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I haven't been on a plane since I left the Navy in 1992. I am receiving an all expenses paid trip to be on an advisory board discussing adult growth hormone deficiency with Pfizer. I have to fly to New York Thursday. I need travel tips. I will be flying out at 7:40 am. What time do I need to get to the airport? Going to be traveling light and put most stuff in checked luggage.
I always arrive 2 hours early. I've never checked baggage so I can't help you there. If you don't know where you're going, just ask a DIA employee.
2 hours should be plenty for an early morning flight during the lull.
Make sure any meds or things you can't afford to lose are in your carry on, not checked.
Lots of prohibited items since 9/11. No liquids more than 3 ounces in carry on. No knives, obviously no firearms or other dangerous weapons in carry on. You can go to TSA site to see a list of prohibited items in carry on.
I fly out of COS so an hour, hour and half is plenty of time to show up, DIA, I would definitely plan on showing two hours prior departure time, maybe more for that time frame of departure, I would imagine it would be busy at the screening points.
Try to check in from home within 24 hrs of departure, checked baggage will complicate that, be prepared to use kiosks to check in at the airport if not from home. Human interaction has been minimized by the airlines. Probably will need a credit card ( for ID only, ) or a PNR ( passenger name record) to work the Kiosks.
Hmm, I'll take a shot:
1) Make sure you have no guns or ammo, see recent thread here:) It's an easy mistake to make.
2) Check in online if you can
3) Parking at the airport on Thursday can be difficult as the garages can be full, think about parking offsite. I prefer Wally Park.
4) Confirm your flight before you go. It's rare that things don't go, but it's a lot easier to rebook from the phone at home rather than wandering around the airport.
5) Put the number for your airline, hotel and other places you will be visiting in your phone. Make sure you have your Phone on autolock, after a minute or two.
6) Take a photo of your suitcase. It helps if it gets lost.
7) Mke sure your suitcase has a tag with your name and address on it before you leave.
8) Read the rules on what you can and cannot carry on as well as the quantities. Go to a Target or other superstore and buy legal size stuff or it will be confiscated
9) Look at a map of DIA and the airport you are going to, it really does help
10) Make sure you have a good photo ID with you, I think a Passport is best.
11) My number one PITA is forgetting my chargers for my phone, laptop and so on. Double check you have them and charge everything the night of your departure.
12) I'd allow 3 hours at the Airport only because you have not been there and haven't traveled much....but that's me. Answers here will vary.
13) You are going to NY? Take everything out of your wallet you don't need. I spent two hours in a NYPD substation with a friend who got pick pocketed in the City. Outstanding customer service isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I look back on that visit :)
14) Photo everything that remains in you wallet, especially the back of your credit cards in case you need to cancel. Some might suggest photos are a risk but I don't agree, especially if you have auto lock on your phone.
15) I print everything I need to trave..., flights, rental car info, hotels, important phone numbers just in case I have a phone problem. It has come in handy!
Then- be patient. Travel problems can be frustrating but if you roll with it you will be much better off.
Bob
Would it be easier to cram everything into a smaller carry on? Biggest thing I have is a CPAP machine and laptop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlesh123
If I arrive at DIA an hour before boarding, I never make my plane. If I arrive at DIA two hours before boarding, it takes me 10 minutes to get through TSA grope session and to the gate so I wait in a terminal for one hour and 50 minutes.
I advise wearing pants that don't fall off without a belt so you don't show your thong in the TSA line.
Keep an eye on the clock and take a good toilet visit just before boarding starts.
If you have to check a bag go to the counter and they will weigh it and you generally pay $25.00.
Arrive 2 hours early because of the waste of time B.S. TSA theater you are about to endure. I remember a time when you could get to the airport 1/2 hr before your flight and be confident you could get on the plane. Be sure to read the TSA "rules" about your carry on baggage. Get ready to "assume the position" in the giant xray machine, or if you opt out, be frisked ( felt up) all the while standing in your stocking feet. Your 4th, 1st, and 2nd amendment rights will be suspended when you step into DIA. But you will be "safe". What a giant load of crap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky
Wear shoes that are easy to take off and put on.
Bring a book to read.
You will have to take your laptop out of your laptop bag, and they will scan it separately. Make sure you can access it quickly, and shove it back in quickly.
I second the advice of not packing anything that is not necessary. No coins in your pockets, no extra jewelry. Nothing that can set off the metal detectors.
If I were you, I'd try and pack everything you need into a carry on. If you're checking a bag, put some brightly-colored tape on the outside. Everyone has a black or a blue rectangular bag- the one with bright green duct tape in the form of an asterisk or an X or whatever you choose will make it that much easier to grab and go.
Laptop charger. Phone charger. Kindle charger. Do NOT forget your chargers.
Pack clothes that don't attract attention. No Second Amendment declaration T shirts, giant belt buckles, etc.
Arrive earlier than 2 hours before, especially if you are parking in a lot at the airport and must wait for the shuttle to pick you up. That adds on to the time it takes you to get to your terminal.
Keep a pocket of your carry-on solely for your travel documents- easy access means faster movement through security.
