No one really knows what Thanksgiving travel will be like this year. Chaotic? Frustrating? Totally awesome? Hard to say. But what we do know is that the air travel industry has changed dramatically since last year, with numerous bankruptcies, countless new fees, industrywide capacity cuts between 10 and 15 percent, and the disappearance of beloved traditions such as free snacks and beverages. The question on everyone’s mind, then, is how these changes will affect travel on what is traditionally the busiest travel holiday of the year.

And if you happen to be flying this Thanksgiving, you may be asking yourself how you can make things go a little more smoothly. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are a few tips:

• If you’re flying home with a pie, keep in mind that while pies and cakes are permitted through security, they may be subject to additional screening. Now, by “screening,” does the TSA mean its security officials will eat the pie? That’s not for me to say. But yes.*
• Do not wrap any gifts, because security screeners may have to unwrap them for further inspection. (What’s that, you say? Don’t security screeners have X-ray machines that can see through luggage, and should therefore be able to see through wrapping paper? Thus negating any need to unwrap presents? Well … ) Instead, just wrap them when you get where you’re going, or ship them ahead of time.
• Check in online, thus allowing you to skip the long, torturous line at the check-in counter and proceed directly to the long, tortuous line at security. Hey, it’s one less long, torturous line. Let’s focus on little victories, OK?
• Get to the airport early, at least by a few hours. Why? Do I even need to explain it? How about those long lines, the potential for weather-related delays, the difficulty of rebooking a canceled flight during the busiest travel period of the year, and the awesome shops at the airport mall. Yeah, get there early.

Last week, I reported on how Southwest is teaming up with a Mexican airline to offer south-of-the-border flights. As if we needed more proof that the LUV airline is making a power play with the economy down, financially secure Southwest is set to buy ATA and muscle into the Big Apple’s LaGuardia airport. In these tough times, Southwest is particularly appealing to those of us with less cash to spend on expensive flights. It’s like travelers are hearing an old blues song being turned on its head: “Somebody knows you when you’re down and out,” and that somebody is Southwest Airlines.

Why hasn’t Southwest, with its household-name status, gone Broadway in the past? Well, for one thing, it’s tough to find a slot at New York airports. The Wall Street Journal cites Department of Transportation statistics that link 75 percent of all the country’s delayed flights to New York Airports. Southwest counts on efficiency and probably doesn’t want to be associated with tardiness, sort of like that friend of yours who always shows up to your dinner parties two hours late—but is really sorry about it!

Currently, Southwest is flying out of MacArthur Airport on Long Island, which is some 50 miles from the bright lights of the City That Never Sleeps. This is the equivalent of leaving the quiet confines of suburbia and seeking your fortune in the big town. And what better place to do that than New York?

Nearly a year after forming last December, the “tarmac task force” convened by DOT Secretary Mary Peters says it won’t be able to offer airline passengers anything more than suggested guidelines and recommendations aimed at airlines regarding the treatment of passengers forced to remain on planes due to weather and other unpreventable delays.
While advocates for passengers’ rights had hoped the task force would prompt the formation of real rules governing traveler conditions during lengthy airline delays, the task force says there’s no one-size fits all solution that will work across all carriers. Because of that, all it can do is offer its suggestions for airline best practices and hope the carriers motivate to put them in place on their own terms.
The upshot? You’d be wise to squeeze in that pit stop and grab an extra sandwich, water bottle and magazine before boarding your next plane.