I never!

[XCashier]

(Aaaaaand Iii've never licked a spark plug, and I've never sniffed a stinkbug, and I've never painted daisies on a big, red rubber ball. And I've never bathed in yogurt, and I don't look good in leggings...)

...and I've never been to Boston in the fall!

[Ellain]

I've never
-had cable tv
-gotten a speeding ticket
-read 50 Shades of Gray
-given birth anywhere outside my home
-been overseas

Though, that last will change in less than 2 weeks!

[Jester]

First the airport basics, for those who are new to flying.

Going through security, they will tell you all this, but it's good to know it ahead of time, so that you are already in the mindset of doing it, and are relaxed about doing it. You will need to:
--remove your shoes and put them in a bin. A lot of people wear easy on/easy off shoes, sandals, or flip flops in airports to make this easier, which is a very smart idea. Because I personally hate having cold feet, though, and find airports and airplanes on the chilly side, I stick with my socks and sneakers.
--remove any belt you are wearing. That goes in the bin with your shoes, or if you prefer, you can stick it in your carryon.
--have your pockets completely emptied. You can put the stuff in the bin with your shoes or in your carryon bag. What I usually do is once I hit the security line, before I even get to the front and have them tell me to do this, have it done. My cell phone is silenced and put in my backpack. I would treat any personal music device in the same way. My keys, as I don't need them anyway, have already been out in my backpack. My wallet? Backpack. Sunglasses/case they go in? Backpack. Loose change? Usually in the bin with the shoes. Beer coozies? Backpack. (Yes, I travel with beer coozies. Doesn't everyone?) All of this is easier to do if you already know you have to do it. Remember, your pockets need to be empty. However, I make sure that I keep in my hand at ALL times my ID and my ticket/boarding pass, until I have cleared security. Then they are readily accessible for when I board the flight. After that, they are put away.
--if you are one who wears hats, they will often have you remove your hat. Right into the bin, or your carryon, and deal with the hat head!
--laptops MUST be removed from your carryon and put in a separate bin by their lonesome. Tablets and e-readers are not treated as laptops for this purpose, and can be kept in your carryon.
--sunglasses--off! In the bin or the carryon. Regular glasses are fine.
--while I don't wear jewelry, it would seem prudent to remove watches or excessive jewelry, as you are going through a metal detector. Studded collars, studded bracelets, excessive rings, multiple earrings....if you don't want extra attention, you might want to remove these for the few minutes you'll be going through security.

IMPORTANT: Even having done all of the above, make sure you still listen to the security agents. Because if they say anything that contradicts what I've said above, go with what they say! They do this for a living, I travel occasionally, and rules change from time to time, and vary from airport to airport. Remember: When it comes to airport security protocol, TSA agents trump Jester!

I for one would love such tips. My social anxiety comes out worst when I'm feeling trapped in a conversation and expected to answer questions about myself....

After security I'm a really relaxed flyer, nothing the plane does or doesn't do bothers me in the slightest.

This is a bit more problematic for me, as you can't fake casualness or being at ease. At least, I don't know how one would. Also, short of a swarm if bees (my only phobia), nothing really makes me nervous. And most of the airports I've been through seem to be rather bee free.

My suggestion would be to not even think about the questions and answers part. Focus on the fact that you are flying, which is something that does not cause you stress. Put that other thing out of your mind. Because, think about it....if you look ok stressed, there is a higher chance they are going to pull you aside for extra questioning, which is what is stressing you out in the first place. But if you look relaxed, or even bored, they may not even notice you. Now, I've never gone through customs, having only flown domestically, but in all of my domestic flights, I have never once been pulled into a private room for a more thorough search or questioning, and the only time I've gotten any extra attention at all was the one time I forgot to pull my cell phone out of my pocket. And then they just gave me an extra wanding.

Again, you can't fake not being nervous, so my suggestion to you is to trick your mind into not thinking about the thing that makes you nervous. If you can do that, odds are good that you won't have to face that thing that makes you nervous in the first place.

Good luck!


One last travel tip: it is perfectly legal and allowable to travel with bottles of liquor or wine in your luggage, as long as it is in your CHECKED baggage. Ditto shampoo and other toiletries that exceed the 3 oz liquid limit. It is only in your carryon baggage that the 3 oz liquid limit is in place. For liquor in glass bottles, I would highly suggest that you pack it in the center of the suitcase, throughly surrounded by clothes as cushioning, or you are going to have a very messy time unpacking. And make sure it is a sealed, unopened bottle. Makes the likelihood of spillage less.

As for toiletries, I can't stress this enough: pack them in ziplock baggies. Because a lot of times, the pressure changes will force a bit of spillage, and on the other end you're gonna need to rinse off the bottle and get a new ziplock. This is especially true of shampoos, conditioners, hair gels, and shaving creams. Probably true of most lotions or gels, honestly.

[bhskittykatt]

Thanks for the tips, Jester! I'm going to save these and go over them closer to my flight time.

Now I just need to figure out what to do during a 3 hour layover in Atlanta...

[Jester]

Now I just need to figure out what to do during a 3 hour layover in Atlanta...

Do what I do during longer layovers: hit the bars!

