How To Deal With Common Air Travel Snafus...

...and beat them! Part 5 of 8 in a series.

YOU MISS YOUR FLIGHT

Sometimes travelers show up too late for their flight because of traffic or other snafus.

Why it matters: Booking a new, eleventh-hour plane ticket can be costly.

How to deal: Whatever the reason, if you miss your flight on a nonrefundable ticket, you can usually pay a change fee—typically between $150 and $200 on a domestic flight—and be rebooked on a new one. You generally also have to pay for the difference between your new ticket's price and the original fare. Policies on overseas airlines may vary, but expect to pay in the ballpark of $250.

Trick to avoid the problem: Your mother was right: Showing up early is the smart thing to do. Other tricks can give you an edge when life doesn't cooperate: Don't bring bags to check, so that it'll be much faster for agents to allow you to board—even if you've missed the check-in cut-off time (see below). Insider tip: Find out in advance the airline's cut-off time for checking in by going to seatguru.com picking your airline, and clicking on the "Check-in" tab. For example, Continental's policies at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport requires check-in to be completed 45 minutes before departure or else you may be denied boarding. If you're en route to the airport and realize you're going to miss your flight, look up alternative flight times (and seat availability) via an app like TripCase, which is free for devices such as the Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry.