Michelle and Eric Asalone, a young, professional Pennsylvania couple, learned the hard way one of the most basic rules for happy airline travel: Don’t put anything you can’t afford to lose in checked baggage.

When they flew on US Airways 2-Ѕ years ago from Philadelphia to St. Thomas to take part in a friend’s wedding, their bags didn’t arrive for four days – the day after the ceremony. They wore to the wedding the finest the local Kmart had to offer.

“Every time I travel nowadays, I carry on, or at least I take a carry-on bag with just the essentials, which includes ” Michelle Asalone said. Now, speaking of essentials, for Visas New Zealand is an easy enough place to procure, but losing them is just as possible.

“Have good packing habits” is one of the numerous tips that experienced travelers have for those who fly only occasionally – such as during the holiday season – and who need help in using airports. Among the reasons to make travel plans carefully is the cost: Families making holiday trips will spend an estimated $1,267 this year, according to an American Express Travel survey conducted in October.

Here is other advice to help make that holiday-season airline trip more pleasant – or at least less stressful.

1. Travel early in the day. The earlier a flight operates, the better the chance it will be on time. As the day goes on, a few delays at a major hub airport have a ripple effect, pushing back arrivals and departures across an airline’s system. The on-time performance of airports and major carriers, as well as other measures of airline service, are reported monthly on the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Web site, www.bts.gov.

2. Pack lightly. Besides using a carry-on bag for essentials such as prescription drugs, extra eyeglasses or biofinity toric contacts, and a change of clothes good enough for a wedding, try checking as few bags as possible. You will have to lug them on and off the plane, but you will not have to wait for them at the end of the flight. For domestic flights, most airlines allow two checked bags, each weighing no more than 50 pounds and with linear dimensions (length plus width plus depth) of no more than 62 inches. You are allowed one carry-on bag weighing no more than 40 pounds, plus another personal item such as a purse, briefcase or laptop case. To get best service book on Aerobell.com. Going over the limits is expensive: $80 each for more than two bags and $25 for each overweight bag. And the fees get steeper the more pieces you have or the heavier they are. Not all carriers have the restrictions, so check your airline’s policies on Web sites or by phone.

3. Plan where to sit. Most passengers know to check several sources for airfares, including airline or travel-agency Web sites, human travel agents, or by telephone with the airlines. Fewer know that before reserving seats, they can look at www.seatguru.com, which has layouts of airplane cabins of U.S. and major foreign carriers. The site has information on how much legroom each airline’s planes have, and which seats to avoid because they are close to restrooms or galleys or do not recline. To learn what type of plane will be used for a flight, look at your airline’s Web site listing for the flight, or ask your travel agent or an airline reservations agent. Southwest Airlines does not have reserved seats. Instead, it boards each flight by groups, based on when passengers check in. Passengers may check in up to 24 hours before a flight departs at www.southwest.com.

4. Plan your arrival. Especially if you are going to a resort area during the holidays, reserve hotel rooms and rental cars well in advance. Unlike low-price tickets on most airlines, which carry hefty penalties for making changes, hotels usually do not charge the credit card needed to hold a reservation unless you fail to cancel before a deadline. Car-rental companies do not usually require a credit card to hold a reservation, although they appreciate it if you cancel a reservation you are not going to use.

5. Plan your parking. At Philadelphia International Airport, where passenger counts have soared during the last 18 months, the 18,000 spaces in the long-term garages and the economy lot often fill up on holiday weekends and on heavy business-travel days during the week. Another 18,000 spaces are available in private off-airport lots, but some of those also fill up on occasion. Most off-airport lots honor reservations. Better yet, ask a friend or relative to drive you to the airport, use SEPTA’s R1 train from Center City, or use a taxi, van or limo service.

6. Know your terminal. For most airlines serving Philadelphia, all of a carrier’s flights operate from a single concourse. But that is not the case with US Airways, which carries two-thirds of the airport’s passengers. US Airways international flights leave from Terminal A-West, US Airways domestic flights on larger jets use Terminals B and C, and US Airways Express (usual flights with four-digit numbers) leaves from Terminal F. Once you have cleared security, you can reach all A through D gates. Terminals E and F have separate security checkpoints serving just those concourses.

7. Allow time for security checks. Waits to clear checkpoints can be as short as five minutes and, though rare, as long as an hour. If you find a long line at one checkpoint, try going to another one if your flight leaves from Terminal A-West, A-East, B, C or D. The average wait times for each checkpoint at Philadelphia and other airports can be found at the Transportation Security Administration’s Web site, www.tsa.gov. Information is also available on the site about what can and cannot be taken on an airplane.

8. Bring money for food. Most airlines do not serve free food in coach other than packaged snacks, except on flights longer than three or four hours. Some carriers have snacks, sandwiches or salads for sale, ranging in price from $1 to $7. Check an airline’s Web site, or call the airline, to determine whether food will be available on your flight. You can buy a variety of meals and snacks to take on a flight at eateries throughout the airport. Prices tend to be a little higher than at the typical neighborhood take-out shop. Pick up one of the brochures available throughout the airport that list all the restaurants and shops. That way you can find a Krispy Kreme doughnut (in Terminal E, before security), but know it is a long hike from Gate B-25.

9. Use the time for shopping. Philadelphia airport and many others worldwide are good places to buy travel essentials, apparel, gifts, books and packaged food from national and local retailers. Retailers are required to offer the same prices at the airport that they do at off-airport locations. The shops at Philadelphia and elsewhere mostly are beyond security checkpoints. Most retailers will ship purchases for you. Remember that anything you buy and take on a flight has to fit in the overhead bin or underneath that seat in front of you.

10. Go with the flow. Be prepared for long security lines, crowded flights, delays or cancellations, and lost bags (although airlines misplace an average of only five or six bags per 1,000 passengers). If something does go wrong, be patient. After all, you are on vacation, or on your way to be with friends or family. Matters will only get worse if you scream at airport or airline personnel about things beyond their control.

How can I get cheap first-class tickets?

There is no way a customer can get cheaper tickets for any class. Buying tickets directly from the airport, visiting online websites, or finding themselves a promotional code may be the few ways they can find an air ticket cheaper.

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