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More than 115 million people are expected to travel during this holiday period.
So, if you’re one of the brave souls braving the airports, long lines, and potentially bad weather we have these three travel reminders for you. (Especially if you fly Delta Air Lines.)
Keep an Eye on Weather Advisories
When ugly weather is about to strike, airlines often issue advisories and allow passengers to change their itineraries without any extra charges (provided travelers remain in the cabin purchased).
That may mean staying a day or two later — or leaving earlier.
But that might be better than getting stuck somewhere — or missing your trip altogether.
Here’s where you can keep up to date on some airlines’ advisories:
Delayed Checked Luggage = Free Bonus SkyMiles
If you check luggage during a Delta trip and your bags don’t arrive at your final destination’s carousel within 20 minutes of your flight’s arrival, you can submit a claim to receive 2,500 bonus SkyMiles. (That’s worth about $25 of travel.) So, you can potentially earn 5,000 bonus SkyMiles during a roundtrip.
My friend Derrick is a comedian and motivational speaker who travels all the time. He could probably take a trip to the moon and back with all the SkyMiles he’s racked up from Delta’s Bags on Time guarantee. The promotion is valid in the 50 United States and Puerto Rico. Eligible flights must be marketed and operated by Delta or Delta Connection.
Alaska Airlines also features a similar offer.
It’s OK to Be Frustrated – But Please Be Kind to Employees and Fellow Travelers
I tip my cap to you if you’re traveling this week. I usually envy travelers when I’m not out on the road. Not right now, though.
Most airline and airport employees you see would rather be on vacations of their own or at home with their families.
Keep in mind the weather isn’t their fault. Also, they didn’t design the airport or the freeways that are full of traffic. They’re not the ones who created the kiosk software or airline website or app. They’re not responsible for staffing shortages. Don’t take your anger out on them. Ask them for help or guidance, sure. But don’t lose your temper. In fact, you may even want to smile or thank them for working the holiday period.
A Delta customer service agent who works at one of the airline’s hubs told me, “(We) don’t have seats (and) have to stand for eight hours without the ability to sit unless we take lunch breaks. One of the terminals has ‘leaning posts.’ There are not enough for each agent, so if one steps away when they come back, the post is gone. Additionally, we are reminded they are for leaning, not sitting. When it was brought up as a topic in the most recent town hall, upper management’s solution/answer was to buy us thick mats to stand on.”
First, “leaning post” makes people sound like animals. Gross. Secondly, standing for eight hours getting yelled at by people doesn’t sound fun.
Remember you’ll perk up most flight attendants (and other employees) with some inexpensive gifts like candy, hand sanitizer, or something along those lines.
If you encounter someone who’s not the frequent traveler you are or is a complete idiot, don’t lose your cool. They may not have a clue what they’re doing. This might be one of their first trips in a long time. Maybe they’re nervous or something. Or taking a trip they don’t want to. (My mother died a week before Christmas several years ago. I was a basket case during those flights.)
These are things we should keep in mind in general — but especially during busy periods.
Don’t end up becoming a social media celebrity for the wrong reasons.
Final Approach
This is a crazy holiday period– and it’s probably going to be stressful in airports and airplanes. Remember to keep an eye on the weather — and perhaps change your flight for free if you can. If your luggage is delayed, get yourself some SkyMiles or other compensation! And try to be kind and patient with everyone.
Let us know how your travels go!
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Our management wouldn’t even put in foot rails and there were no leaning posts or seats allowed. If you were on light duty with no prolonged standing, they’d send you home and make you use sick time. They claimed it looked “unprofessional.”
And no, being shouted at for (at least) eight hours a day was not fun. Mandatory overtime was the rule. We actually had a spot in our bagroom that was outlined in baggage tape for kicking the wall in anger, frustration, and stress relief. It was solid black with shoe sole marks. Management wisely looked the other way on that.
Do you work for Delta?
It’s beyond belief that airline tix counters require the agents to stand for their entire shift. What on earth is the rationale for that? I suppose that it would cost too much to modify the infrastructure so it could be used sitting. This seems like a topic that should be addressed with agents and management … right now.
Not shilling here…but why is Aldi (grocery store) the only store that I’ve seen that actually allows the checkout folks to sit? They sure seem as productive as anyone else to me.
There is absolutely no reason why the customer service folks in the terminal and at the gate can’t have a high seat and work the counter.
Agree with jsn55 this should be addressed ASAP. And watch…as soon as one airline does it…they all will!
Other ticket agents in NYC terminals do have proper, comfortable seats.
Checkout people in France sit but they do not make eye contact with you and seem bored to death with their jobs///
Hi Chris,
No, I’m retired from a certain large-at-the-time regional that was a United Express carrier. What I posted above was management’s position and they wouldn’t budge. Even our Union Health and Safety Committee couldn’t convince them with medical studies. The Dr. Scholl’s gel shoe inserts I found helped some, but it was harder on the older agents.
TravelWarr, I think Aldi is awesome for taking care of its workers. It’s a European company, of course.