With the busy holiday travel season on the way, it’s time the start booking those flights for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and other end-of-year celebrations, if you haven’t already. Between being apprehensive about seeing your relatives and anxiety about air travel obstacles arising amid the holiday rush (just look at last year’s holiday meltdown), flying during the holiday period is always a stressful undertaking.
And, while no one can work out your family issues for you, a revolutionary new internet tool might help you handle your air travel journey a bit better. Comparison search engine FlightsFinder has created its new Airport Stress Calculator to help take the trauma out of your holiday air travel arrangements. The tool can help you identify the most hassle-free times to travel or, at the very least, prepare yourself for the airport situation you’ll be faced with when the time comes.
To predict just how challenging your flight experience will be, the tool analyses data associated with three of the most common sources of stress for air travelers: how busy the airport will be during your selected window, the likelihood you’ll encounter flight delays and your airline’s particular baggage restrictions for basic economy fares.
All you need to do is enter in your time of departure, which airline you’re flying with and the airport you’re flying from. The clever little online calculator can then work its magic and come up with a percentage risk representing just how nerve-wracking your air travel experience is likely to be.
Seeing the likely levels of airport congestion (resulting in longer lines at security and customer service, as well as less seating), how much of your baggage you’ll be required to check and how high the probability is that you’ll face flight disruptions, you can better prepare yourself and give yourself ample time to tackle each obstacle.
“While we can’t promise a trouble-free travel experience, we can provide you with a clearer picture of what to expect during your time in the airport in advance of your trip,” the company explains on its website.
We tried out the tool by plugging in some sample data points, indicating we’d be departing from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and flying aboard American Airlines, then selected a few times as a variable.
Early morning departure times yielded only a 16 percent stress rating, while late morning and late afternoon jumped to 46 percent. The most trouble-free prediction was for overnight flights at just three percent, so maybe it’s worth booking that red-eye after all.
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