I have taken the new Flyaway bus once both from the Irvine Metrolink
station to LAX and from LAX to the Irvine Station. It was brilliant.
There was either no one or one other person on board. There is free
parking at the Irvine Station. The cost is $25, which you pay on board
with a credit or debit card. The bus is clean and new. It is nonstop
to or from your terminal. But it runs every 4 hours. So, depending
on your flight times, it may entail some down time at LAX, which is
not exactly the most fun airport I have ever visited.

In order to avoid about two hours of waiting around at LAX for the Flyaway (after
traveling 36 hours to get there), I had the half-brained idea to take
public transportation back to Irvine. And I had one quite large roller bag.
Here’s how it went:

2:01 PM – exited Tom Bradley Int’l terminal
2:10 PM – caught GREENLINE bus to MTA Green Line Station
2:22 PM – purchased ticket for $1.25
2:32 PM – boarded MTA Green Line to Norwalk
3:04 PM – exited Green Line and boarded Norwalk Bus 4 for the 2 mile
journey to the Metrolink (free)
3:16 PM – arrived Norwalk Metrolink Station and bought ticket for $7.75
3:44 PM – boarded Metrolink to Irvine Station
4:30 PM – arrived Irvine Station and was at my car at 4:32 PM.

It is no wonder no one takes public transportation to the airport!
The biggest problem in this whole equation is the Green Line. After
untold millions of dollars in building it, it goes from nowhere to
nowhere. When originally planned, it was supposed to go the extra 2
miles to LAX, but there were airport renovations going on, so it was
postponed. Speaking of posts, you can even see the posts toward LAX
where it was planned to run. And it ends in Norwalk (yes Norwalk)
about two miles from the Metrolink station, where one might be able to
connect with Amtrak and Metrolink lines to plenty of other destinations
in Southern California. Dumb, dumb, dumb. It was almost as if they
wanted to use millions of dollars of taxpayer money to say, “See, it
doesn’t work!”

In summary, the Flyaway Bus is a definite thumbs up. If more people
use it, they will run more frequent shuttles. The MTA Green Line is
on the Dumb List. It will continue to be a waste of taxpayer money
until they connect it to both LAX and to the Metrolink.

With vast differences in arrival and destination temperatures, confusing and costly excess baggage charges, and general pain-in-the-butt factors in the TSA screening lines, choosing what to wear to the airport this winter will get a trip off on the right- or wrong- foot. These tips and guidelines should help travelers be more comfortable, prevent excess baggage fees, and keep everyone moving quickly through security checks.

Consider the difference in temperature of your destination.
If going to a warm place, can you avoid taking your overcoat and accompanying scarves, gloves, boots? Consider leaving them at home, or in the car at the airport, and instead layering up. You can always ditch a layer into your checked or carry-on bag when you get to the airport, if you left room. Plus, when you arrive, you can remove another layer and be comfortable from the time you exit the plane.

If you are going to a cold place, instead of packing them, wear your coat and hat, scarves, gloves, boots. It can slow you down a little in the TSA screening, but it can save you some excess baggage fees. Just use the pockets of the coat to hold the accessories to help speed your progress through the security check. Plus, airplanes are so cold this time of the year, so your jacket can double as a blanket in case the cost-cutting airlines do not provide any on your flight.

A great travel trick is to use a pashmina or similar wrap as a blanket, scarf and jacket throughout your trip, unless you are a straight male, in which case a Mexican serape (poncho) could work, albeit a bit bulky.

Select items carefully knowing you might have to remove them for security checks.
Boots that take a personal assistant to get on or off are a bad option to wear to the airport, especially when you remember your limbs tend to swell when traveling. Lots of jewelry and accessories can also slow you (and the rest of the line) down, and you run the risk of losing some of it in the removal/replacement process. Men might want to consider some sort of murse/man bag/computer bag that can safely carry all of the items you normally try and stash in your pockets: phone, change, wallet, sandwiches, etc. Then you can have all of your items for the cabin in one easy-to-access place. And, for your mother’s sake, make sure your socks are hole-free!

Protect your clothes and your image with underarm sweat guards.
Inside, outside, hot, cold, jetways, runways. All those temperature changes mean that you are going to get a little sweaty from time to time. Nobody likes being the smelly person on the plane (and no one wants to sit next to the smelly person on the plane), and nobody likes hauling around dirty clothes. Try this trick: apply disposable underarm shields to clothing before you leave home. Know that even when you are struggling to get your carry-on into the overhead bins that you will not be flashing sweat stains to your seatmates. When you finally get to your destination, you can remove and toss the used pads, and maybe, if turbulence did not cause your beverage to spill onto your shirt, you can wear it again, having saved valuable space in your baggage. (Garment Guard disposable underarm shields, 5 pairs for $10.95 at solutionsthatstick.com)

The Dumb List #4: Using Airline Miles

I thought I had figured out how to earn miles on airlines. I flew exclusively on one airline and its partners. I got the credit card. I booked online. I signed up for double mileage offers. I ended up with oodles of miles that I couldn’t use- because they wouldn’t let me.

So I had to figure out another system (that still manages to foil my best laid travel plans): how to get where you want to go using your hard-earned miles. Persistence, friend.

Make smart travel decisions: If you are trying to go to a popular vacation destination, like Hawaii, where everyone wants to use their miles, book as early as they allow bookings. The same holds true if you want to travel with more than one or two people on mileage awards. Also, if you want to go from LAX to JFK, why would you use miles? Tickets are cheap and you can earn miles when you have purchased the ticket; you don’t earn miles when you are flying on mileage awards. So try use them on flights where the tickets would be expensive.

