Expo’s declassified travel survival guide

It is the end of the school year, and if you’re not living in Bozeman over the summer, that means you’ll be traveling. While some will be driving home, others will be flying. From personal and frequent traveling experience, I have a few tips to make the trip a bit easier.

One thing you need is to have all your devices charged. Flying without music is like writing without a pencil. It’s tough to do one without the other, and having a charged phone is a major component of that. Though while walking through bigger airports, you need to keep your head on a swivel. I recommend walking with only a single earbud in so you can hear your surroundings. Many times, I’ve been pushed aside by families trying to make their flight, hurriedly stuffing down the last of their Wendy’s $5 specials. I’ve also been knocked around by the retiree shuttle as it returns its cargo of seniors to the Tampa, Fla. gate. These kinds of things usually occur because you’re listening to music and don’t hear the high pitch of the horn blaring behind you. As long as you’re aware of your surroundings, you should make it to your gate in record time.

Second, you need to eat. The last thing you want while traveling is to be forced to eat a bag of stale pretzels or old Biscoff cookies. Ideally, you should be able to find a restaurant in the airport, but this can be expensive. Airports prey off of desperate travelers looking for a quick bite to eat. They overprice the greasy food and the only good restaurants always seem to be located in the most inconvenient areas. One of the biggest offenders to use this tactic is O’hare International Airport in Chicago. The only restaurants in immediate view are Wolfgang Puck’s and the generic Subways and McDonald’s. The main saving grace is the Manchu Wok, hidden away in a small food court called Chicago Jazz in Terminal C.

On top of all that, you still have to deal with the airlines. If you’ve flown with United before, you might understand this struggle. It can feel like these airline companies make everything harder for the customer. For instance, say a traveler has to stay another day with their family due to United’s decision to cancel their flight. The airline then charges a $200 change fee to the traveler, on top of what they have already paid for the original ticket if the flight was booked more than 24 hours previously. On top of that, they won’t hold the plane for someone who may be arriving late due to maintenance issues with another flight, leaving that traveler. If this happens to you, you can always try begging — though I don’t recommend it. Other than that, a different airline might offer better service.

Following these tips can help you make traveling stress-free again if you’ve been struggling. Overall though, as uncomfortable and annoying as flying can be, having the opportunity to see your family, a new country or just to revisit your favorite places makes it all worthwhile.