Flight delays continue to grow, especially here in the United States, but the airports you choose to travel in and out of can make a difference. Wired has evaluated 32 U.S. airports and ranked them from best to worst for delayed flight departures and arrivals. They’ve mashed their results with Google maps to create an interactive chart of statistics. As usual, the east coast facilities hang at the bottom of the list with all three New York airports in the bottom 5. The west coast airports, including Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego sit in the top 5. Is is the weather perhaps?

Check out the map to see how your airport stacks up and if there is an alternate choice nearby that fared better.

Wired Interactive Airport Delay Map

Tired of dragging your heavy luggage from Point A to Point B? Why not ship it? Luggage Free is a baggage delivery service that will pick your suitcase up from your home or office and transport it to nearly any destination worldwide. Price is determined by weight, delivery location and time frame. It’s not as expensive as you may think, especially if you are travelling domestically.

Source: Hemispheres

With flight delays at an all time high, what is a frustrated traveler to do? Head over to Avoiddelays.com for statistics on the worst airlines, airports, flying times and practical advice from air traffic controllers on how to avoid being stalled.

When delays do happen, be prepared by checking out the airport guides on Sidestep for ideas on what to do when you find yourself with some hours to kill.

Source: Travel and Leisure

Every year we hear stories of plane crashes somewhere in the world and it reminds us that flying involves some risk. The fact is that not all airlines are safe to travel with. Airsafe.com will help you make smart decisions by allowing you to view airline and aircraft accident statistics. It also offers plenty of travel tips and will link you to many government and consumer websites containing important safety information.

Source: Conde Nast Traveler

Let’s face it, fitting all of your liquids and gels into a quart sized bag when you fly can be tricky. Most travel containers on the market are are a full 3 ounces, the maximum allowed, but often you don’t need that much of a product. Having your precious Ziploc space eaten up by half empty bottles is not cool.

I was so excited when I found this 16 piece carry-on kit with tiny leakproof jars and bottles, particularly the mini spray bottle. The containers range in size from 1/8 to 2 ounces and the kit also includes 36 sticker labels and a quart sized bag so you can just fill and go!

$9.99 Linens ‘n Things

So you’ve finally saved up enough money or miles for a business class ticket and you can’t wait to take an overnight flight and actually sleep in a flatbed. Not so fast….many airlines have angled, not flat seats in business and some older planes still have the only partially reclining variey. Flatseats.com has a comprehensive listing of business and first class seat types by airline so you can make informed choices. It also features passenger reviews and comfort ratings. If you are going to splurge, make sure you know what to expect and get exactly what you want.

Source: Sunday Times Travel

Personally, I never check my bag unless the airline I’m flying forces me to. My luggage was lost once and it ruined my trip so I do my best never to let that happen again. Still, many airlines, especially those flying overseas have gotten very strict and sometimes it can’t be avoided. When you must check, there are certain things you can do to help avoid a luggage catastrophe.

-Make sure you have updated I.D. tags on both the inside and outside of your bag. You should also pack a copy of your itinerary and cell phone number inside so you can be contacted and hopefully retrieve your belongings during your trip.

-Get to the airport on time. Remember that your bag needs plenty of time to be tagged and travel to your plane. Be sure to check with your airline for recommended check in times and during peak travel seasons add at least 30 minutes to that. I once had a bag left off a plane at Christmas time because they didn’t have room!

-Use a TSA approved lock. For security reasons you should definitely lock your bags, but you want to be sure the Transportation Security Administration can get it open if they decide to search it. If they can’t, they’ll break it open. Just make sure all locks are marked TSA compatible when you buy them.

-Have a good description ready to go. Make up a list of everything inside your bag so you’ll be able to fill out any compensation forms if it gets lost. It’s also a good idea to take a pictures of your bags with your digital camera so you can print out copies for the airline if they are trying to find them.

-Get insurance. If you are carrying anything valuable, you absolutely should get baggage insurance. Some airlines and most credit cards offer this. If you are purchasing insurance for your whole trip, it may be included in the package.

-Track it. This is for the truly paranoid…and rich! The new Worldtrak device which sells for $499 is a GPS instrument made to be slipped into your luggage. You can log on to their website and track the location of your bag anywhere in the world!

Source: Travel and Leisure

Parking prices at airports seem to rise every year. The good news is that there are many other places to leave your car when you travel. You can often park at a nearby hotel or private lot for less and most include free drop-off and pickup from the airport. Some will even throw in coffee and doughnuts!

Log on to AirportParkingReservations.com and type in your travel dates for the U.S., Canada, or the U.K. The site will give you a list of available lots and prices. You can even make a guaranteed reservation by putting down a small deposit….great idea during peak travel times!

FlightStats mobile can give you flight status and alerts as well as airport information, including security waits and weather delays, right on your web enabled PDA or cellphone. Simply log on to http://mobile.flightstats.com and type in your airport code, flight number and departure date. You knew that Blackberry was good for something!!

Incidentally, if you’re not on the road, you can log onto the site from your computer for the same information.

Source: Budget Travel

Air France has joined Japan, Continental and Singapore Airlines in offering fully interactive, in flight language classes! Through the Berlitz World Travellers program, passengers can choose 30 or 60 minute beginner lessons in 22 different languages on their personal seat back entertainment centers. Each course teaches numbers, dates, words and dialogue. There are also self-tests, games and pronunciation practice features. While you can’t learn a whole language in a hour, learning some key words and phrases always helps before you visit a new place.

Source: Travel and Leisure