Of course, then, there’s the baby. Even if your baby is more of a toddler, there are some things you need to think about when you’re getting ready to fly. No, I’m not talking about having a long talk with your 18 month old about not crying during the flight and annoying everyone within a 15-row radius. Those other travelers can deal. It’s just a two-hour flight, and your baby’s screams don’t tend to actually shatter glass, so it’ll be OK.

No, we’re talking about flying safety. If you’re going to be traveling with your child, here are some safety things to keep in mind:

• The safest way for your baby to fly is to use a car seat that’s approved as a flight seat. The base of the seat should have a sticker that says it’s FAA approved. If it doesn’t have one, you can check with the manufacturer to see if it’s approved for airplane use.
• The FAA has a brochure called Childproof your Flight. Make sure you read it carefully, and maybe even print it out and take it with you when you fly.
• If you don’t have an approved car seat, you’re going to be asked to hold your child on your lap if she is younger than 2. There are specific rules, usually, for securing your child during take-off and landing. Make sure you check with the airline ahead of time so you know what to do.
• You can also consider the use of a flight harness. There are a number of child flight harnesses on the market. They are designed to attach to an airplane seat and its lap belt. They’re usually designed for children between about 20 and 45 pounds.

Photo via JohnE777

Arrive early

Airport security is a pain. Keep in mind that everyone gets to share in this pain. The best idea for you to remain stress free is to arrive to the airport early. Ask around how security is at the airport if you have never been to that particular airport. Bring some sort of entertainment to help kill time in the boarding area. Better to be early than be grounded.

Plan layovers accordingly

Layovers are so much fun these days. You deplane, run across the airport in hopes to make your flight. Give yourself a stress free layover by picking flights an hour apart. This will help with delays and allow you some time to pee in your airport sprints.

Pick your seat carefully

This option varies depending on the airline you are flying. Some airlines will allow you to pick your seat at the time of booking. Others will only allow you to choose your seat at check-in.

Picking your seat should be something you consider carefully. If you are a taller person, you might want an isle seat so you can stretch out. Choosing a window seat is advantageous for sleeping and not having to constantly move for your seatmates and people walking up and down the aisle. Exit row seating offers a greater amount of legroom, but often comes with a stiffer cost.

Checking in the easy way

Airlines have finally come up to the 20^th century. You can now check into your flight from the comforts of home. This speeds up your process of getting to the security checkpoint and to your gate. Some airlines will even let you upgrade when you check in online.

No wiggle room, no problem

You only managed to get a window seat, or even worse a middle seat. This is not the end of the world. You are prepared for this situation. First thing to do is make sure you have all your items from your carry-on. Grab any reading materials, music, laptops, gaming devices you might have brought. This will help keep you from having to get up and squeeze out of your seat.

You might not be able to do anything about the kid screaming behind you, or the larger person next to you. Pack some earplugs to drown out junior. The biggest item to keep in mind is that you are only on this plane for a short duration of your life. Why stress out about your seating arrangement?

Air travel takes a bit more planning. This should be no reason to avoid it. Get your travel insurance to help when the airlines can’t. Most importantly, know that you are well on your way to being less stressed out than the guy next to you is.

Photo via ricoeurian

Here’s what’s hot right now in the world of travel:

• Wi-Fi is going free. Earlier this year, McDonalds announced that the Wi-Fi service you’ve had to pay $2 a minute for is now going to be free. Airports, hotels, restaurants and even some cities are all providing free wireless hot spots. If you need to be online to stay in touch with work (or just to goof off, for that matter), you’ll be able to do it almost anywhere you travel this year.
• Airport security is getting stricter and weirder. You’ve probably read about the virtual strip search technology that’s being implemented in some places. As authorities try to provide tighter security, you can expect all sorts of invasive and, in some cases, just simply odd requests.
• Deals abound. Travel prices have become pretty stable this year, and those in the travel industry are willing to negotiate. Do a little bit of hunting, and chances are pretty good you can save some serious cash.
• New destinations await. Americans are becoming increasingly interested in new and different exotic travel destinations. Maybe you’ll take a trip to Tonga, or maybe you’ll go watch the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa this year.
• Old favorites come cheap. Right now is the most affordable time in memory that you can visit Las Vegas. Rooms at some hotels are going for $20 on week nights, and even the high-end hotels are under $100 during the week. Vegas has been hit hard by the recession, and they’re doing what they can to bring folks back.
• Travel insurance pays off. No matter where you go or how you get there, travel insurance can help protect your travel investment. Whether the hotel you were going to stay at goes bankrupt and locks the doors the night before you arrive, or whether the airline cancels your flight altogether, travel insurance eases the pain of travel inconveniences.

