Travel Tips - Flying 1

Since I'm traveling this week...

Travel Tips

· Medications - Southwest recommends that Customers carry their medications in carryon baggage and that medications requiring refrigeration are cooled with nontoxic gel packs. Keep all medicines - over-the-counter drugs as well as prescriptions - in their original packaging. Medication and its administering paraphernalia must be properly marked with a professionally printed label identifying the medication or manufacturer's name or pharmaceutical label. See additional tips for traveling with medications

· Prohibited Items - If you're not sure whether an item will be accepted past the security checkpoint, it's probably best to either travel without it or pack it in your checked luggage. Please visit our Baggage page for information on items that you can and cannot bring.

· Shoes and Security - Random shoe checks are being conducted so consider wearing slip-on shoes when you fly.

· Traveling with children - When traveling with children, be sure to bring plenty of books, games, and snacks. Also, ask about Southwest Airlines' Infant Fares when making your flight reservations. These fares enable Customers to reserve seats for children under two years of age traveling in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved car seats.

· Carryon Items - Keep your jewelry, keys, wallets, eyeglasses, tickets, money, passports, cameras, and other valuables with you in your carryon luggage. Also carry on any medication that you may need during your trip.

· Laptop Computers - Put your name on your laptop case. Tape your business card or an address label to the laptop so you can identify what's yours. Place your laptop on the screening belt ahead of your laptop case. When your laptop comes out first you'll be reminded to return it to the case that will follow.

· Watches and Jewelry - Buy an inexpensive, plastic watch to wear while flying. Frequent travelers know that wearing metal jewelry and big diver-type watches will set off the alarm at security. But now that the security screen devices have been set to their ultra-sensitive settings, even watches with minimal bits of metal - casing, crowns, and strap buckles, for example - are ringing the bells.

. Liquids - Put cosmetics, shoe polish, nail enamel, liquor, perfume, and anything else that might spill, break, and stain your clothing into resealable plastic bags or unbreakable containers. Hazardous materials are not allowed onboard.

· Toiletries - Purchase travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletries or place just the amounts you will need of these items in small containers to take with you.

· Items in Your Pockets - The typical traveler has pockets bulging with metal: coins and money clips; keys and key chains; pens and mechanical pencils; metal-framed glasses; and even chewing gum and cigarette packs with metallic wrappers; not to mention the wireless phones, pagers and all the other pocket-size gadgets we keep close to our hearts. You can reduce minutes at the security checkpoint by using a resealable plastic sandwich bag. Rather than placing all these items into those plastic containers one item at a time, put them in the bag before you go through security. Then just put the plastic bag in your carryon or toss it in the container, go through the screening, and grab the bag when it comes through the X-ray machine.

· Claim Checks - When you've checked your luggage, make sure you receive a separate claim check for each piece of baggage you've checked. Check to make sure that the city shown on the claim check(s) matches your final destination.

· Perishables - Southwest does not accept Styrofoam coolers. All perishable items are accepted at the Customer's own risk. The perishables must be completely frozen and packed in a hard, durable ice chest.