Spring Break Travel

My last trip through an airport was last summer, so I was curious to see how air travel has evolved. A few airport/travel observations:

AIRPORT SECURITY

Airport security is much better now! While Philadelphia International (PHL) was packed at 7 am on a Saturday morning, going through security was actually quite easy and efficient. The line was super long but it moved fast. And here’s why – they double you up and send you through an area where you walk by trained dogs. After the dog approves you passing, you go through the regular security where you scan your boarding pass, then proceed to the screening area, where you do NOT have to remove your shoes or take anything out of your carry-ons! Simply put everything on the belt and walk through the body scanner. VERY EFFICIENT! Almost felt like pre-911 days. 

*Side note 1: if you notice, like we did, that at PHL baggage check-in, the belt isn’t moving and all the checked bags are just piling up…yeah, expect that your bag(s) will NOT make your flight. I will be purchasing Apple AirTags now to track our bags in the future! (We did get our bags at our resort at 4:45 am the next day so it wasn’t horrible, but still frustrating!!)

This dog screening set-up was also present at Denver International (DEN). Similar long lines to get through security but it moved quickly – 10 minutes from start to finish. However when we landed back in PHL it was later in the evening and passing the screening area on our way to baggage claim, we noticed the dogs were “off duty” so the old way of taking off your shoes and removing electronics and liquids from your bags was back in effect. 

*Side note 2: AirTags would have been helpful knowing where our bags were after arriving in PHL because it takes F O R E V E R for them to unload and get luggage to baggage claim. We waited over 40 mins after landing to get our priority-tagged bags. 

FLEXIBILITY

Full airplanes everywhere. American was offering a bidding system if you were flexible and able to take a different flight, you could ‘bid’ in their app with 4 different preset amounts (which varied with how close to flight time it was…it increased as departure time became closer). Kinda like the ‘old days’ where they’d offer you a free ticket and/or free upgrade on the re-booked flight. Now it is just a $ dollar amount in the form of a free voucher. But I did see it get up to $900…so if your flight is full, and you’re a bit flexible, this is a great option to take to fund your next great trip! 

BUDGETING

Unfortunately, with the current economic situation, flights are more expensive than they’ve typically been in the past. This does not seem to have much impact on travel, as there are people everywhere flying and driving to great destinations.

Full disclosure, this trip for us I spent way more on airfare than I wanted to, or have in the past to fly from PHL to DEN, but that is something out of my control. There are no discounts on airfare. And I refuse to fly any discount airline or book through a third party service. I realize that may sound snooty, it is anything but. I value my time and my money. While I want to pay a reasonable amount for a flight, I also realize I get what I pay for. Discount airlines upcharge for everything, and have an almost non-existent customer service department. With the crazy nature of air travel, there is bound to be a problem – just like we didn’t get our bags loaded onto our plane. If we flew a lower priced airline, I guarantee we never would have gotten our luggage in the same time frame we did. 

With a little pre-planning and my expertise, you can have a fantastic vacation within your budget!