If possible, go with a carry-on and save yourself some time and money.
I don't fly very frequently, but when I do, I like to wear a light jacket with zippered pockets. When I'm approaching security, I put all my usual pocket stuff (phone, wallet, loose change, keys, boarding passes (Not until after they check them at the start of the security rigmarole), watch, belt, rings, etc.) into my jacket pockets and zip them shut. Then I just take my jacket off when I get to the scanners and put it on top of my shoes in a bin. After the security check, I grab my jacket, shoes, and bag and head toward the gate and I can move the items back to their regularly reserved locations as time permits. This also ensures I don't have a dozen or more items floating around in the X ray bins and I won't lose anything.
Slip on shoes are a must.
Earplugs can make a long flight a lot shorter. Music is a plus.
Some cash is always handy.
Prescription meds should be in your carry on.
I always have an extra set of essentials in my carry on too: pants, shirt, underoos, socks, deodorant, etc.
Flightaware.com is handy for tracking your flights and making sure your connections are running on time.
Can my CPAP machine go in my carry on?
Should be no issue. I always call airline before bringing any medical equip. I also have current scrip for said medicine or DMW.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky
I get name of person who gave me info, date & time. Your best bet is the airline. HOWEVER what one is allowed as carry on in CO is or may not be allowed in NY.
It's been my experience that it can - as Jim noted, it's nice to have a prescription handy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky
Not much help on this one.
Last time I flew, I got a gunpowder residue test because there was an empty gum wrapper in my shirt pocket.
Good luck.
Don't make any jokes to the TSA douches. My wife and I saw a guy get tackled. He was asked what he had in something (we didn't see) and his answer was "You think it's a bomb?" and bam! He was tackled a few feet in front of us and pinned on the ground shittin himself saying "I was only kidding! I was only kidding!". This was only a few months after 9/11, but still, don't joke around with these fools or you could cost yourself some time or a missed flight.
If your CPAP has a detachable humidifier resevoir, consider detaching it and leaving it at home. NY is considerably more humid than CO so it's not essential to have it there as it is here and the space saving in luggage is worth not taking along. I just travelled overseas for a month without the humidifier along and was fine the entire time.
I packed my CPAP into my checked luggage so I can't advise from experience on taking it in carry on except to say TSA will likely have you get it scanned separately like any other electronics.
Regarding the bag costs, I recently flew Frontier and it was $30 to check a bag, but $40 to carry on. I paid the $40 since it was a 36 hour trip, and I could avoid a human, particularly at 4 am in MKE when there were none.
I'd be shocked if Pfizer is flying you on Frontier. Man, that airline has changed....
Wear clean underwear.
Well, first off, as in my thread in the CCW forum, DO NOT bring a pistol that is loaded with one in the pipe through TSA. They do not find it amusing and you will receive ridicule for the forseeable future.
Your CPAP machine is medical equipment and you can bring it on the plane. If it is in its own carrying case they can not count it as part of your baggage limit.
I fly almost every week. If I had your flight time I'd be at the security line about 6:15.
Pick your seat now online through the airline website. The trip is paid by someone else, it might be worth a little bit of extra cash to pick a better seat on the plane. Since you don't fly often it might be nice to have a good windows seat. Sometimes you can sweet-talk one of the cabin crew into a better (or business-class) seat also.
Port side Eastbound, Starboard West. Keeps the sun from beating on you.
O2
[Beer]Quote:
Originally Posted by O2HeN2
In front of the engines is much quieter and smoother too.
Take a picture of where you parked.
Before leaving vehicle check pockets for pocket knife and remove all change.
Bring a empty water bottle, none of the shops in the concourse are open early.
Have debit or CC handy if you want to buy food on the plane.
Try carry all baggage, if you can't carry the essentials that can't be easily replaced if/when bags are lost.
I did pick a window seat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Delfuego
Rear of the plane, you can see any trouble occurring.
Your cpap is dme durable medical equipment and can be carried on sepperate from your carryon. I take my humidifier everywhere, never know when its going to be dry. Be aware they will waht to swipe test it every few times through only takes a cpl mins. But other than that good to go make sure the humidifier is empty. And put it in the bag it came in as it says the manufacturer on it and is easily identified for what it si.
Forgot to mention i always take my cpap out of the bag machine only when being scanned, but mine has a battery
I travel for 4 days at a time, with a Cpap and put it all in one carry on and one personal bag. Everyone has a story of a lost checked bag. Sometimes it is minimal disruption, other times, never to be seen again. My carry on will fit in any RJ overhead, so in a mainline bird should be easy. My personal bag will fit under most seats. But I don't carry a laptop, just two iPads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky
As mentioned by others, no problem with CPAP in carry on, but will need to be pulled out and screened separately like a laptop.
Without experience with your specific belt, probably best to remove it before going through the screener machine ( any type).
So with all of this good advice, did your trip go off without a hitch?
Genius! I usually try to cram all that stuff into an outer pocket of my bag as I'm moving up the line, but your jacket pocket method would be a lot slicker on both ends of the metal detector.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger