The Fast Lane | TSA PreCheck

There is nothing more frustrating for air travelers than a seemingly endless line at airport security. Fortunately, ditching the extra-long wait (and cumbersome task of unpacking nearly all of the contents of your carry-on) is slowly becoming a trend of the past. In 2011, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) launched the TSA PreCheck program as an intelligence-based approach to expediting airport security.

What is TSA Pre✓?

The Transportation Security Administration manages and operates an expedited security screening program, allowing certain travelers to move through security more quickly and easily when departing from participating airports in the U.S.

What does TSA Pre✓mean for travelers?

TSA PreCheck allows low-risk travelers to experience expedited, more efficient security screening at participating U.S. airport checkpoints.

• If you have a TSA PreCheck indicator on your boarding pass, proceed to the TSA Pre✓lane
• Present your boarding pass and Government-issued ID to the Travel Document Checker
• Have the TSA Travel Document Checker scan your boarding pass barcode
• Remember, your children age 12 and under may go with you
• Keep on your shoes and belt, your laptop in its case, and your 3-1-1 compliant bag in your carryon.

Experience:

• Quicker transit through airport security screening
• Faster moving lines
• Improved travel experience

No Removal of:

• Belt
• Shoes
• Light outerwear/jacket
• Compliant bag and laptop from carry-on

How does TSA Pre✓work?

Travelers can become part of the TSA PreCheck program in one of three ways:

• Pre-enrolling on the TSA.gov site 
• By invitation through an airline's frequent flier program
• Admission into another Department of Homeland Security Trusted Traveler program (Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI) 

Learn more about the four Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Trusted Traveler programs that include TSA Pre✓Eligibility

Here at Westwind Airport Valet the goal is to provide our clients with safe and convenient travel arrangements. Don’t forget you can book your parking reservation online quick and easy by visiting www.westwindairportvalet.com.

The Best Vacations Have No Plans

You have a week of unused paid time off at work which you do not want to go to waste. Your mission is clear. You’re going on vacation!  Have you ever considered NOT planning for vacation? The majority of us plan every day down to the minute filled with activities, dining, traveling, and lodging. Try vacation planning by not planning your vacation for a truly exciting and memorable trip.

If you want to take a leisurely, non-planned vacation, plan on doing so during non-peak travel times. Impromptu vacations during peak travel times could mean hotels without vacancy, sold out venues and very expensive airfare.

Lodging

It is a good idea to secure the first two nights of lodging arrangements ahead of time. This will give you an edge on visiting an unfamiliar area. Consider booking a room at a Bed & Breakfast so you can visit with the owners and get ideas of where you should go next.

Transportation

Rental cars are an option in most destinations and allow you to take control and go off the beaten path. An alternative is public transportation via bus or railway. This allows you to enjoy the scenery or even maximize your time by traveling overnight to your next destination.

Meeting Locals

A successful spontaneous trip will require that you meet locals at their local restaurants and bars. Avoid chain restaurants where you’ll likely mingle with other tourists. Local eateries and pubs will show you the true color of the city and give you an informal way to meet locals.

Activities

Some vacation planning you may need to do ahead of time. You need to determine what it is you are going for and what you want to see when you are there. Once you’ve selected a city, region or country, visit their tourism website to find out more about what there is to do. You will often find maps of the area, information about public transit and current events. Social networking sites like Facebook or Pinterest and travel focused sites, also have many recommendations from real travelers on vacation planning.

Here at Westwind Airport Valet, we strive to provide our clients with safe and convenient travel arrangements. Even if you are not making an itinerary for your next trip, we plan to take care of you and your vehicle so you can enjoy your next adventure. Contact us today to Ride The Wave!

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube to join the conversation and get the latest travel tips and savings!    

Dayton Airport Among Lowest Fares

In a recent article on Monday June 2, by Rachel Murray of the Dayton Daily News, it showcased part of the reason the Dayton International Airport is growing at the rate it is: low airfare.

The Dayton International Airport is the second lowest in the state, only behind Akron/Canton Airport, and is 37th lowest among the top 100 largest airports in the nation.

Dayton, averaging a price of $371 per round trip ticket, is almost $140 cheaper than the average round trip ticket out of CVG ($510). The competitive market at DAY is what makes these prices among the lowest around.

Some of the downsides of DAY however, is it's lack of non-stop flights originating there. Most trips out of DAY include stops when traveling.

Some of our customers say the short drive from Cincinnati and surrounding areas is well worth the savings.

The affordable airfares, easy accessibility and location, and affordable parking options, such as Westwind Airport Valet, make this airport a favorite among travelers in this region.

What Makes Customer Service?

Sure, there are places that may offer a price that is lower than ours. If you are cost conscious then price may drive enough to not care about the quality of customer service you receive. But here at work we believe it is our customer service that keeps our wonderful fans coming back time and time again, and also enables them to spread the word of our business to others. 

So when people ask me how we keep almost all of our customers even after just one experience with us, I tell them it's not our price, or location, or any of that. It's our customer service. What makes our customer service so good? Well, I know that there are many, many attributes that make a great customer service, but to me there are a few things I find myself telling the employees up here time and time again. 

Smile! Sounds corny right? But believe me it does wonders. Being in the transportation/travel industry, things happen, flights get delayed, weather causes slow driving times, etc. and coming in to a facility to see the staff with a smile on their face and a warm "hello" at the beginning of a long week or the end of a long and tiresome trip, can help to ease that stress and tension. 

Yes we can! We offer a wide array of different services for our fans to take advantage of while they are gone. Every now and then we get a special request for something out of the box or not our typical service. We try to say yes as much as we can. Fans love to hear you say "yes" and they will remember that next time they tell someone about your company or come in to use your service. While saying yes is great, you should also know when to say "no" as well. Not everything is feasible to say "yes" to.

Communication is key! Communication with your employees, with your fans, with the community. Communication will allow you to understand how to better serve your fans by listening to what they would like to see, or listening to your employees on what works and what could be better. This keeps your customer service in an always evolving state to allow it to cater to the fans wants and needs.

The anticipation is killing me! We try our best to anticipate what our fans will want and beat them to it. By anticipating what your fans will want, ask for, need, or complain about, you can be better prepared to answer which in turn makes for good customer service. 

Let's get personal. I won't go into exact numbers, but we have several thousand fans that use us on a regular basis, and between everyone on our team, we know every one of them. Not just recognizing their vehicle, but their name, even where they fly out to, or that they always like a car wash, or their window doesn't roll down. The attention to detail builds personal relationships with your fans and makes them feel comfortable. The more comfortable a fan feels about your company and the people that work there, will keep them coming back. 

From beginning to end, great customer service anticipates what will happen, and while having a plan in place, still allows for flexibility to meet those unexpected needs. These few things are just what I believe sets us apart from the others in our area of the industry and allows us to retain so many of our fans even after only one time with us. What do you think makes great customer service?

What's In Your Baggie?

We all have our morning/evening rituals that we do in the bathroom before we head out. From face washing, to lather, rinse, repeat, lather, rinse, repeat, it's the comfort of these things that allow us to feel fresh, radiant, and willing to take on the challenges of life. But what happens when all these things that come together to complete your ritual aren't available? Like when you are traveling? Do you take mini one's of everything? Do you buy it all when you get there? Do you ship it to yourself?

We asked a few of our customers, who were traveling for reasons ranging from work to moving, what they packed in their baggies (we refer to baggies as what the TSA tells us is acceptable to carry our products in).

MOST COMMON
The most common things we found people packed was shampoo and deodorant/antiperspirant. Most hotels don't provide deodorant/antiperspirant (some will upon request). And the shampoo and conditioner that are offered while will do the job, did not meet the standards of most of our travelers, so they opted to take their own.

MOST UNCOMMON
The most uncommon items we found packed by those we talked with were hair spray/hair gel and facial cleanser.

"We're going to Florida for a week and I plan on being on the beach for 90% of the time. I am not really worried about what my hair is doing but more about how my tan looks." Deb, one of our travelers, said.

The volume of the baggies we got to look at varied from barely anything inside to barely able to close. It didn't seem to matter how long our travelers were going to be gone for, it seemed more about that routine, that ritual, that was done each day before venturing out. Those will full baggies seemed to be more attached to that ritual that those with less filled.

So, what do you take in your baggie?

While You Wait...

Sometimes is seems the more layovers you have the cheaper your flight will cost. While it might take you all day to go from A to B, the price cut may well be worth it. But what about the 4, 5, sometimes more, hours you spend waiting in the terminal for that connecting flight? Wasted time or not? What do you do while you wait?

Having various conversations with our wonderful fans that use Westwind Airport Valet when traveling out of the Dayton International Airport, we have come up with several things that seem to prevail over others. Using that and our own personal remedies for the time in between, here is what we have.

1. People Watch
Have you ever seen someone doing something like screaming into their phone, and wondered "What is that all about?" Or witnessed a person with the look of total confusion and wonder if they are going to make their flight? It's interesting to watch a human being from an outside perspective. It lets us know that we can be attentive and oblivious at the same time.

2. Eat
Nom, nom, nom! Eating is always a choice with tons of places to pick from in airports. From the isle side vendors to the full sit down restaurants, there is not shortage of places to grab a meal. A little tip. Certain foods cause you to be drowsy after consumption. If you have trouble flying, try eating some of these foods before your flight to help you maybe take a nap or be in a more sedated mood when flying.

3. Read
Reading is a great way to pass the time while traveling. If you have a good book, a long layover, and a few flights, you might be able to finish the entire thing. Not only does it keep your brain active, so when you arrive at your final destination you're not "lost", but it allows you to focus on what you are reading and not be distracted by factors that can stress you out. I think it's safe to say that there is a bookstore in about every airport.

4. Drink
Make it a double! Some people head straight to the bar. Many people have the misassumption that alcohol will "calm my nerves" because they're a nervous flier. Actually alcohol is a stimulant and does the opposite of what you think it does. Most airport, TSA, and airline companies will tell you to try to avoid alcohol consumption before flight, but magically they all serve alcohol aboard the flight. Ironic? Of course you can drink enough to pass out if your that nervous of a flier, but try to find alternatives to calm your nerves.

5. Sleep
That flight at 5 a.m. comes quick. And if it was a last minute plan, or procrastination just took over, you might not have gotten that full nights sleep. So catch a few Z's while you wait. If you are a light sleeper, try putting some headphones in, with or without music playing, to drown out background noise. Just be sure you have a way of waking up, either by alarm, a travel partner, or someone who is waiting on the same flight as you. Asking someone around you if they will be so kind as to wake you up in 30 minutes etc., usually is not a problem for most travelers and can even be a great way to strike up a conversation.

6. Work
Most of us know it never stops. And just because you're traveling, does not mean that the work flow back at the office is getting put on hold just for you. Doing work while you are waiting is great way to stay ahead of the game and keep things on a level so you do not have an overload of to-do's when you get back to the office.

These are just a very few of the things you can do while you wait. After sitting for so long, getting up and walking around is a good way to spend the layover time and get some exercise. If the wait is long enough, see about checking out the local town, grab a shower, etc. There are plenty of options to chose from when waiting on a flight.

What do you like to do?

Hunting Season: Traveling with Firearms

Hunting season is here. And it is there too. And over there. And down there. It's everywhere. Which makes traveling to those opportune hunting areas a weekend priority on a lot of lists. Some travel local, a short drive. Some travel long distances, halfway around the world. Others are somewhere in between. No matter where your final destination is, traveling on an airline with a firearm can be a serious thing.

Firearms have been making the flights right along side the humans who use them for about as long as passenger flights have been operating. It is perfectly legal for someone to travel with a secure, unloaded, cased and locked, legal firearm. The most daunting part of the whole process, happens before you even start to pack for your trip.

The TSA has rules and regulations for traveling with a firearm. As well, each airline has rules and regulations for traveling with firearms and ammo.

Some things to expect when traveling with a firearm:

Make sure you read the TSA guidelines as well as your airlines guidelines
Some airlines don't allow you to transport ammo and weapon in the same case.

Do not get a "TSA lock"
You can put more locks than a state prison on your case. But you should be the only one who can open them. Ever.

Get a good case
We all know that sometimes that souvenir you packed to bring back to your Aunt Jean of a hula girl doesn't always make it. Don't risk ruining your hunting trip by chancing something happening to your beloved firearm or equipment by packing it in a cheap case.

Listen to Announcements, Ask Questions
Every airport is different and each airline is different. While one might put your gun case on the conveyor belt, another airline or airport may require you to pick it up at the airline counter. Listen to the announcements, as they will often say "firearm cases" can be claimed here. Also, don't hesitate to ask the desk employee when checking in where you can reclaim your firearm when landing.

Have a little patience
The TSA has to do their job. The airline personnel have to do theirs. No matter how quick you get checked in and on with it, your flight will still take off at the same time. And when traveling with a firearm, it may take some time. Remember there will be papers for you to fill out about the firearm, ammo, declarations of being unloaded, etc. And then the TSA will have to check the case and contents. Patience. Hopefully that big 18 point bad boy you've been baiting and feeding all summer and fall hasn't been shot by the neighbor who's on his first hunting trip.

With a little research, things should go smoothly. Just remember, research first. When traveling with a firearm, in a crowded airport, on a plane, things can go south quickly as I'm sure you can imagine. Don't let that happen. Best of luck to all you hunters out there this season!