Cheap travel options, be they cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages are becoming increasingly difficult to find unless you are flexible as to your travel dates and the airports you will be flying out of and into.
Planes are expected to be tightly packed since airlines have continued to cut capacity even though more people are deciding to fly.
There is some good news for fliers. Children 12 and under will be able to leave their shoes on when going through security. Pat downs of children have been curtailed though not totally eliminated. In lieu of a pat down children can be sent through detectors or image machines several times and/or have hand swabs applied to check for traces of explosives.
New software has been installed on certain body scanners which improves passenger privacy by replacing the virtual nude images of passengers with a generic computer generated outline. Passengers will be able to view the same image that security officers see on a computer screen as they move through security.
Later this year, the same software will be installed on full body airport X-ray scanners, 510 of which are currently in operation.
More airlines are offering expedited security lines to passengers willing to pay for the service. JetBlue introduced Even More Speed in June which enables passengers, depending on the flight, to pay between $10 to $65 more for a seat with additional legroom as well as access to an expedited security line at 15 airports.
United has been offering expedited security and preboarding, starting at $9, for the last two years. American Airlines has expanded its Five Star Service program to more airports, including Boston and San Francisco. It comes with expedited security as well as lounge access, preboarding, and assistance with check in, bags, and airport connections for $125 per person.
Boarding procedures have started to change. Instead of boarding its planes back to front, American Airlines now randomly assigns passengers without elite status to boarding groups. Economy passengers are allowed to buy their way into the first boarding group, behind first class and elite frequent fliers, for $10.
United which used to board by row from back to front now loads passengers in window, middle, and aisle boarding zones.
Discounts for prepaying checked bags have largely gone away.
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