Photo via thinboyfatter

It’s time to pack your bags, pick a destination, get your travel insurance, and figure out where you want to be over the holiday.

There are several airlines in the group that have decided to waive their advance purchase requirements. They include American Airlines, United, Delta, Northwest, US Airways, Frontier, AirTran and Midwest. One holdout, at least this far, has been Continental. Continental still holds to their three day advance purchase requirement, but it’s uncertain whether or not they will follow the lead of their competitors.

As business travel closes down to nearly a halt over the next couple of weeks in order to spend the holidays at home or to travel aling with their families, the airlines are trying to shore up what is sure to be slow business.

The airlines will continue to charge travelers on holidays something of a premium over the current fare sale prices. However, compared to what they would normally charge, last-minute travelers can get a huge break over what they would have paid.

Take, for example, one ticket from Dallas to New York on American Airlines. The no-advance ticket might have cost $1,858 just a week ago. Now, you can get the ticket for less than $400 for a round trip ticket.

There are some restrictions to these low fares, of course. Normal fare sales require that the traveler fly on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Under this arrangement, there are specific dates that travelers can use to get low fares. There is a three-tier structure to these low fares:

• The least expensive airfares were December 16, 17 and 25, and also January 1 and 4.
• Next on the list, at around a third higher than those, was December 18, 20, 21, 24, 30 and 31.
• From there prices go up to about 50% higher than the lowest fares. Those dates were December 19, 22, 23, 26, 28 and 29.
• At this point, a few dates haven’t been included in the sale, including December 27, as well as January 2 and 3.

Photo via albertopveiga

American Airlines was the first major carrier to start instituting bag fees. They began the practice in early 2008. By the time the end of 2008 came around, most of the major carriers began charging bag fees, as well.

These fees have added up considerably. According to Joe Brancatelli of Portfolio.com, baggage fees have generated more than $660 million in revenue across the United States in just the second quarter of 2009. That’s no small figure when you consider that, just 18 months previous, bag fees were ostensibly zero.

Whether or not this is working, however, remains to be seen. A representative of United Airlines recently announced that the company is “very, very happy with the revenues stream” generated by bag fees. Still, overall airline revenue is collapsing. During the second quarter of 2009, only two carriers experienced less than a 10% decline. Both of those carriers were ones that still allowed passengers to check one bag at no additional fee.

Still, passengers are coming up with ways to avoid paying bag fees altogether. Apart from the obvious strategy of packing lighter, there are some things you can do to reduce your bag fees when you fly.

For example, you can check airline exemptions to see what kinds of options you have. Some carriers wave the fee on your first bag for first-class or business-class passengers, or for frequent fliers. If your flight has an international component, the airline may wave fees for one or two bags. There are also items that airlines may not charge for, including strollers, car seats or wheelchairs.

In other cases, travelers are choosing to ship some items. Especially for heavier bags, it can be more economical to ship an item, even with expedited or overnight shipping, than it can be to pay the baggage fee. For heavier bags, airlines may charge up to $125 or more when you check them for a flight.

If you’re going to be taking a flight soon and are concerned about airline bag fees, you can check out this chart from AirfareWatchdog.com. You should also check with the airline or airlines you’ll be traveling with ahead of time so you know what restrictions they have on check bags, as well as restrictions they may have for your carry-on luggage.