As the spouse of an airline employee I travel a bit more than the average bear but not as much as the road warriors.  Please take a moment to review some simple steps not to look like an amateur traveler.

Before you leave your house:

If not a frequent flyer, take a moment to look on one of several sites – TSA, Airline of choice or Airport of choice for items that are allowed in carry-on luggage.  Your knitting needles or embroidery needles may not be allowed.

Go to the airport website and track security travel lines times and allow ample time.  The same can be said for park and ride times, or hiking in from the airport parking.  Please also research where your rental car is being returned if not at the airport and allow for shuttle time.

Print your boarding pass at home, in particular if you don’t have to check any bags.  Skip the check in lines and go straight to security.  Or use your smart phone to check in.

Once at the airport:

Take a moment before you step into the security line to have your boarding pass (or phone cued to) and ID in hand.  Please look around a bit before stopping in the middle of the airport concourses, step over to the side out of the flow of traffic.  Also, walking three of four wide is rude.  Lastly, please step to the right side of escalators to allow people to pass if they choose.

Please don’t try to chat up the TSA agents.  A simple hello and thank you will suffice.

Everyone is going in the same direction.  Complaining in line will not make it move any faster. 

Have your clear personal items baggie of less than one ounce containers at the top of your luggage or an easy open side compartment.  (Please don’t forget to take out or be digging through your luggage for this item.  TSA will make you re-run your luggage if you forget to remove from bag.)  Please don’t’ try to have full size containers in your luggage – you will be caught. 

Please be able to lift your own luggage on to the conveyor belt.  If your luggage is so heavy you can’t lift it, either seek help from your airline or check the bag.  Do not expect TSA agents to be porters.

Please wear shoes that are easy to remove – I’ve watched girls trying to get their boots off and then stuff their jeans back into boots.  Please think about heavy clunky metal jewelry including belts.  You will need to remove all of this to pass through scanners and then put back on.  If you want to accessorize you will have plenty of time on the plane to play dress up.  If you just have to wear those boots, take them off before you get in the security line (http://www.footzyrolls.com/ or other slippers are great for this).  Go completely through the security line to the benches to put your boots back on.

You will need to remove your jacket – don’t do like one lady I watched and flash her bra at the male TSA agent because she didn’t have anything on under her suit jacket.

Have an idea of how many bins you will need and take enough the first time: shoes and purse in one, jacket and baggie in another and laptop is separate bin.  IPad, kindles, nooks and the like do not need to be removed from your luggage.

If you are traveling with children, please have their stuff in order with yours and go through the line marked for special needs – it will be easier if pushing a stroller.  Please let the child know s/he will have to let go of “wubi” but that the big machine will not hurt her/him/it.

Think when you pack your luggage how it will look in an x-ray.  My two examples:  On a recent shopping trip I purchased a stainless steel cookie press and yes carried it on the plane.  TSA thought it was a caulking gun.  I told them what it was and was cleared but I really should have checked the bag that day.  Example two: I have a leather biker style jacket with lots of zippers.  It’s warm, and comfortable.  It was too hot in the airport so I folded it into my luggage.  The zippers looked amazing on the x-ray and I had my entire bag searched!

Pet Peeve 1:  Please do not carry your bedroom pillow or tie one of those neck support pillows to your bag – its’ tacky.  Buy one of the blowup kinds or have room in your luggage for it.

Pet Peeve 2:  Those who travel in pajamas or sweats.  I miss the days of dressing up to fly.  I try to look business casual nice for most flights, although there have been a few flights where I had to get up at 3:30Am to drive and make an early morning flight and may have left of the makeup!  Again it’s an easy dash into the ladies’ room once in the gate area to freshen up.

Pet Peeve 3:  Trying to make your full size luggage fit in carry-on.  Yes I know the airlines are charging for the first checked bag or some don’t want the hassle of fetching or losing luggage.  Either pack less or check your luggage.  Backpacks in particular that are overstuffed may not fit in the smaller planes luggage compartments and will need to be gate checked.

Pet Peeve 4: Over packing.  My husband broke me of this early on for the honey moon flight to Paris.  One week one bag – period.  One dress pair of black shoes – two evening out fits, a couple of pairs of jeans and mix and match separates.  I realize business is a bit different, but you don’t need choices when traveling.  Plan your outfits for each day and activity and pack accordingly.  I usually take a few extra pairs of undies and a spare long sleeved t-shirt.  Look at packing sites to learn how to roll clothes or better ways to pack suitcases.

Lastly be aware of your surroundings at all time.  Having your purse or wallet stolen would not be a great way to start or end a trip.  A stranger bumping into you may not be an accident.  Protect your valuables, wallets in inside pockets, purses closed worn backwards (even shoulder straps inside jackets, again wallets and phones to the interior of the bag and zipped.  ID can be put in a temporary outside pocket and then returned to proper place at gate.  Listen to the announcements, yes we have heard all of them before and tend to tune them out, it might be your gate agent telling you your plane is on another concourse another gate! 

Flying is a wonderful experience and is a lot of fun, all you need is patience, preparedness and politeness.  (The last is for that poor gate agent who can't control weather or mechanical issues!)