Delta Lounges
Traveling via air and social distancing? The Delta airport lounges offer a smaller environment, fewer people. Here’s how to access Delta’s Skyclub Lounge.
https://onemileatatime.com/delta-skyclub-access/
10 Things On Getting Bumped by an Airline
Flying to see the Grandparents or Grand Kids or for your dream vacation is something to be well planned and you look forward to it with excitement. But wait, there’s bad weather forecast for your destination and the rest of the country. What if our flight is delayed or cancelled?
What options do you have and which are you willing to accept? It’s something to think about as soon as there’s a possibility you might be effected. Are your plans flexible, at what price would you consider being bumped? What will your strategy be?
Forbes magazine provides some great information on your rights and options and what you could do. Read below…
(post below originally published at Forbes.com)
Over the past week, Delta Air Lines has encountered epic travel delays after unprecedented storms forced the cancellation of thousands of flights.
This weekend, my family and I profited from Delta’s travel woes — big time. We made $11k. Here’s how we did it and why I’m not such a snob about getting bumped any more.
I travel a lot for my career, and when I’m headed somewhere, I want to get there. As a travel editor, I’ve run stories about people who make a profession out of getting bumped by the airlines. And yet, I’ve always quietly scoffed at travelers who would give up a seat on a flight in exchange for a voucher. Not my thing.
On Friday morning, I was flying from New York City to Florida with my husband and daughter. The bad weather had passed, so I thought we had escaped the wrath.
After hours of delays, Delta Airlines started offering money for volunteers to give up their tickets on our overbooked flight, which had 60 (sixty!) standby passengers hoping to get a seat. I didn’t flinch. My husband and daughter and I were headed to Fort Lauderdale to see our relatives, and — as far as I was concerned — nothing would hold us back.
When the compensation for volunteers got to $900 a ticket in gift cards (American Express, Target, Macy’s and so on), my husband convinced me to consider the offer. I thought it was too low to delay our vacation, but our plans were flexible, so I said I was open to the idea. My husband approached the gate agent and offered to give up our seats for $1,500 apiece. She countered: $1,350 each.
Other frustrated passengers were yelling at the staff and crying over vexed travel plans. Somehow, when an airline is offering you and your family $4,050, missing a flight doesn’t seem so bad. We could have also scored a free hotel room near the airport and complimentary dinner, but we live about 20 minutes from LaGuardia, so we volunteered to give up our seats and headed home with a big chunk of change in American Express gift cards and confirmed seats for a Saturday flight.
I have been a loyal Delta customer for years. The airline has one of the best track records in the industry. In fact, CNN recently reported that Delta went 161 straight days without a cancellation in 2016 — including disruptions due to both maintenance and weather.
The staff handled the situation seamlessly and professionally. My husband and I kept saying to each other: “This was the best travel day ever!” Making more than $4,000 on Friday didn’t hurt, mind you.
When I went to check in online on Saturday and saw that the flight was delayed by more than an hour and that Delta was already asking for volunteers to give up their seats, I turned to my husband and said, “Cha-ching!”
Indeed, when we got to the airport, the airline started offering money to volunteers…$300…$600…$900…$1,000…$1,300. Bingo! We took the offer. The airline ended up giving us two gift cards at $1,300 each and (surprise!) a third at $1,350. Delta also threw in lunch ($15 each) and round-trip taxi fare (worth about $50). That’s more than $4,000, if you factor in everything. The airline assured us that we would get confirmed seats on Sunday.
I felt a bit guilty making so much money off the situation, but other passengers pointed out that we were freeing up seats for people who really needed to get somewhere. Many passengers actually thanked us for doing this.
After our flight departed, we waited. And waited. And waited. But the airline was still struggling to figure out the rebooking and get us three confirmed seats the next day. We found out that standby passengers were being told that Delta flights to Florida were fully booked (in fact, overbooked) until Tuesday. We were drained, and suddenly our long-weekend trip was looking far less appealing.
So when we suggested to the gate agent that we might be open to volunteering our seats again by cancelling the trip altogether, the offer was met with smiles and another $1,000 per person in advance compensation. Delta sweetened the deal by refunding the cost of the three plane tickets. We accepted Delta’s offer and went home, sad to miss our trip, but not so sad about the lucrative results.
Granted, it didn’t work out for many other travelers. Over the course of two days, we heard horror stories about families with little kids sleeping at the airport and people missing weddings and funerals. No gift card will compensate for life interruptions like that. (And my own father is still stuck in Indianapolis as I write this.) But we can’t complain.
Do the math — my family and I were given exactly $11,000 in American Express gift cards, plus a little extra in food and taxi vouchers. And because we were staying with family and didn’t need to cancel a hotel or car rental, it didn’t cost us anything besides our time (and a missed trip).
A recent study from MileCards.com analyzed data from the Department of Transportation’s March 2017 Air Travel Consumer Report and determined that Delta is the airline most likely to pay people for volunteering their seats, compensating 10 out of every 10,000 bumped passengers. But according to the Department of Transportation, it’s pretty rare: In 2016, only 6.6 out of every 10,000 passengers became volunteers who earned compensation for taking another flight or cancelling their plans.
