An Insider’s Airport Tips

I loved working at the airport! Visitor Information is a great training ground for anyone interested in travel. There were so many tips and tricks I learned (and things were always changing). This article will not only give you insight into my local airport, but may help you maneuver through yours as well!

How Do I Get There

One of the main questions we got at the booth was: “How do I get to Downtown?” And, to a lesser extent, “How do I get where I’m going?”

I wondered so much about people who traveled without knowing their destination and how to get there. At all!

 My favorite story is the last client I helped at the job. Her fictional name is Maria. Maria showed up at my desk with a) no money, and b) no idea how she was going to get to Laredo (a several-hour trip from Austin). Evidently, her sister bought her a ticket to Austin, she boarded a plane, and that was all she knew about the trip. I’m surprised she packed! The whole story is very funny (and sad) but, I spent several hours of my day trying to get money wired to her, driving her to a Western Union, and driving her to the bus station (a long way from our airport). The final ending included me buying her bus ticket to Laredo.
Well, I couldn’t just leave her there!

Airport Tip #1

It’s so easy to look up information these days!

1. Make sure you have a good idea of where you are going once you hit the airport. 
2. Know how you are going to get where you’re going. 
3. Have enough money to get there.

Where is My Daughter?

I had more than one woman show up at my desk telling me her young (under 13) child was supposed to be at the airport. No idea which flight or what time it landed. Un-be-lievable! One was especially acidic when telling us that her “ex” (she almost spat the word) had made the travel arrangements and she didn’t talk to her ex. I’m shaking my head as I type this. I’m not sure that she ever made it to the right airline or gate.

Airport Tip #2

If you are meeting underage children or people with disabilities:

1. Know the flight number of the plane they are traveling on. 
2. Know their arrival time. 
3. Talk to the airline to get a pass so you can meet them at their gate.

How Do I Get to the Military Base?

We had more than one soldier come to our airport with no way to get to his home base. There are no good transportation links between our airport and the fort. This upsets me (we should have support for our soldiers!), but the other side of the coin is that they are told to get flights into Killeen (where the base is).

Airport Tip #3

If you are a soldier, the only real answer to how to get to the base is:

1. Make arrangements for a ride before you get to the airport (see “How Do I Get There?).
2. Read your paperwork before booking into an airport where you will be stranded.
3. Bring enough money to get you to your destination.

Where is My Luggage?

If you can’t find your luggage, you need to go to the airline’s baggage office. They’ll usually be somewhere near the luggage carousels (they are in Austin).

Airport Tip #4

Things you can do to locate your luggage more readily are:

1. Tag your luggage and put your contact information inside the suitcase as well.
2. Take photos of your luggage (inside and out) so that if it’s lost, the airline can find it more easily.Understand how much your airline will pay you for a lost bag.
3. Check into trip insurance.

Missed Flights

Flights are missed for a number of reasons. Poor planning, bad weather, and flight delays of all sorts. Once, Dallas had extremely bad weather, so folks couldn’t make their connecting flights. A lady and her son couldn’t get out of Austin any other way than by rental car. They actually had to drive to Ohio because of the missed flight.

Airport Tip #5

While some things can’t be helped (as in this case), many can.

1. If the delay is the airline’s fault and is of long duration, you might check with them to see about any reimbursements for hotel and food costs.
2. Get trip insurance that covers flight delays.
3. Get on a waitlist or standby list.   

• The Waitlist is a program that allows you to be placed on a list and wait for a specific class of service or different flight in advance of going to the airport. The program clears you if the service or flight becomes available. The waitlist is closed three hours prior to departure. Waitlists are usually handled by a reservation agent.  
• Standby is the list you are put on at the airport (you are standing by at the gate) The Airport Standby List is opened three hours prior to departure of your flight and closes about 30 minutes before. The gate agent is the one that clears this list not the computer.

How Do I Meet My Ride?

At Austin (as in most airports), you pick up your bags at the baggage carousel, then you exit to pandemonium as taxis, shuttles, metro buses, limos, and personal cars shuttle people away from the building. How do you know where to meet your ride?

Airport Tip #6

1. Research the airport. Know where the exits are. At Austin, there are cement columns with signs for taxis, buses, shuttles, etc. as well as alphabetical listings. You can set up a meeting at column G (or any other) at that point.
2. Uber drivers were constantly losing riders (and vice-versa) because they didn’t have this simple meeting point set up. Make sure that your driver knows *exactly* where to meet you. 
3. Valet is available for folks who want to leave their cars and have someone else park and store it. If you leave your car with the Valet, know where to go to pick it up. Terminal and airport maps are typically available online.

Grid Lock

Exiting an airport when you’re driving can be daunting at rush hour.

Airport Tip #7

1. Stop by the Visitor Information desk and ask if there are any other routes for exit than the main route.
2. If the information desk seems hesitant in their answer, ask for a map of the airport and check for alternate exits yourself. I’ve had information folks route me to the wrong place simply because they were new and didn’t know the area well enough.
3. Ask an airport policeman for directions. There are numerous police of both airport and city variety. They typically know the airport as well or better than the information desk does.

Mode of Transport

There are a lot of ways to get around Austin from the airport.  If you are not in Austin, these tips should guide you for help at  your airport as well.

Airport Tip #8

1. Research your ride.  The blue airport shuttle isn’t always your best bet!  If there are several in your party, splitting the cost of a taxi is usually cheaper than all of you taking the shuttle.
2. Don’t omit the local bus system.  Austin has a GREAT bus that takes you all over downtown for about a buck seventy-five.  Compare this to $25 for the cab or about the same for the shuttle.
3. Get a deal! Shop car rentals if you plan on staying a few days to get the best deal.  Google search for the company and the word “coupon” or “discount” and see if you get any hits.  There are also reward programs and other programs that can get you discounts.  AARP or AAA members are typically those that get a nice discount when it comes to car rental, but also check your credit cards and your place of business to see if either of those offer up discounts as well.

Summary

You can see that there are so many ins and outs to airports. I hope I’ve given you some fodder that will help you navigate yours more efficiently and cost-effectively.  Feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments section!

P.S. For information on beating those TSA Lines and zipping through customs (at least on the U.S. side), see this article.