After working for an airline for five years (four of which were at an airport, and one of which required me to commute weekly) and backpacking Europe for the last five months, I’d like to consider myself qualified to be an expert traveler. 

I developed a little system after a lot of trial and error, so I thought I’d share my secrets.

Simplify Security

Don’t make airport security any more of a hassle than it already is. 

Wear slip-on shoes and a belt that won’t set off the metal detector. Better yet, keep the belt off until going through security, so that way you won’t have to sacrifice style points for function.

Keep all liquids in a shaving kit that can be easily identified in the security line. In addition, keep your laptop separate as well. I also keep a second, smaller shaving kit in my bag for all my electronics (iPod, camera battery, USB, etc) cables. And when you get home, re-stock your shaving kit right away so it’ll be ready for your next trip.

Carry-on only

Unless you’re on an international flight and away for more than a month, don’t check your baggage.

Keep it simple with a single carry-on bag. Invest in a quality roller bag for extended business travel; I suggest a Travelpro bag (what we, in the industry, refer to as the Original 22). Mine has never failed. For business day trips, I take only my Roots laptop bag (seen below).

For pleasure trips, I’ll choose a small leather duffle. And while backpacking in Europe, I bought a Deuter bag that satisfied the strict carry-on requirements for European low cost carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet.

Dress in layers (and be smart about it)

This one is simple. It’s easier to take a layer off than it is to find something to put on. Nuff said.

Here are my top three tips-within-a-tip:

• Pack smart and have a strategy. I place everything out on my bed and visualize the entire trip – everything from whether I’ll be going out at night, to that early breakfast meeting. And only pack what you need.
• Embrace wrinkle-free! I hate ironing and only do it when I absolutely have to (which is too often as it is), but well designed, wrinkle-free clothes have taken half the hurt of out ironing for me.
• You can just keep your coat off until past security, but instead, I’ll wear a warmer hoodie or sweater, which are not required to be removed at security.

NEXUS means you’re up next

Invest in a NEXUS card if you travel between Canada and the States often. It’s a simple process and cheap option ($50 for 5 years) for eligible Canadian and American citizens who travel frequently. Now with Obama and Harper’s Beyond The Border shared parameter plan signed, the NEXUS program will see even further benefits.

This system works like this: US airports have a “preferred line” at TSA security check points for cardholders and airline crews. In addition, cardholders can use iris scanners to bypass any long lines at US Customs pre-clearance facilities at major Canadian airports. This process can save you anywhere between 15 and 60 minutes.

NEXUS cardholders are also automatically eligible for the US Global Entry program at all US ports of entry. I used this option between London and San Francisco a few weeks ago and it worked flawlessly.

Knowledge is power

Airports are busy places. They can be confusing for people who don’t travel often, and even trip up the most seasoned travelers at times. But the fun doesn’t stop there. External, uncontrollable factors such as traffic and weather can change things at a moments’ notice.

That’s why the first thing I do when I walk into an airport is check the flight information display screens (FIDS) for recent gate changes or updated departure times.

Keep in mind that all airports are different – some keep FIDS outside of the secured area, while others will only show this information once you’ve gone through security. If you don’t see the information right away, head through security as soon as possible, and you will most likely find the information that you are looking for on the other side. Most airports in Europe, for example, don’t assign gates until approximately 30 minutes prior to boarding – so if you’re in Europe and you don’t see your flight, don’t fret.

BONUS TIP: Make use of that status card

Many credit card programs, or airline and hotel loyalty programs have great perks when traveling. Everything from lounge access to fast-track security and boarding lines. I use my American Express card to purchase everything from gas and groceries to clothing, which gives access a number of airline lounges when I travel. Virtually every airline offers a similar program – Air Canada’s Aeroplan, United’s Milage Plus, and American’s AAdvantage to name a few. So choose a program that works best for your region, carrier and travel habits.

That’s it!

Hopefully these travel tips help you “fly” through the airport next time you travel.

-Connor

We’ve seen this for a while – it’s not a new story. It’s the beginning of an end. Here is why I think that it was a number of startups and a series of mistrials and tribulations, and not a Fortune 500 company, that really led to RIM’s demise.

We’ve seen it in it’s messaging. We’ve seen it in its advertising. For many years now, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has been considered RIM’s most valuable asset. But the problem lies within the proprietary messaging service’s very name – as the name suggests, BBM, in its current form, works only with RIM-built devices. This has led to a number of Silicon Vally garage-starters to enjoy the first mover advantages in the space. Of course, having Apple develop iMessenger did not help either.

Recognizing a need for cross-platform messaging services, a number of third parties – mostly small startups – have filled a gap that the Canadian tech giant, with years of expertise, could have easily filled. WhatsApp only charges $2 on an annual subscription basis after a one year trial. With relatively small development costs, and existing platform and a superior product, RIM could have easily charged $25/year or more.

But the emergence of WhatsApps (and a number of other third party messaging services) is not just competition, but rather a metaphor for the Waterloo-based company’s flawed strategic thinking. 

A paradigm shift needed to occur. Failed management and corporate bickering led RIM to completely miss the theoretical boat. They could’ve sold BBM to consumers for millions, and to corporate users for billions more.

RIM first started to fall apart in the early 2000’s when it became complacent in it’s R&D efforts. Hazy executives used their clouded judgement to mistakenly forecast their industry’s advancements further than simply email. At one time, RIM was on top of the world, with Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo region widely regarded as Canada’s technology hotbed – even Google made Waterloo it’s Canadian home. 

Once email became the norm for smart phones, however, RIM’s focus shifted to security, reliability and integration with apps such as BBM – all strengths which could be provided for devices built by other manufactures.

RIM needed to become a service company; they needed to accept the fact that they will never be a best-in-class hardware manufacturer when competing against category leaders such as Apple and Google’s Motorola.

For the consumer segment, RIM is at the mercy of its competitors. It needs to play within the existing framework of innovations such as the App Store and Android Market. RIM should take every positive feature from BlackBerry OS and develop each as third party apps for Android and iOS devices or, if its competitors allow, through licensing partnerships with Apple and Google integrated into their respective operating systems.

And to survive, RIM should focus the majority of time its time on keeping corporate users. Everyone knows that corporate sales is RIM’s real bread and butter. It needs to bundle its corporate segment strengths (security, encryption, and service reliability) to offer a compelling product. An offering that needs to seamlessly integrate with existing corporate IT infrastructures, but that is flexible enough to cope with the dynamic new services of the twenty-first century that will undoubtably deliver real business value.

The real question is, has the boat sunk? Is it too late?

Like a consumer market, you must segment your tweets. Your twitter stream should be a vocal embodiment of each segment you’re trying to target. Take the brand personality that you’ve had locked up for ages—and give it a use.

Not exactly my favorite saying when I’m driving to your office. Cancellations (and life, in general) happen, and I get that. But what I don’t get is when I’m picking up my colleagues and about to drive to your office, you cancel on my thirty minutes before our meeting.

Professional decency. Where did it go?