) that the tsa will not tolerate reprisal against those who exercise their rights under the civil rights laws
  
• blank copies of the tsa complaint/compliment form since most stations either don't have them :rolleyes: or "require" that i provide my personal information to them before they will give me one :mad: (thanks to ND Sol)

and on one of times where i was SSSSecondaired, the tso was quite impressed (and i'm being totally serious) as to how prepared i was

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 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 try to put the essential travel info into each folder in the order I will need it, i.e., flight itinerary and boarding pass, then rental car, then hotel, etc. When it's time to head to the airport, I grab the plastic file folder for that trip, put it in the easily accessible outside pocket of my computer bag, and go.

I have scanned important personal documents and have placed it on my Webserver. If I need them, I only need Internet access and can print them out.

Wow, for me, you look more than ready with all those stuffs you have prepared. Maybe all you need is a smile to the GAs, in case you need to be reroute for some reasons. :D

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).