The Airline Rules Every Traveler Needs to Know

October 30, 2012 1:20 pm ET

In a perfect world travel would a simple matter of showing up and allowing airlines to whisk you away like they do in the tv shows.  But it’s not that way… at all.  Now we are advised to bring this, bring that, stand here, go through that etc. until we just think “wouldn’t it be easier to just stay at home?”

Brett Snyder of Conde Nast Traveler lays out the airline rules every traveler needs to know for the upcoming travel season.  Whether it’s visiting your family in Maine for Thanksgiving or simple a weekend trip to Atlantic City, here are the essential rules to traveling smoothly:

• Get There Early- Save time by checking in at home, checking your bags online, and arriving early for an easy stroll to the gate.
• Your Bag Goes With You- Why is getting there early a plus? Because if you’re there with 15 minutes to spare and have a checked back, for security reasons airlines won’t put the bag on another flight.  Make sure to show up with plenty of time to check your bag.
• Don’t No-Show- Let’s say hypothetically that you make it there late and decide “well I can just drive out and use my return flight back.” If you thought that, you would be wrong.  Missing the first part of your itinerary cancels the rest!  Make sure to give your airline the heads up.

To read the original article and see more more great tips from Brett Snyder click HERE.

Featured image by Conde Nast.