If you like beer, hit the Sam Adams bar and have some quality Sam Adams brews. Of course, this depends on your terminal...I'm not sure if the SA bars are in all of Atlanta's terminals. There just happens to be one in the terminal that Southwest uses to connect to Key West. I warn you, though: their food is average airport food, at best. And of course, just like at every airport, everything is overpriced. But hell, it's a good time for lunch, right? And unless you're flying Delta, chances are good that the airport food is better than the food on the airplane.

Where are you flying to/from, if I may ask?

[wolfie]

For liquor in glass bottles, I would highly suggest that you pack it in the center of the suitcase, throughly surrounded by clothes as cushioning, or you are going to have a very messy time unpacking.

At CAA storefront locations (Yankee equivalent would be AAA), I've seen inflatable packages for carrying wine bottles in luggage. Be sure to not inflate fully - the luggage bay is not pressurized.

[Jester]

Fair enough, Wolfie, but I'll go with a fluffy sweatshirt over a wine balloon any day.

[wolfie]

The "wine balloons", unlike sweatshirts, are specifically designed as packaging material. Also, I believe (didn't look too closely - not the sort of device I needed to get) the bottle is in a sealed compartment, so even if it does break (assuming the glass doesn't cut through both walls of the air chamber) the wine is contained. Hope you can get the red wine stain out of that white sweatshirt - and get ALL the pieces of broken glass out of your clothing. You DID remember to pack your underwear in a different suitcase from the liquor, didn't you?

[Jester]

First, I don't own any white sweatshirts. Secondly, getting broken glass out of clothing isn't that tough. I've done it, though not from any air travel mishaps. Third, most things will wash out. Fourth, if not, I can always buy more underwear. And finally, and this is important, to date I have packed every bottle I've flown with well enough where I have dealt with exactly zero breakage. See, it's not just about wrapping it in a sweatshirt. It's also about packing it intelligently, in the center of the suitcase, surrounded on all sides by clothes. In essence, the entire suitcase becomes a packing crate for the bottle, with all the clothes being the protective packing material. And I'm very, VERY good at packing.

That stuff that is designed specifically as packing material is inflatable, which means it can, in fact, pop. Clothes, on the other hand, cannot.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I have never lived in one address for an entire school year

[bhskittykatt]

Just came up with another one. I've never used an automated car wash. I actually thought about using one the other day but was in a hurry and decided that it would be easier to use the manual wash bay rather than figure out something new.

Where are you flying to/from, if I may ask?

Going from Seatac to visit my parents in Huntsville, AL. I haven't seen them since they moved down there (will have been five years when we make the trip). My dad has to fly out to Moscow a couple times a year for his job and he's racked up some serious airline miles, so they're using some of those miles to fly Hubs and I down and are paying all my expenses (including coverage for my paper routes)! It's like they miss me or something...

[Jester]

Flying west to east means you'll be getting into Atlanta sometime in the afternoon. Be prepared for delays.

Atlanta is the busiest airport in the nation. My experience with it in recent years is that, when I connect through it in the morning (when I'm flying Key West to Phoenix), everything goes off without a hitch. But when I come back through it going the other way, and it's later in the afternoon, my flight out is almost always delayed.

As long as you know that going in, you should be fine.

Also, overbooking info that may prove important: Every now and then, a flight will be overbooked, and they will ask for volunteers to not take that flight and take another, later one. For said volunteers, the airline offers vouchers of various denominations. If they don't get enough volunteers, they start bumping people, and those who get bumped generally don't get as good a deal as those who volunteer. So, do you volunteer or do you roll the dice that you won't get bumped?

Neither. You make sure that this will not apply to you. And it's very, very easy to do.

When they start bumping people, they do so in reverse order of when they checked in. So if you were the last person to check in, you will be the first person bumped. The easiest way to avoid this fiasco is to be one of the first people to check in. And this doesn't mean getting to the airport waaaay early, either. Because, you see, airlines allow you to check in electronically up to 24 hours before your flight's scheduled departure time. So, if your flight is scheduled to depart SeaTac at 8:15 am Friday morning, make sure you get online late Thursday morning or early afternoon and electronically check in. You can even print out your boarding passes. Ain't technology grand?

"But Jester, what if everyone has that same idea and they all check in electronically before me?" Human nature is in your side here, as not everyone will do that. I don't know the numbers, but I'd say no more than half of the passengers for any given flight check in early the day before. Probably less than that, but I'm being generous.

[Peppergirl]

BSHKitty, you're welcome to PM me if you need any professional advice on air travel or TSA info. No charge for my CS friends.

[Ree]

BSHKitty, you're welcome to PM me if you need any professional advice on air travel or TSA info. No charge for my CS friends.

That's really nice of you, Pepergirl, and generous, since that is actually what you do for a living!

BSHKitty, I hope you take her up on that.
She has probably forgotten more than many of us armchair travel agents will ever know about travelling and the TSA!

[Seshat]

I've only been to Atlanta airport once. I'll say this: I was TOTALLY unprepared for how HUGE it is!

I allowed the usual amount of time I allow for getting from place to place at MEL (Melbourne, Australia). This leaves me an easy half hour at the gate, even after checking bags and all the other guff.

I barely made my flight! I swear, that place is gigantic.