Tag: Travel

The rules are that you have to have your carry bag under the seat in front of you for takeoff and landing. The rules don’t say anything about mid flight.So if you need a little more leg room to stretch out during that flight, after takeoff, move your bag under your knees.

I travel with a pretty small computer bag but it still gets in the way when trying to sleep so after takeoff, I move the bag under my knees or under the slight overhang between the end of my seat and the bar below designed to contain the carryon of the person behind me. Even a large backpack can fit under your knees allowing you to stretch out for some shut eye on a long flight in a middle seat.

My wife does this on car trips in the passenger seat but I never really thought to do it on airplane flights until recently and it works like a charm.

You’ll have to stow everything again for landing but hopefully you’ll be more rested by then.

On my way home from #atl today I got picked for the new #tsa #expedited traveller program. I had signed up a while back but never heard anything.

In short, the experience was fantastic.

The T gate checkpoint in atl now has 3 lanes. One for non-medallion members, a regular medallion lane and an expedited lane. Pre-screeners segregate folks as they walk up. The medallion side has a second screener who scan boarding passes with a handheld device to separate expedited travelers. Mine passed. Prior to security, a TSA agent checks ID and re-scans the boarding pass one more time.

After that security is straightforward. X-ray and bag x-ray. No removing shoes plus laptop and liquids stayed in their bags. No naked body scan.

I was picked for a hand swab but others went straight through. Even with that it was crazy fast. I could seriously get used to this.

Plus no one scribbled their initials uselessly on my boarding pass.

I’m a Platinum level Delta flyer and I’m on a Delta jet every week. I’m not Diamond level because of the number of times I go into Atlanta and stay there. As a Platinum member Delta gives me a set number of “System wide Upgrades” allowing me to get a “free” first class upgrade without worrying about my place in the upgrade line.

Until I try to use them of course.

For example, this weekend I went to buy a ticket. I have a flexible travel schedule in this case and the travel is 2 months out. I found that I could buy a coach ticket for $477. Delta’s website helpfully offered that for $306 I could pay to upgrade to first class. Total $783.

I called and tried to use a system wide upgrade certificate. Since the coach fare has to be booked in certain fair codes, my coach ticket with the free upgrade would cost me $678 or roughly $100 less than just buying a first class ticket.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that I’m supplementing the cost of my “free” upgrade by paying 2/3 of the cost.

As someone who flies every week on Delta this feels like bait and switch. I tried to explain this to the Delta agent who struggled with the fact that they couldn’t see the internet offer of $306. She suggested I take the $306 offer. That of course, misses the point entirely.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. It seems to happen every time I try to use an upgrade certificate which is why all of mine went unused last year.

Delta’s new safety video is preceded by a message from Delta CEO Richard Anderson who extols their commitment to honesty, integrity and mutual respect. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do that demonstrates honesty, integrity and mutual respect and I don’t see that when trying to their “free” upgrades.