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It's a busy time of year for air travel and if getting to your turkey dinner involves a trip from Sea-Tac Airport here are some tips and updates to help speed and ease your journey.
Confirm your travel details. A new requirement is that the name on your boarding pass and your government-issued ID must match. So when you confirm your flight, make sure the name on your airline reservation matches whatever I.D. you plan to use (driver's license or passport, for example). Ask what the baggage policies are for your airline: How many bags are allowed; what the fees are; and what are the size and weight restrictions.
Valuables and essentials, such as medicine and travel documents, should stay with you in your carry-on luggage. Know what is and isn't allowed in carry-ons and checked luggage. Remember to leave checked luggage unlocked or use a TSA-approved lock (your luggage may be opened for security reasons).
Bearing gifts? Wrap them after your arrive. Otherwise if there's a question about what the package contains, your beautifully wrapped gift may have to be opened.
Use Web Check-in. Most airlines offer it. You can print your boarding pass at home; if you don't have luggage to check you can bypass the ticket counter completely and go straight through the security checkpoint and your gate.
Check your the status of your flight online or via text messaging.
Give yourself the gift of time. Get to the airport two hours before your flight. You'll be able to relax once you have check-in and security behind you and maybe even pick up that last minute gift at one of the Airport's great shops.
Park in the Airport Garage. It's connected to the Main Terminal by covered skybridges (stay dry), you're right at the airport, no shuttle buses to deal with (save time) check out the options - Teminal Direct and General Parking. And the Airport Garage's floor count system takes the guess work out of finding available parking and speeds the journey from car to flight. Remember to note where you've parked (space number and elevator color).
Shortening your time in airline ticket counter lines is always a great strategy. New technology offers two alternatives for travelers.
Alaska Airlines “Airport of the Future” Customer Check-In Facility. Alaska's facility features customer-friendly islands of check-in kiosks and bag-check stations. Customers can print their boarding passes at the check-in kiosks. Passengers with only carry-on baggage then proceed directly to the security checkpoint. Passengers with luggage to check proceed to one of the bag-check points, where customer service employees scan customers' boarding passes and affix bag tags.
Checking In for Flights in Sea-Tac's Garage. Travelers on five airlines – Alaska, Continental, Horizon, Delta and United - can check in and print their boarding pass right as they enter the Airport from the parking garage. The quick check-in kiosks enable travelers without luggage to print their boarding pass and head straight for the security checkpoint and their departure gate. Travelers with luggage on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air can get their boarding pass and then take their luggage right to their airline's bag drop area.
The quick check-in kiosks are located on the fourth floor of the garage at the entrances to Skybridges 2-6 .
Quicken your trip through the checkpoints by knowing and following the rules:
Large electronic items. These items must be removed from carry-ons for separate inspection. Items that now need to be screened separately include laptops, full-size video games consoles, full-size DVD players, video cameras that use video cassettes and CPAP breathing machines
This requirement does not affect electronic items in checked luggage.
3-1-1 Rule: 3 (ounces), 1 (quart), 1 (bag): The TSA rule for carry-on liquids has been in place for a while, but is an especially important one to note if you don't want to be forced to throwaway your vintage wine or pricey cosmetics.
All liquids, gels and aerosols must be packed in a single, one-quart , zip-top, clear plastic bag. Larger bags or bags that are not zip-top, such as fold-over sandwich bags, are not allowed. Each traveler may carry-on only one plastic bag of liquids and gels and it must be inspected separately. Travelers should remove their quart-sized plastic bag from their carry-on luggage and place it on the conveyer belt for screening.
Larger amounts of liquids can be carried in checked luggage.
Take it Off: Remember to remove all jewelry, belts with metal clasps and other metallic objects that might set off the alarm. Take off your coats and shoes as well.
In-flight meals have gone the way of printed airline tickets – they hardly exist. Dine at the airport or grab some take-out for the trip. The options are delicious.
Use the Cell Phone Waiting Lot. Parking in the lot is free and drivers can wait up to 30 minutes until arriving passengers have deplaned, collected luggage and called to be picked up outside of Baggage Claim. Remember, there is no parking or waiting allowed on the airport roadway shoulders.