Practical Hint: Do This Now To Make Your Holiday Airport Experience Easier

The holidays are getting closer and hopefully those who plan to travel have booked their flight tickets. If you haven’t, you should do so as soon as possible.

After filling airports with passengers during spring and summer, we’re relieved to see fall. For example, last Friday, US airports saw almost as many passengers as the busiest holiday travel days this past summer. That seems like a pretty good indicator of what we can expect leading up to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

So this will:

Last weekend, airports took to social media to inform passengers that parking lots were almost full. New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) issued a warning last Saturday, as it did on many weekends.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) does the same, to encourage travelers to have a backup plan in case parking is not available.

This happens on an average weekend with no major holidays usually associated with increased tourism. TPG reported this year about how parking at the airport has been a big challenge now that travel has returned.

Imagine what it will be like when the largest number of visitors of the year arrive for the year-end holidays.

For that reason, once you’ve booked your flight ticket, there’s one more step you should take to make your vacation flying experience as smooth as possible.

Tip: Book parking for your airport stay now

If you’re planning on driving to the airport for your vacation trip, chances are you’ll have a hard time finding parking.

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This year, airports have been quite vocal in urging passengers to reserve parking spaces in advance. However, it’s something we, as travelers, tend to do a day or two before our trip – if we do it all.

However, many airports allow you to reserve parking much more in advance. So why wait? Whether you’ve booked your holiday flights or you’re planning to do so soon, reserve your parking spot now.

Take the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). On the airport’s website, you can go to the parking reservation page, enter the date or time you will arrive at the airport, and indicate when you intend to depart. You can also choose the terminal you will use.

I plugged in December 23 for arrival and December 26 for departure.

Then I came to this page, which gave me a full range of parking options, from economy to valet service to other parking lots near each station.

After I enter my payment information, I can rest assured that I will have parking even on a busy weekend.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by booking your parking and paying in advance, you can usually tap into some savings. All in all, you’ll be able to save the most by booking and paying for the most premium parking options ahead of time.

Check out potential savings at LaGuardia. If I arrive at the airport on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and return on the Sunday after the holiday, I can get covered parking near Terminal B for $195; This is significantly less than the airport’s advertised $325 price tag.

That’s a savings of $130 or 40%. (Of course, economy class parking is cheaper).

You can also save money by prepaying for parking at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

Before paying in advance, you’ll want to check specific airport terms and specific parking reservations to see if you can make changes in the event of a flight delay or cancellation. Many airports give you quite a bit of flexibility to make changes.