I feel like a broken record but I feel the need to repeat this again and again and again: travel is crazy right now. If you are going anywhere this summer, you need to know a few things. (This is a little tongue-in-cheek but it’s all true.) Read on for my tips for surviving summer 2022 travel.
Tips for Surviving Summer 2022 Travel
You will very likely experience a delay or a cancellation. Give yourself time. If you have a connection, give yourself at LEAST three hours if coming in from overseas and connecting home. If you get through immigration/customs in record time, treat yourself to a drink at the bar (if you can find a seat). Commiserate with fellow passengers about the state of air travel, vow that you’re driving next time you have to go to Denver for work.
Get to the airport early! These days it is advisable to arrive 4 hours before an international flight and 2-3 before a domestic one. Some airports are not allowing passengers into the terminal more than 4 hours before a flight so check your specific airport. If you are parking a car, add 30-60 minutes to those above numbers, to account for parking and catching a shuttle to the terminal.
You WILL stand in a line. Probably more than one line. Maybe seven lines. I can’t make this go away, I hope you like lines. If you are not flying business class, expect to stand in a fairly long line to check your bags. If you are flying business class, there might be a few people in front of you.
Packing Tips for Surviving Summer 2022 Travel
Your bag might not make it. Pack accordingly. This means ALL meds, clothes for 2-3 days, a book, your important documents, cameras, computers, etc in your carry on. Don’t forget underwear. Also, pack deodorant, you’re going to smell after hours in an enclosed metal box blasting through the atmosphere. Travelling with kids? Pack all kids stuff (extra diapers, formula, snacks) in a carry on. Sometimes this requires extra security. Find more packing tips here.
Security will be hectic. Pack accordingly (slip on shoes, liquids at the top of your bag for easy access, laptop and tablet accessible). I hope you like lines. If you’re flying business class, depending on the airport you might have your own business class security lines. If you have Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check, you will have a shorter line but it might not be that much shorter. Find TSA tips here.
At-the-Airport Tips for Surviving Summer 2022 Travel
If your flight is cancelled and you are working with a travel advisor, call us IMMEDIATELY so we can grab that last seat on the next flight or first flight out tomorrow (***if available***). Get in the line too. Trust me.
If your flight is cancelled and you are NOT working with a travel advisor, be prepared to wait in a very long line to get rebooked on a flight that leaves two days later (***if available***). You had better REALLY like lines now.
If you are taking a cruise or scheduled tour, do NOT chance it and leave your house the day the ship or tour leaves. Murphy’s Law states you will be stuck in Timbuktu and miss your departure. At this time, I advise you to give yourself at LEAST two to three days between leaving home and boarding a ship.
Be nice! Yes, you’re going to stand in a line. Expect it. TSA staff are doing their job, which is to keep us all safe. And there will be lines, you will be in them, and there will be people who don’t travel a lot in those lines too. Be nice to everyone, and understand that you’re not the only one who is worried about making it to their gate. (Let’s be honest, if you are worried about making it to your gate and you’re hoping to skip the line, you got to the airport a LOT later than advised.)
Related: check out my preferred travel products to make your packing easier!
Planning Ahead for 2023 Travel
Prices are through the roof. Plan for next year now if you can. I hope you like lines because they’ll still be there next year but at least you won’t be paying three times the price to stand in a line, like you would if you want to travel this year and haven’t bought your flights yet.
Flight schedules come out 330 days in advance. While you can expect multiple schedule changes that far out, it’s a great idea to see what’s out there. Book early to secure the cabin class and seats you want, especially if you fly business. I am booking into 2023, and business class is the first to sell out.
Hotel rates also come out nearly a year in advance. Secure your preferred room or suite at a refundable or guaranteed rate, and change things later if you have to. This plan ahead strategy is great if you have a must-do event like graduation, a wedding, or are planning a multi-destination trip in advance.
The Upshot
I could go on and on and on but the important thing here is that we are all dealing with this. Everyone’s flights are being delayed, it doesn’t matter the airline. I have read some articles that are blaming one airline or another, and even though I have my favourites and my least favourites, I have to defend them all right now. If you want to complain that you, a veteran of this beautiful country, were FORCED to sleep on the FLOOR of an airport (in a first world country, of all the AWFUL things to happen to you in your life), then MAYBE, just MAYBE, you shouldn’t be travelling right now. I too have slept on airport floors (including that specific airport) because of delays and there were a lot of other people in the same boat.
So why are things getting cancelled? This requires another post, but the upshot is that pilots and flight crew either retired or were forced to retire in 2020. Airlines pulled planes from service. They dropped routes. And now we are demanding more more more and they can. not. do. it. right. now.
Plan for next year. The pyramids have been standing for a few thousand years, they will be there next year. Stonehenge too. Paris will be there next summer. Mykonos is not going anywhere. (Yellowstone might be, but hey we’ve all seen the pictures.) And when you are ready to travel, I will be here to help you plan.