How to Beat the Chaos at YYZ and Airports Around the World

Greetings from L.A.! Last Sunday, I wrote how we'd just arrived home after being gone for 49 days. Well, I finally finished my Toronto-Dallas-Los Angeles trip report and I wrote a separate post on how to beat the chaos at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, which is today's travel tip.

As you will read in my trip report, our travels were surprisingly smooth with the exception of a two-year-old boy sitting a row behind us, unmasked and not covering his mouth each time he coughed, which sounded really gnarly. The whole section around us winced every time he coughed and I thought for sure we were going to get sick with whatever he had. Fortunately we didn't and I credit the masks we wore, the airline's filtration system and the portable air purifier with a HEPA filter I travel with for keeping us safe.

We flew American Airlines (AA), which I wrote an alarming post about a couple of weeks ago and have received hundreds of comments from unhappy, stranded fliers so I was worried about disruption. If you're wondering why I still flew AA, it's because I booked the first-class tickets last August for cheap using miles, I have elite status so I get all kinds of perks including free checked bags up to 70lb bags (all four of ours made it, which I tracked using the AirTag I popped in).

Travel on AA has really been hit or miss but it's getting much better now that they're paying their pilots more money on peak travel days. We got lucky. If you've flown AA recently, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post so others can read about your experience (good or bad).

Most of the airport chaos happening right now is in Canada and Europe. Airports that are especially bad are YYZ, YUL, LHR, LGW, AMS and DUB. If you can avoid checking bags, your trip will be much better. Here are more tips for avoiding the summer travel chaos.

There's a lot of travel news so scroll down to read today's and the week's travel headlines including my travel tips.

Travel Tips from This Week

12 Things to Know in Travel Today
— Delta to announce deal for 100 Boeing MAX 10 planes
— A United passenger was stranded in Newark airport for almost 24 hours after being told 'there are no hotels left'
— Man pays $1,340 for an UBER from Paris to London to make it back for work
— A couple in their 80s got stuck in Mexico and ran out of heart medication after their flight was canceled twice
— Another cruise ship hit by COVID-19 outbreak
— Heathrow 'tells airlines to kick passengers off flights' to avoid travel chaos
— Airfares are finally starting to cool as peak summer travel season fades. Now what?
— Top NASCAR driver stabbed to death by transient at SoCal gas station
— Travel industry sees further economic woe, seeks Washington’s help
— 'Doesn't make sense': boarded family kicked off plane for 'invalid ticket'
— Hotel construction slumps into slowdown in Bay Area and California
— Yesterday's TSA checkpoint numbers

My 2022 Hawaii Trip Reports 🌈
-Los Angeles to Honolulu in United Polaris
-10 Reasons to Stay at Hilton Hawaiian Village
-12 Reasons to Stay at the Ritz-Carlton Waikiki
-Honolulu to Los Angeles in Hawaiian Airlines Economy Comfort
-The Best Coach Seats To and From Hawaii
-How to Save Money and Travel in Comfort to Hawaii

Travel Contests
Win a 5-Night Moon Palace Resort Vacation (July 18)
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See all contests here

Want to cruise?
If you’d like to speak to an agent, we’ve partnered with Cruise Planners—a top-rated travel agency—to help you plan your perfect trip. Contact Mike Gelman (1-800-724-5868) and tell him Johnny Jet sent you!

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The Sunday Round-Up | July 17, 2022