Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
27
Tips
Don't Stow It—Ship It
If ease of travel is your main concern and money is no object, you can ship your
luggage and sports equipment with one of the growing number of luggage-
service companies that pick up, track, and deliver your luggage (often through
couriers such as Federal Express) with minimum hassle for you. Traveling luggage
free may be ultraconvenient, but it's not cheap: One-way overnight shipping can
cost from $100 to $200, depending on what you're sending. Still, for some peo-
ple, especially the elderly or the infirm, it 's a sensible solution to lugging heavy
baggage. Specialists in door-to-door luggage delivery are
Virtual Bellhop
(
&
877/235-5467; www.virtualbellhop.com),
SkyCap International
(
&
877/775-
9227; www.skycapinternational.com),
Luggage Express
(
&
866/744-7224; www.
usxpluggageexpress.com), and
Sports Express
(
&
800/357-4174; www.sports
express.com).
• To have two seats for yourself in a three-
seat row, try for an aisle seat in a center
section to ward the back of coach. I f
you're trav eling with a companion,
book an aisle and a windo w seat. Mid-
dle seats ar e usually booked last, so
chances ar e good y ou'll end up with
three seats to y ourselves. And in the
event that a thir d passenger is assigned
the middle seat, he or she will pr obably
be more than happy to trade for a win-
dow or an aisle.
• To sleep, avoid the last r ow of any sec-
tion or the r ow in fr ont of an emer-
gency exit, as these seats ar e the least
likely to recline. Avoid seats near highly
trafficked toilet areas. Avoid seats in the
back of many jets—these can be nar-
rower than those in the r est of coach.
Or r eserve a windo w seat so y ou can
rest your head and avoid being bumped
in the aisle.
• Get up, walk around, and stretch every
60 to 90 minutes to keep y our blood
flowing. This helps av oid
deep v ein
thrombosis,
or “ economy-class syn-
drome.” S ee the bo x “Avoiding 'E con-
omy Class Syndrome,'” p. 42.
• Drink water befor e, during, and after
your flight to combat the lack of humid-
ity in airplane cabins. A void caffeine
and alcohol, which will dehydrate you.
Flying for Less: Tips for
Getting the Best Airfares
Airfares are a gr eat example of capitalism
at wor k: P assengers within the same air-
plane cabin rar ely pay the same far e for
their seats. Rather , each pays what the
market will bear . B usiness trav elers who
need to purchase tickets at the last minute,
change their itinerar y at a moment 's
notice, or get home befor e the w eekend
pay the pr emium rate, kno wn as the full
fare. Passengers who can book their ticket
long in adv ance, who don 't mind staying
over Saturday night, or who ar e willing to
travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thurs-
day after 7pm will pay a fraction of the full
fare. O n most flights, ev en the shor test
hops, the full fare is close to $1,000, but a
7-day or 14-day advance purchase ticket is
closer to $200 to $300. H
2
ere ar e a fe w
other easy ways to save:
• Periodically, airlines lo wer prices on
their most popular r outes. Check y our
newspaper for adv ertised discounts, or
