Your bags might be packed and ready to go, but before you board your holiday flight, take a few minutes to check out the following websites.
They could help you choose a more convenient seat, get news alerts about your flight, make a new friend or track incoming flights as they make their way to your airport.
SeatGuru.com. All seats were not created equally, but sorting the good from the bad can be a guessing game. SeatGuru.com sorts them by airline and plane type and points out those that are better or worse than the rest. Your itinerary should include details about the type of airplane you have booked. One example: If you don’t like sitting in front of the lavatories, avoid Row 19 on Frontier Airbus A-318s.
LuggageForward.com. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of checking your own bags, you can pay to have them delivered to your destination. It’s too late to get Thanksgiving Day deliveries, but there’s still plenty of time to book Christmas and New Year’s service.
AirTroductions.com. Tired of sitting next to crying infants? For a fee, AirTroductions .com can help you connect with travelers who are more to your liking. Choose whom you would like to meet at the airport or be seated next to during the flight. You will be limited to those who have registered on the site, so not every flight will provide a match. Once you have found a new friend, it’s up to you to arrange your seating or to rendezvous at the airport.
Flydenver.com. Try this one on your home computer before you leave for the airport. Watch a video with packing tips or arrange for an audio podcast with travel tips, both on Denver International Airport’s website. From flydenver.com, click on Sights & Sounds.
Flight tracking sites such as Flightaware .com and VirtuallyThere.com provide real-time images that show planes’ locations midflight. VirtuallyThere.com also allows Frontier Airlines passengers to sign up for flight-change notifications via voice or text message and to get flight information on your wireless handheld, cellphone or BlackBerry.
Those who haven’t traveled recently may want to check TSA.gov and bone up on new security rules – including restrictions on liquids – that have evolved since the thwarted U.K. terrorist incident in August. The Transportation Security Administration’s website has the info.
Are your travel plans more flexible than your budget? Site59.com offers last-minute deals for people who like to wait until the 59th minute to make plans. A recent example: Fly to Phoenix, stay three days and get flight, hotel and taxes for $197. Travelzoo.com lists fare sales and cheap tour packages, and Farecast .com crunches fare information a dozen ways, rating ticket prices by time of day and airline, and comparing the data with prices over the past 77 days.
Frontiermorestore.com and www.ualmileageplus.com. You may have had trouble using your frequent-flier miles to book a holiday flight, but consider an alternative. Use them as Christmas shopping currency. Some recent examples: The bid for a one-day Harley-Davidson rental on United’s sites was 34,000 miles on Tuesday. Frontier is offering 12 monthly cooking classes for two at mise en place, a cooking school in Denver, with a bid of 20,500 miles on Tuesday. (The store is only open to Ascent and Summit members.)
Got any other favorite air travel websites? E-mail details to kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
