Travelling Hermes-Belt

Traveling by airplane is quicker and more efficient than traveling by car, but that does not mean that you will not run into problems. Probably the most common problem, as well as the biggest headache, is a missed flight. A missed flight causes a variety of problems. If it was a connecting flight, you will likely miss all of your connections as well. The airplane has to fly with an empty seat, which they do not like, and, often, your bags will not miss their flight, and will arrive at your destination without you.

What should you do if you miss your flight? The very first thing that you should do is head to the reservation desk. Tell the clerk that you have missed your flight, and do not leave until you have a plan, in writing, for how you will continue your trip. If missing your flight was your own fault, you may expect to pay, if not the full ticket price, then a penalty on a reissued ticket. If you miss your flight because your connecting flight arrived late, the airline will work with you to get you in the air as soon as possible.

In most cases, the airline will put you on the next available flight, with their airline. In some cases, particularly if there is a chance that you can catch a further connection, or the next available flight is not until the next day, the airline may put you on the next available flight with a different airline. Either way, do not leave the area until you know what flight you will be on, and when it departs.

Why Miss a Plane?

One may miss their flight because of a variety of reasons; some cannot be helped while others are just a mistake. It is rare that you miss a plane because of traffic or oversleeping. Most missed flights occur in connecting flights. Often, the layover time between connecting flights is not sufficient to allow the passenger to disembark and find the terminal for his departing flight. Many airports are large, and for someone who does not travel a great deal, can be confusing to navigate. Once they arrive at the correct terminal, they must still go through security.

Another reason for missing connecting flights is if the plane experiences mechanical difficulties. It is common for a plane to sit on the tarmac, passengers on board, while mechanics work to repair a problem on the plane. In this case, the passengers who have a limited amount of layover time may not make their connecting flights. Sometimes, if many of the passengers on board are in danger of missing their connecting flight, the connecting flight may be held, but, as you can imagine, this creates another set of problems on the arrival at the next airport.

Weather is another cause of missed flights. Sometimes a plane is held and not allowed to take off because of lightning or heavy winds. Other times a plane may be held while it is deiced. Even if a plane makes it into the air, strong winds or turbulence can slow the plane down in flight, causing is to arrive behind schedule.

Mechanical problems are clearly the responsibility of the airline, but weather conditions and tight layover scheduling are not, and the airline may be less accommodating of problems relating to weather or scheduling than they are in problems related to mechanical issues.

Where are Your Bags?

While you may have missed your flight, it is unlikely that your bags did. They are probably tucked safely away on your original flight. If your arriving flight was delayed long enough that the connecting flight left before your plane arrived, you may be able to collect your bags, but this is not typically how it happens. People are often in the airport when their flight leaves. If you have departed from your plane, but do not make it through security before your connection leaves, there is a good chance that your bags were transferred and are on your original flight. This is one of the reasons that you should always carry any medication as well as a change of clothes with you in your carry on. While the chances are good that you will be reunited with your bags in the future, that will not make you feel any better when you are sitting in the airport lobby, waiting for dawn and the next flight out.

Minimize Your Chances of Missing Your Flight

The best way to minimize your chance of a missed flight is to allow plenty of time between connecting flights. While no one wants to spend all day in an airport lobby, you should ask the ticket agent for enough time to disembark, visit the restroom and make it to the next terminal. The larger the airport you are flying into, the more time you should allow, as moving from terminal to terminal can take a considerable amount of time. While you cannot control the weather or the mechanics of the plane, you can make sure you have amble time to make your connection.

There is a changing tide in the travel industry. Traditionally massive package holiday companies have block booked villas, hotels, flights, tours and coach transfers from and to the airport. Every detail of ones holiday was catered for by the tour operator. Two weeks in July with bacon and eggs by the pool. The situation is however changing and the trend is towards independent travel.

The independent traveler is on the scene and with the arrival and growth of the internet individuals no longer need accept a tin sardine holiday. The arrival of cheap airlines has helped persons make considerable savings by booking early and travelling in the low season and in the middle of the week. There has been more and more one way tickets purchased. The modern traveler wants more flexibility and will often extend or shorten their trips depending on how much they are enjoying themselves.

The reliance on packaged holidays has caused severe pressures on the infrastructure and environment of holiday hot spots like the Algarve and Majorca, Spain. Their ability to monopolise the accommodation market and dictate pricing has not only created ghost towns that are virtually deserted for most of the year, it has also conned thousands of people with misleading real estate opportunities and created a housing bubble and surplus as well as unnecessarily spoiling miles of coastline.

There are huge benefits in renting holiday villa accommodation with the owners direct over accepting a tin sardine holiday. There are fewer middle men taking their hefty commissions for renting the villa, apartment or hotel room to you. Often these savings are passed on meaning your holiday can be cheaper. You get to choose exactly which property you are renting. Rather than rely on massive companies often poor investigation and selection procedures you can personally speak with the owner of a rental property and satisfy yourself that the arangement is of superior value and high standard.

The idependent traveller has far greater freedom to change their plans and discover spontaneously. The trend towards independent travel has colossal benefits for the environment and local economies. Instead of profits being siphoned off into the already inflated bank accounts of mammoth corporations, small businesses and the local economy get a bigger slice of the pie. The season is extended as independent travelers take advantage of lower prices and less competition in the shoulder and low seasons.

Independent holiday makers travel further afield and to more diverse locations off the beaten path. Instead of large concentrations of people arriving in a single location in July or August the independent traveler will venture elsewhere reducing the environmental footprint and helping the economies of more rural economies.

In the traditional package holiday situation tradition and culture were at best artificial spectacles such as a flamenco night in Tenerife and at worst local people have felt exploited and tourists unwelcome. The mammoth companies keep sending the tourists and in locations such as Majorca where the package still rules restaurant proprietors needn’t worry about reputation or providing value for money because tomorrow a new load of pale faced tourists will be arriving.

By travelling independently one has far more freedom. Free to choose, free to move, free to travel onwards, to follow ones intuition, to enjoy and interact with the local people, to see the real culture and to travel in a more environmentally sustainable way that benefits the local people and their economy.