Planning, strategies can ease travel headaches

And you thought last summer’s travel season was rough.

This year, the summer travel crush could prove to be one of the toughest on record: high fares, crowded planes and thousands of lost bags every day. Flight delays, already at their highest levels since 2001, could also bedevil travelers if thunderstorms or hurricanes hit hard.

But a few smart strategies offered by analysts, travel consultants and airline representatives could help smooth the way:

Q. How do you find a cheap fare?

A. If you have not started looking, get on the Internet and shop around now, before fares go higher, especially if you are heading overseas, travel consultants say. Airlines are expecting packed flights – they have not added many planes in recent years – and are not expected to offer as many cheap fares.

Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com says tickets on some flights in June and July are already 40 percent more expensive than those offered in April and May.

He suggests flying on low-demand days. For example, if you are going to Las Vegas or another tourist destination, it might be cheaper to fly on a Sunday and return on a Wednesday.

If you are thinking about redeeming frequent-flier miles for your ticket, you should be prepared to shell out more to get to your destination. Parsons says he is spending 60,000 frequent-flier miles to reach St. Martin in June, a trip that would usually cost about 35,000 miles.

“If you are trying to go someplace exciting … some of the airlines are requiring double the miles,” he says.

Q. What should you do if your flight gets canceled or you get bumped?

A. With more delays – and potential missed connections – airlines might have trouble rebooking passengers on other packed planes.

If your flight is canceled when you are at the airport, get on the phone with the airline’s reservation service, suggests David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

“You can beat all those people walking to the ticket counter,” Stempler says.

Travelers should also have a backup plan – a list of flights on other airlines heading to the destination. If your flight is canceled or you get bumped and cannot get on another flight offered by your carrier, start calling other airlines on your list.

If those carriers have open seats, reserve them right away; you do not have to pay for the tickets to reserve them.

Then hustle back to your gate agent or get back on the phone and let them know you have confirmed seats on another carrier. If your original airline still cannot find you seats, it will pay for your tickets on the other carrier, Parsons says.

Q. What is the best time to fly to avoid delays and cancellations?

A.

“Fly early, before thunderstorms kick in,” says Basil Barimo, a vice president at the Air Transport Association, a trade group for major carriers.

Because problems tend to mount through the day, earlier flights have a better chance of fewer delays; the chain effect can make an airline’s schedule worse later in the day.

Q. What can you do to ensure your bags make it to your destination with you?

A. Airlines lost or misplaced more than 4 million bags last year, up from about 3.5 million in 2005, according to the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Savvy travelers can take a few steps to reduce the risks:

“If traveling with a spouse, pack some of each other’s belongings in each bag. That way, if the airline misplaces one bag, you might arrive with the other and have a few items of clothing.

“Pack backup clothes in a carry-on bag.

“Fly an airline that does not lose as many bags. For example, you might consider booking flights on Northwest or Continental airlines, JetBlue Airways or AirTran. They posted the lowest rates of lost bags – just under five mishandled bags per 1,000 customers in 2006, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.