Today, ordinary travel is an extraordinary ordeal. Yet despite the high prices and huge hassles, air travel is booming - along with the need for tips, tricks and techniques to improve the journey. Power Travel is both an entertaining road trip and a heavily prescriptive guide. This book lets you: figure out how to pack to avoid security hassles and additional baggage fees; learn why airlines put bar codes on bags but rarely use them; know how FedEx can tell you exactly where your package is, but when airlines lose bags, they have no clue; and, see how decisions are made on who gets bumped, who gets upgraded and who gets a free seat. Status matters. So does your ticket price. Watch one airplane get further and further behind schedule as delays build through the day. (You'll always book morning flights in the future once you've read this book.) Armed with an enlightened understanding of how the confounding airline system works, Power Travel will also deliver expert advice on how to avoid as many hassles as possible and game the system to make travel more enjoyable.