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Time-savers: Making a reservation

by Cornish Hitchcock, Orbitz Consumer Advisory Board Chairman

When reserving an airline ticket, passengers can reduce their risk of delays and hassles by making three simple decisions:

1. Fly during off-peak times. At the airport, just as out on the highway, there are early morning and late afternoon "rush hours," when many business travelers prefer to travel.
   If you can travel at midday or later in the evening, there may be fewer people -- and less waiting.
   Certain days of the week are also more heavily traveled than others, such as a Friday afternoon or Monday morning. When it comes to avoiding a holiday rush, try flying on the holiday itself -- it's usually less busy the surrounding days.
   
2. Use electronic tickets. E-tickets are just as secure as paper tickets and can help speed you through the airport.
   If the airline makes self-service check-in kiosks available at the airport, you can print a boarding pass or change your seats. In some cases, you can check in online and print a boarding pass before leaving for the airport.
   Another advantage of e-tickets is that they're less expensive. Most travel agents, including Orbitz, charge a fee if you request paper tickets, and an overnight courier fee may be charged if you need them promptly.
   Also, if you lose a paper ticket, the airline will charge to issue new ones, which can take time.
3. Get Traveler Care Alerts. If you book on Orbitz, set up your Care Alerts to get updates about flight delays, gate changes, weather advisories, and news that could affect your trip.
   Specify whether you want to receive alerts by phone, cell phone, e-mail, pager or PDA. (I find that using a cell phone works well if you're got a calling plan with broad -- if not national -- coverage).
   You also can choose which people -- family, friends or business associates -- should receive the alerts and on what devices. That way, they will know if you'll arrive late or if they need to reschedule a meeting.

Con Hitchcock is an attorney with more than 20 years of experience advocating the rights of airline passengers at the Aviation Consumer Action Project (ACAP) and Public Citizen, two national consumer organizations.