Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday, y'all. There's plenty of food and beer and family time and football (if you're into that). But one hassle on most people's minds this week: traveling.
AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts that about 1.2 million people will be leaving the D.C. region and traveling 50 or more miles for Thanksgiving. That's a lot of you.
So, a few frequent travelers in D.C.'s tech community chimed in with their tips for flying out of the District's airports this week:
Jess Bell, leadership board member at DC Tech Meetup, DC Fem Tech
"Make a baggy of thing to make you comfortable (ear plugs, granola bars, tea bags for free hot water stations), books and movies, maybe an airplane bottle or two, so that when you get delayed—and you will get delayed—you have something to do.
Plan for delays, and get excited when you are on time!"
Brandon Luong, co-founder and Chief Strategy Office at Wetogethr
"(1) On the day of travel, wear light clothes that are easy to take off and be comfy. (2) I use Wanderu app to find ground transportation like bus and trains. (3) Don't take Spirit or Frontier. Their service sucks and they're slow to respond to customer complaints. (4) Travel very light. Chances are you will forget, be unable to bring certain items or want to go shopping. You'll need the space and your shoulders and back will thank you. (5) Have at least $100 cash. You never know when you run into places that don't accept cards or your card fails you. (6) Make sure to eat plenty before boarding anything. People lose patience and that may occur often when dealing with poor service. Hangry is dangerous.”
Jeb Ory, co-founder and CEO of Phone2Action
"(1) Traveling from DC to BWI: take the MARC train from Union Station. It's almost the same time as driving and parking and much cheaper. (2) Going to DCA and under time pressure? Take Lyft or Uber. It's close enough to most places in DC / NOVA that it is cost effective and easy to do. Have more time? Take the metro. (3) IAD: Can you share a ride? HOV saves lots of time. Also, if you arrive early, you can apply for Clear and TSA Pre at the airport—which saves loads of time in the future. Parking at IAD? The infield lot is directly connected underground to the terminal. If it is likely to snow, use the economy lot which is covered! (4) Traveling internationally, or to another climate? Wear layers, so you can strip down or bulk up to meet the new environment."
Alex Ulsh, information security engineer at Mapbox, director of operations at Women Who Code DC
"I like to put all of my electronics into Ziploc bags to help organize them in my carry on, that way the cords are less likely to tangle up and look messy. I had instances right after 9/11 where a bunch of tangled, messy cords tripped the TSA scanners and they had to investigate my bag, so make sure the cords for all of your electronics are neat.
Also, since I'm a security person—Don’t connect to free unencrypted airport wifi. Instead, if you can afford it, USB tether from your smartphone (using the hotspot feature) and use your data plan. It's much more secure. If you have to connect to free airport wifi that has no password protection, then immediately fire up a VPN client for some protection."
Tien Wong, chairman and CEO of Tech 2000, Inc.
"Don't get stressed out by long lines —just expect it. Get to the airport an hour earlier than usual. If you haven't signed up for TSA PRE yet, it's too late for this week, but I highly recommend you do so.
And fly out Tuesday and return on Monday—if you can."
Image used via CC BY 2.0 — credit Ktr101
