U.S. airlines expect 27 million passengers this Thanksgiving week.  The three busiest air travel days are expected to be this Wednesday, and the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving, when the number of passengers daily as expected to be more than 2.5 million.  The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is expecting a 6 percent increase over the holiday period, while they expect to be up 4 percent over last year overall throughout all airlines.  Sea-Tac expects 102,000 passengers on Wednesday, 97,000 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and 95,000 on the Monday after that.

 With the airline’s on-time performance through September having a weak 73 percent of flights arriving on time (the worst in 13 years), many are striving to help raise this percentage, along with other aspects to flying this holiday season.  The Bush administration is having the U.S. military make more airspace on the East Coast available for commercial airlines from Wednesday through the 25th of November.  But you can also help yourself by following a few guidelines for making your traveling as quick and easy as possible.

 First, you should prepare by checking in and printing your boarding pass at home from your airline’s website.  You should also double check to make sure you any important documents such as your driver’s license and other government-issued ID.  Another good idea is to arrive at the airport two hours before your flight to allow for traffic delays, time to find parking, and other unseen delays.

 Second, you should pack right and conveniently.  Try to travel with carry-on luggage only, but if you must check a suitcase, be sure to follow these tips.  First, be sure to pack your valuables (such as cameras, jewelry, laptop, etc.) and medications in your carry on, incase there are any complications with your checked luggage.  Also, don’t over pack as most airlines allow each passenger to take only two checked bags weighing no more than 50 lbs each.  Also be sure to luck your luggage with a TSA-approved lock which security screeners are able to open and relock.  And last, if taking any liquids or medicines, be sure to check the list of banned items to make sure you can take them along (you can do this online).

 An extra tip is to be sure to check your flight status and delays and weather problems (which you can do online).  So good luck traveling this Thanksgiving holiday, here’s hoping for few delays and minimal complications.

If your visiting Seattle and your looking for the REAL Seattle experience visit the area called Belltown. Staying here I would recommend Hotel Andra, the Westin, Edgewater and or other hotels within the Pikes Place/ Belltown areas. In terms of restaurants Flying Fish (on 1st & Bell), Assaggio’s for Italian, Bambinos for Pizza, Belltown Pizza for social pizza. Black Bottle for singles/ before meal drinks. The Metropolitan Grill for Steak but also El Gaucho for an intimate steak dinner. This is an untold secret but the BEST SUSHI is on Capital Hill called HANA (very reasonable). Also for lunch Matt’s in the Market “Catfish sandwich,” will blow your mind. As for attractions Pikes Place market and a place within the market called Jacks Fish Spot (sit in the middle area with a bottle of wine (BYOW)). For nightlife the patio at the Flying Fish and the Pampas Room after 10pm.

A couple of months back my business partner and I chartered a boat w/ a capitan and went fishing for Ling Cod. We used Fishing Seattle.com and Capitan Carl. The experience and the hospitality of Captain Carl made the trip. My brother flew in from out of town and We started the day at 7:00am at the Ballard docks where Captain Carl’s boat was moored. The whole experience lasted approximately 6 hours which seemed to fly by. The pictures tell the story of that day (oh and Captain Carl guts/ fillets it for you)… Enjoy!