AIR TRAVEL ETIQUETTE. Tips for making your next trip less annoying to you and especially me.

With the holiday travel season quickly approaching and some hints of improvement in the ecoonomy, crowds at airports and on planes should be on the rise. Having been a “road warrior” for the past several years, I have grown to be an extremely impatient traveler. Some of this impatience is tied to the airlines, but the actions of other travelers have added to the frustration. The following are some do’s and don’ts of air travel that can make your holiday travelling more enjoyable for everyone, especially me.

Far too often I have witnessed heated exchanges between families and gate agents regarding all members of the family not having seats together. These episodes make everyone else in the gate area uncomfortable, sometimes delay boarding and can be easily avoided.

When making your reservations directly with an airline, you have the ability to view and select your seat option. At this point, you can select seats for your whole party to ensure you all are seated together. I have never used services such as Expedia or Yahoo Travel to make my airline reservations, so I am uncertain if they allow you to select your seat when making your reservation.

If you are unable to make seat selections at the time you make the reservations, you should be able to do so when you check in for your flight. You can check in on-line using the airlines confirmation number. Your reservation should show your seat assignment and give you the option to change your seat assignments during the check-in process.

You can also change your seat assignments, if you check in for your flight at the airport. To make sure your party has seats together avoid the kiosk and check-in with a ticket agent. The agent may be able to fix the problem and seat your group together. The airlines block out seats that only can be cleared by the gate agent. So the ticket agent may refer you to the gate agent to reassign your seats.

If this is the case, see the gate agent as soon as the gate opens. This is usually an hour before the flight’s scheduled departure time. Gate Agents usually do their best to accommodate families or groups. On several occasions I have been called to the desk to have my seat changed so a family could be seated together. But be sure to be in line at the gate when the it opens because you may not be the only ones seeking seating changes.

I usually try to check- in online to avoid the lines and frustration of check-in at the airport. Most of the airlines have gone to banks of kiosk to speed up the check-in process. Sometimes there is agent available to direct passengers to the next available, but often there is not. And this is when the frustration can set in. Invariably when I have to check in at the airport, I am also running a little late for my flight. There is no ticket agent directing passengers to the next available kiosk and the passenger(s) at the head of the line can only see the kiosk directly in front of them. Despite comments from other passengers about open kiosks, these individual seem oblivious to what is going on around them.

When you get to the head of the line, keep an eye on all of the kiosks and go to the next open one as soon as it becomes available. If you are waiting to speak with a ticket, then let passengers behind you go around you. By doing so, you will avoid dirty looks and snide remarks from your fellow travelers.

When going through security there are a number of ways you can frustrate and annoy your fellow travelers. To avoid this, keep the boys scout motto in mind. Be Prepared.

First, have your boarding documents and identification out for your entire group when you get to the TSA agent. Nothing is more frustrating than to stand in line behind a group for 10-15 minutes only to have them fumbling around for their boarding passes and identification when they get to the agent. Then it takes another 10 minutes for them to route through they carry on bags to locate boarding passes and assembly everyone’s ID.

Second, get ready to go through the machine. You have may have experienced the “Oops Man (or Lady)”. They start through the machine and then oops! my keys. They start through the machine again and oops! change in my pockets. Try number three and oops! my cell phone.

Unless the lines are extremely short, you often have to wait several minutes to place you items on the belt and proceed through the metal detector/x-ray machine. Here’s how I utilize the time. The first thing I do is empty my pockets and place those items in my carry-on. Most times I do this even prior to reaching the security check point . Make sure, you check your pockets thoroughly. I once I set off the alarm because I had the corner of a foil candy wrapper in my pocket. If you have any question that an item will set off the alarm, take it off and place it in a bin.

Next , as soon as I can reach them , I grab the number of tubs/bins I need for all my stuff and begin filling and stacking them on the floor next to me. By the time I reach the tables/belt, everything is ready to go. All I need to do is lift and separate the bins.

There are some other tips to make the process go smoother. Listen to instructions. The TSA continually makes announcements regarding which items need to go directly on the belt – carry-on bags and shoes. Listen to the announcements and proceed accordingly.

Your bags and bins are your responsibility. Don’t leave them and make the person behind responsible for ensuring they go through the machine.

Once through the machine, everyone is in a hurry to reclaim their belongings, repack their bags and get reassembled. Please be considerate of others and their belongings. I once had the traveler behind me fling the bin with my belongings so violently that it cracked the screen on my laptop.

The concourses in airports are really pedestrian highways and the “rules of the road” should apply.

1). We drive on the right in this country and should walk on the right on the concourses. Keep the wall or the window on your right and stay right of the middle. But on the concourse travelers especially arriving passengers can't simple to observe this simple rule. Travellers are typically sprawled across the entire width of the concourse requiring those headed to their gates to use a "bob and weave" technique to navigate the concourse.

2) Signalling before turning is a commonly accepted practice. If you were driving in the far right hand lane you wouldn't make a sudden left hand turn across all lanes of traffic but it is a frequent occurrence on the concourse. For some reason travellers feel the sudden urge to dart across the concourse because they spotted a newsstand selling t-shirts or other souvenirs.

3) The same holds true with abrupt stops. I am even guilty of this one. For some inexplicable reason you feel the urge to just stop in the middle of the concourse to check you cell phone or for something in your pocket. The best is when someone suddenly decided to stop and tie their shoe. I can't count the number of times I have almost had to do cartwheels to avoid a collision.

I realize planes are cramped and it is often hard to navigate down the aisle and in and out of your seat, but be cognizant of others.

1) Backpacks should be banned - Large over-sized backpacks seem to be the carry-on of choice of the 20 something gang. I have even noticed some business travelers and even some youngsters. . If you choice of carry-on luggage is a backpack please carry it in front of you verus the traditional method.These things can be lethal. I have been smacked in th head so many times as people negotiate their way down the aisle.

2) Observe the overhead - There are overhead compartments above each row and they are intended for the passengers seated in those rows.. I know it is sometimes hard to place your carry-on directly above your row. If you can't place it in a overhead as close to your row as possible, preferably in a row ahead of your seat. This will avoid you having to buck the traffic by trying to retrieve you package from an overhead rows behind you.

3) The seat in front of you is a seat - Travelers seem to forget that the thing to which their tray table is attached is a seat back and there is someone occupying that seat. Travelers often use the seat back as a hand hold to assist them getting into and out of their seats. I realize that the space between seats is cramped, but I have been almost catapulted out of my seat by people attempting to get seated in theirs.

I was once on a flight with a mother and small daughter seated in the row behind me. The little girl was seated directly behind. She was about 3 or 4 and her legs were just long enough to reach the back on my seat. She began gently kicking the the back of my seat- gently at first and gradually increasing in force. When her kicks reached their crescendo, I turned and looked over the seat. Her mom tapped her gently on the leg and the kicking ceased, only to commence again a few minutes later. Again, I turned and mom tapped daughter on the leg and the kicking ceased -only to commence a few minutes later. When I looked over the seat for the third time, the mom scowled at me and stated "She doesn't know any better" to which I replied, "Yes I know, but you do". That was met with any even dirtier look.

Many have of my fellow business travellers absolutely despisechildren on plans. They loath flyingthrough my home airport - Orlando - because the flights are usually full of families wi small children. I have no problem with children on planes. It their parents that bother me.

 I hope I haven't come off as too much of a curmudgeon. But when you travel as much as I do, these seemingly minor annoyances can build up. I wish you all safe and happy travels during this holiday season. And if  you would please observe at least some of the tips I have offered you will be ensuring my travels are more pleasant too