Christmas Travel

My son and his family are about to leave home and head to the airport to start the long journey to visit my wife and I in Utah. He just texted me and let me know that his 2-year-old daughter has her backpack on and is ready to head to the airport even though they don't have to leave quite yet. My wife and I are equally excited for their arrival.

Should you have family coming to visit you and you are as excited as I am, there are several things you can do to monitor their progress, especially if they are flying. The first thing to do is have the airline and flight information readily available. I have all this information pulled up in a small window that I won't close until they arrive. You can go to the airline website and check the status of each flight leg to see if delays will complicate travel. I just checked my son's flights and so far everything is on time.

The second thing you can do is arm your loved ones with the information on how to set mobile phones up to use in-flight texting. All major airlines now make that service available for free. You may need to use specific texting apps like iMessage on iPhones or WhatsApp on Android devices. Knowing what is required will help you stay in contact during the trip. When I used to fly a lot, I would text my wife as I flew over our house. If she left once she got my text, we would meet at the airport without anyone having to wait for the other. Texting during the flight can also serve as a medium for sending funny flight stories, like when the 2-year-old spills Sprite all over Mom or Dad.

There are also websites that allow you to track flights in real time. If you go to flightaware.com, you can see where the flight is. While the airline may list the flight as being on time, you will be able to see if that is really the case. Sometimes planes have to fight nasty headwinds. Other times, they get nice tailwinds that speed things up. Being able to see where the flight is, eliminates a lot of wondering.

Unfortunately being connected and seeing where your loved ones are during their journey does not speed up anything. If a flight is late, there is not much you can do about it. The only upside to being connected is knowing when a flight will arrive early, which does happen occasionally.