Domestic

Learn the Secrets of Your Home Airport Terminal

In Steven Spielberg's movie, "The Terminal," Tom Hanks' character is a foreign-born traveler stranded at Kennedy Airport by a bureaucratic snafu. He can't enter the U.S. and he can't be deported, so he's forced to live in the terminal itself. Remarkably, he finds everything he needs for the comforts of home, seemingly for weeks.

The movie is fiction but its premise is not. Most travelers don't begin to realize the advantages of really knowing their home airport terminals. Yet, writes Eric Lucas on MSN Travel, "Every terminal has tricks that savvy travelers can use to save time and reduce hassles." All you need do is invest a little time to discover them.

The payoff can be significant, says Lucas. "If you fly 80 to 100 times annually, saving as little as 10 minutes at each end of a flight adds up to 18 hours each year." And that's not counting the psychological benefits of having an easier trip. Here's some of what he and other travelers suggest doing to get the most out of the airport experience.

--Watch for advantages. In any situation where people are processed, there are going to be inequities (think lines at the supermarket where one line is long, and inexplicitly, another is shorter). Explore your airport, says Lucas. You're likely to find some "chokepoints" less crowded than others. There are even tools to help you. One example: security. The Transportation Security Administration has a website of wait times at major airports (waittime.tsa.dhs.gov). Some airport websites also offer this information, and at least one airport, Denver, has TV monitors showing the lines at the various checkpoints, in real time. Also, ask airport workers where to find shortcuts through the system. Many will gladly direct you.

--Be a contrarian. When you're being picked up at arrivals, head for the arrivals level, right? Wrong ... unless you enjoy being caught in a jam of spouses and buses all diving for the few curbside stopping points. Instead, get picked up on the departures level, which will likely be deserted, especially during the evenings. By the same token, when taking the shuttle to the parking or rental car area, wait at the last stop before the bus leaves the terminal. Otherwise, you're just fighting traffic to get to that same spot. And in airport parking lots, park near the last pickup point before the bus leaves the lot. There will likely be more empty stalls there and your bus ride to the plane will be shorter.

--Find your terminal's "secret havens." Every terminal has them, quiet places where you can work or relax without fighting for the last available seat. In fact, there's a website to help you find these tranquility bases, (airporthavens.com), at which fellow travelers post their choices.

One example: A New York poster notes that New York/LaGuardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal has complimentary newspapers and magazines, Wi-Fi, work cubicles, and free morning coffee and juice. And James, from Brookfield, Wisconsin, reports that, at LAX Gate 34, there's a "hidden lounge which no one seems to know about, with a soft sofa, ample Wi-Fi coverage, and no interruptions."

For more insider tips and strategies on how to make your travels more comfortable and productive, visit the Wing Tips archives page.