Still, one gate agent confessed that there are people who take the art of bumping very seriously and make thousands upon thousands of dollars. And now, I understand it. I really do. I’m already starting to think about how I can get bumped off other flights. This could be a new career.
Read on for 10 things to know about getting bumped from a plane, some ways to increase your chances — and how to get compensated handsomely. And for more tips on how to game the airlines, check out these tips from professional travel hackers.
1. Consider the timing. Airlines routinely overbook flights with the assumption that a certain percentage of passengers will cancel. Flights during busy travel seasons (hello spring break!) and the last flight of the day are more likely to be overbooked. In that case, the airline will ask for volunteers to give up their seats or bump passengers to another flight.
2. Know your rights. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires airlines to compensate you by law if you’re bumped off a plane, even if you’re bumped involuntarily. Insist on being paid. If your delay doesn’t exceed an hour and the airline puts you on another flight, you’re not entitled to compensation. Be aware that the rules go out the window with weather-related delays or delays for safety reasons; rules also vary outside the U.S. Whatever you do, don’t arrive at your gate late. The airlines can use this as a way to avoid compensating you. I saw this happen to a family of four who lingered at the restaurant too long and lost their seats when they weren’t at the gate 15 minutes before departure time. The airline gave away their seats to people on the standby list. No gift cards for them. (And probably no vacation, either.)
3. Do your research. If your flight still has available seats, it probably won’t get overbooked. If the flight is close to full or sold out, there are increased odds that the airline will bump passengers.
4. Ask! When you get to the gate, head straight to the agent and see if the airline is looking for volunteers. Tell them you only want to give up your seat for a good offer.
5. Don’t stray too far from the podium. You don’t want to miss the call for volunteers and you want to be the first person to volunteer when the gate agent offers a good figure.
6. Be careful. A guy on one of our flights said he might be interested in volunteering when he wasn’t really sure. The gate agent took that at face value and gave his seat away. He changed his mind and regretted it, but it was too late. If the airline doesn’t end up needing as many seats, it can also break up families. Once you volunteer, the airline can take away your seat — and make your partner or child fly without you.
7. Don’t get too greedy. Some airlines (as we encountered with Delta) conduct auctions. The airline will give preference to people who volunteer for less.
8. Consider the form of compensation. Some airlines offer travel vouchers; some offer cash or gift cards. Think about what makes most sense. Some flight vouchers expire within a year; some gift cards expire even sooner. Cash is the best bet, if you can get it.
9. Don’t check luggage. My suitcase went to Fort Lauderdale without me. Same thing happened to another family, whose luggage was filled with frozen Passover dishes (they said that their $5,000+ in compensation was sufficient to let the food spoil). The airline says I will get my suitcase back, and I am hopeful. Lesson learned: Fly with carryon bags. It makes it easier if you get rerouted or cancel the flight.
10. Above all, be nice! After hanging out at the counter for hours and hours over the course of two days, I began to notice some trends. Screaming doesn’t work. Crying doesn’t work. Being nice? Now, that works. My husband bought lunch for a couple of gate agents who mentioned that they had worked through their break. I brought water to another agent who said he had come to work at 3 a.m. to help out and was dehydrated. These airline employees went above and beyond to help us out. And that’s good karma.
Update: On 4/10/17, statistics from the Department of Transportation’s March 2017 Air Travel Consumer Report were added to this story.
Thanks for stopping by, come back again, John Free Range Explorer.
4 Traits of Boomers Who Travel
Here’s a short article about 4 Traits of Boomers Who Travel from AARP. Is this You?
Boomers: Confident Travelers
by | July 12, 2016
According to a new AARP research study, boomers are less likely to be stressed before a flight.
Dan Saelinger/Trunk Archive
Boomer air travelers are more confident and less stressed than their younger counterparts, according to new released this week.
Contributing to boomers’ overall positive travel experiences: They arrive at airports early, use airport amenities such as restaurants and shops, and .
Though they report less stress than Generation X and millennial travelers, boomers say that clearing security, flight delays at the departure airport and lack of legroom in flight are their primary travel headaches.
One key difference, Miles says, “is that boomers actually take advantage of airport amenities — unlike their younger counterparts, who often arrive for flights just in time to board.”Other highlights from the survey of travelers 18 and older who reported taking at least one leisure trip in the previous 12 months:
Technology: Boomers love their smartphones and free Wi-Fi. More than 90 percent of boomers travel with some type of electronic device, primarily a smartphone, and 56 percent of boomers say they use airport Wi-Fi if it’s free.
Domesticity: are popular among boomer travelers. More than 75 percent of boomers say they took their last trip domestically.
Preparation: Boomers arrive at airports at least two hours before a flight, earlier than their younger counterparts. Nearly 50 percent of boomers say they bought food and drinks or sat down at a restaurant in the airport before their flight.