Look online, but don’t be afraid to call: The online award travel booking system is not perfect, especially when it comes to partner airlines. Look and see what is available online, but then call and see if the agent can get you something better by trying combinations they don’t offer online. You don’t have to pay a fee until you make a booking, and even if you do, the $15 live person booking fee is worth it to get to go when/where you want.

If at first you don’t succeed, try a different agent: You have no idea if the agent on the other end of the phone is trying all possibilities. Ask them to try other connecting cities or other classes of service. If you don’t think they are exhausting all options, thank them, then call back and try with someone else. What are the odds of getting the same agent twice in a row?

Be flexible: if you are saving $2000 on the purchase of a ticket, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to fly to an airport 200 miles away and pay for a train or short-hop to get to your final destination.

Reserve something and keep trying to change it: If you can find the departure you want, but not the return, hold it for as long as you can and call back every day to see if something has opened up. Different airlines release seats at different intervals, and other people cancel or change reservations, so you never know what will open up.

Be nice: I know it is frustrating, but it’s not the call center agent’s fault. Being polite and cordial goes a long way to having someone go the extra mile to try some clever routing. And they won’t hear it when you scream profanities at the airline for not letting you use your miles- after you have thanked them for their help and hung up.

They tell you to be there hours before your flight. Upon entering, they steal your water and any food you brought that they can stick their fingers in. You get forced to pay for a spot for your bags because you don’t understand their luggage fee scheme. (Aren’t they just going to misplace the bag anyway?) What to do? You are not going to stop traveling, so stop bending over and arm yourself with these secret weapons that TSA can’t confiscate with their rubber gloves.

Bring a Bottle of Water: So they won’t let you bring it through security full, but guzzle it before security and bring the empty bottle through with you. Once inside, fill it up at a water fountain. (Average savings: $3) Bonus: I board the plane with it full so I can stay hydrated throughout the flight, and many flight attendants will refill it on board.

Lounge Access: By flying the same airline, you accumulate rewards and can use them to get free airport lounge access. In these peaceful oases, they offer free drinks, snacks, and sometimes other amenities like internet, showers, and magazines/newspapers. If you do not have free access to the lounge, you can, in theory, (yes, I have done this) make friends with other travelers who do, since members can bring one to two companions with them. (Average savings: $20) Bonus: If you can recognize celebrities (I can’t), they sometimes hang out here (or so they tell me).

Baggage Fees: If you fly the same carrier and earn elite status, many airlines offer these “better” customers free checked bags. Normally, it takes just 5 coast-to-coast round trips in a calendar year to earn this status. Otherwise, you can pack strategically, wearing your bulkiest clothes on the plane and minimal other items in your carry-on.

Some items to help are Garment Guard disposable underarm shields, (under)Garment Guard disposable adhesive underwear, and White Collar Grime disposable collar protectors. (www.SolutionsThatStick.com) These enable you to keep key parts of your clothing clean so you can re-wear, cutting down on the amount of stuff you have to schlep. (Average savings: $30 between bag fees and cleaning bill)

Alternately, you can ship your bags ahead of time. UPS charges their normal rates if you put your suitcase in a box, or if you give it to them as is, they charge $7.50 per bag. Just allow for travel time. And on losing parcels, UPS has a way better track record than the airlines. My friend was flying to NYC with a lot of stuff. It only cost her $100 to ship two 64-pound bags to her hotel. She checked one on the plane for $15 and was able to take the subway into the city for $7 instead of paying $60 for the cab. (Savings: Second checked bag $15, overweight fee $25, 3rd bag $100= $193 each way!) Bonus: You can also do this if you go on a shopping spree away from home. Ask the stores if they will ship it for you.

Reading Material: If you don’t have any sitting around at home, ask someone around you to borrow one. And, if you have something you have finished, ask around to see if anyone wants it. I often give them to flight attendants, who are very grateful. (Average savings $8 plus possibilities of fresh-baked cookies and little booze bottles). Bonus: You might discover we declared war on Iraq, get a strange feeling of deja-vu, then suddenly realize that you borrowed a magazine from 2003, to great relief.

Pack a Lunch: It goes without saying that airport food is pretty ordinary with a pretty hefty price tag. Even if you are pressed for time, stop at Trader Joe’s or In-N-Out along the way and get some ready-made food. (Average savings: $10) Non-Bonus: Every Guatemalan leaving

Guatemala brings a bucket of Campero chicken on board, making the plane smell like a fast-food chain for the first half of the flight. The second half, it smells like something else, which is when I hand out Subtle Butt disposable gas neutralizers (www.subtlebutt.com, 5 for $9.95) to the ones seated closest to me.

Duty Free May be Free of Duty…: and it is normally free of good deals, too. On my last trip through Brisbane Airport, MAC black liquid eyeliner was about $24 when at home, it is $16.50. Check the prices at your normal stores before you go on a trip or do a little research on the prices at your destination. I steer clear of wines and champagnes in more developing countries because they are rarely stored correctly. But I do pick up a bottle or two of Stoli vodka in Central America for around $8/liter (best price I have ever seen).

Just don’t be tempted to shop because you are bored and have another two hours to wait for your flight. But if you do bust open the Stoli and wander into the designer duty-free boutiques, you might end up with a fantastically expensive outfit only a Russian could love. (Average savings: negative, but a priceless story : ))