Flight: Younger generations report higher levels of travel stress and nerves about flying than boomers do. More millennials say they are stressed while on the plane; boomers are the most relaxed in flight.
Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you come back soon, thanks, John
11 Tips for Sleeping Well on a Plane
Don’t know about you but I don’t sleep well on an airplane, even on a long flight.
Conde Nast Traveler has some good time to help you rest.
Getty
Use these tips to catch some essential shut-eye.
A clinical sleep educator shares the best tips in her arsenal for successful in-flight snoozing.
It is the bane of travelers getting on a plane for both business and pleasure—difficulty falling asleep in a seat, especially in coach, and the attendant horrors of jet lag after landing. Studies have shown that lack of sleep can decrease brain performance by 20 percent, so it’s crucial to anyone crossing time zones to rest as much as possible during the flight. Washington, D.C.–based clinical sleep educator and RN Terry Cralle shared her tips for powering down (and getting at least a power nap) on a flight.
- Plan ahead. “Planning ahead, though it sounds simple, can be much harder in practice. However, it can make a huge difference in your ability to sleep well before a flight and on it,” says Cralle. If you take the time to do things like pack, plan your transportation to the airport, and organize the things that need to happen at home while you’re away in the days leading up to a flight—not the night before—you will not be nearly as stressed-out, and sleep will come more easily.
- Meditate. “Recently, guided-meditation audio apps have been gaining a lot of popularity, and rightly so,” says Cralle. “It has been shown that these gentle talks help the brain to relax quickly, especially so when the listener is prompted to imagine they are using all of their senses. Say, if you are guided to a beach-side scene where you imagine hearing the waves, watching the sky, and smelling flowers and the salt air, it really helps you to disengage and fall asleep.”
- Pack lavender oil. “I’m a big fan of lavender oil, it’s so calming, and is a great, simple thing to bring along on a trip,” says Cralle. “A small study was recently done that shows that people who inhaled 100 percent lavender oil before and during sleep had decreased blood pressure and deeper sleep patterns than those who didn’t.” Put a few drops onto your travel pillow, apply it to your temples and wrists once you’ve settled into your seat, and prepare to dream.
- Ignore in-flight entertainment. No matter how much you want to see the latest blockbuster, Cralle says, “Skip the movies and TV—the end result of staring at a screen during much your flight means that light is hitting your retinas, and telling your brain and body that it’s daytime, and sleep will be much tougher to achieve.”
- Make to-do lists. To train your brain not to race and worry when it’s time for rest, Cralle recommends a simple daily practice. “Write down your to-do list well before bed. You want to get any obligations and important tasks out of your mind and onto paper during the day so that the mind is clear at bedtime.”
- Bring something comforting. To get great shut-eye on a plane, Cralle says, “You want the environment to be as comfortable and predictable as possible. If you have a travel pillow you love, always pack it when traveling. Its scent and familiarity will give your brain and body a behavioral cue that it’s time to relax and let go.” The same effect can be achieved by a cozy scarf or sweater.
- Cover your eyes. “Wear a good-quality eye mask on your flight,” says Cralle. “There are many different models, so even if you think you hate them, if you shop around you’ll likely find one that’s comfortable for you. That little bit of light from a fellow passenger’s iPad two rows up can ruin your ability to fall asleep. The blue light from modern devices is very alerting to the brain, and absolute darkness prompts your body to produce melatonin.”
- Step away from the Scotch. While a relaxing adult beverage may be tempting, Cralle advises, “Avoid alcohol. Having a drink in an airport lounge or on the plane is a reflex for many people, especially those who have anxiety around flying. However, it really messes with the quality of your sleep, so, close to bedtime, be conscious about drinking booze and caffeine, of course. Hydrate as much as possible.”
- Decrease the decibels. “Though you’ve likely heard this before, earplugs are very important to have for your flight and your hotel stay while you’re traveling,” Cralle explains. “Make sure to pack them in your carry-on, and, again, try different brands and designs until you find the ones that feel good to you.” There is so much ambient noise on a jet—which is something airlines are working on muffling now—that you truly need to block out that sound, as well as screaming babies and unnecessary alerts from the cockpit.
- Incorporate cardio. “The relationship between exercise and sleep is very exciting—we are finding that the connection between the two is bi-directional; i.e., if you get enough of one, the other comes much more easily to you,” says Cralle. “The reality is that 40 percent of Americans are sleep-deficient. If you work to add an extra hour of sleep at night, you’ll be much more apt to exercise, and, when you do—especially before a flight—you will be able to doze off much more easily.”
- Bank sleep. If in-flight snoozing is simply not an option, due to your utter inability to rest on a plane or because you simply must work while traveling, Cralle points out that a little bit of prep work can help you stave off jet lag. “You actually can bank sleep,” says Cralle. “Prioritize your sleep before a flight, and spend a little extra time sleeping or napping in the week before you depart. Lack of sleep really effects your immune system—and the last thing you want on an important business trip or a long-awaited vacation is to get sick. Banking sleep beforehand will also mitigate the bad effects of jet lag.”