Few of us are flying first class anymore, but planning ahead and expecting the unexpected can make traveling with kids more palatable than Mr. Benchley might have imagined

Start by remembering all the problems that made past flights less than pleasurable for you and your child and think of remedies for those issues this time. You can’t control delays and annoyances, but you can put sufficient toys, snacks, and money in your carry-on to turn an unscheduled layover into tolerable together time.

Here are some hints to make plane travel easier on the wee ones.

Book Early for Best Selection

Airports are booooring. And if waiting around in them makes you cranky, it’s going to be worse for your child. Although they’re more expensive, nonstops are less stressful and time-consuming. And re4member, connecting flights require getting off a plane and spending time in another airport before boarding the next flight. Any delays can mean a mad dash to the next gate at best and missed connections with long layovers at worst.

Talk about Things

Explain things ahead of time. Even if your child has flown before, explaining each stage of the process and flight will allay any anxieties. Make sure young children realize that there will be bumpiness and engine noises so they don’t get scared. If practical, visit the airport ahead of time so that part of the trip is familiar at least.

Comfort Is the Goal

Let your kids wear comfortable play clothes and don’t forget to pack extra clothes in the carry-on, especially when traveling with toddlers. Airplanes tend to be cold and airline blankets are fast disappearing. Make sure all children have a sweater or jacket at their seat.

Stick Together

If your airline offers reserved seating, it will be worth an extra fee to keep your kids with you tfor reassurance or refereeing. Cutting costs by skipping sear reservation can be disastrous for parents traveling with small children.

Safety and Security

Children who require car seats will be safest (and probably more comfortable) using their seats on the plane. But remember, the car seat or harness must contain a label indicating it is approved by the FAA for air travel.

Children and all children’s items — including strollers, diaper bags and toys — must go through TSA screening. Equipment such as folded strollers small enough to pass through the X-ray machine must be placed on the belt.

Babies and children must be removed from strollers or infant carriers before passing through the walk-through metal detector at the security checkpoint. Toddlers old enough to walk unassisted should walk through detectors on their own.

Breast milk, juice, formula and medications are allowed on flights in reasonable qualities, even if they exceed the usual 3.4 ounce limit for liquids. These items must be declared at the security checkpoint.

Air pressure changes during takeoff and landing can cause ear pain in babies and young children. Bottle or breastfeeding babies or providing a pacifier to encourage swallowing may help the ears adjust to air pressure changes. Sucking on lollipops or eating crackers encourages toddlers to swallow, while older children may find relief by chewing gum.

Your forethought and planning can help your kids have the last laugh on Mr. Benchley.

Travelers have raised privacy concerns about the possibility that “naked” images from the machines may be too revealing when viewed by security personnel and even more that these images may be saved with identifying data that might be obtained by unauthorized individuals.

Manufacturers have indicated that new software upgrades will deliver a generic cartoon-type avatar rather than an actual image of the individual passenger’s body. The new display would mark sections of a person’s body that need to be checked.
The Transportation Security Administration will add the software to its machines, 194 of which are in use at 51 U.S. airports with 28 more scheduled to receive the units in the second half of 2010. It is hoped that the revisions will address most privacy concerns, although some passengers worry that the original images may be saved and could be obtained by unauthorized persons.

TSA considers the use of full-body imaging voluntary, but says that passengers who refuse to be scanned may be frisked by U.S. security employees. The agency said that passengers offered the choice of the scanner or alternate screening such as a pat-down, chose scanning in more than 98 percent of cases.

Currently, a TSA employee in a separate room monitors the images to prevent passengers and other security workers at the checkpoint from viewing the full-body image that sees through undergarments. The software upgrade would replace the images with an avatar and alert authorities to a potential hidden threat, which officials believe will eliminate the need to keep the employee in a remote room. This would reduce personnel costs considerably.

However, others have expressed concern that the machinery may subject them to dangerous levels of radiation. Although manufacturers say the amount is very low, worries persist that scanners might malfunction and emit more radiation than they are supposed to, as well as what the health effects may be for frequent travelers submitted to multiple scans over time. Some medical experts also worry that insufficient consideration has been given to potential risks for certain segments of the population, particularly children, pregnant women, cancer patients and those sensitive to radiation.

Daniel Kassiday, an FDA. radiation official who was co-chairman of the committee that created the standard for the machines, said an individual could receive up to 1,000 screenings a year before reaching recommended annual limits for this type of radiation exposure.

New equipment is being developed to detect explosives in water bottles, toothpaste tubes, and other containers will be installed at most airport security checkpoints by 2012, allowing restrictions on boarding flights with creams, gels and liquids to be lifted. This security measure took effect in 2006 after British agencies detected a transatlantic plot to detonate liquid explosives aboard airliners flying to Canada and the United States.

Here’s http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/2009/10/13/Travel_Si_Liberman_Flu.html

an article by Si Liberman in the Palm Beach Daily News about travel industry efforts to limit passenger exposure to the H1N1 influenze strain (Swine Flu).

Ms. Baskas offers these five tips for sending your kids alone on a plane.

1. Evaluate whether your child is ready to travel alone. Honestly assess your child’s life skills and maturity. Some nine-year-olds may be very self-reliant; some 12-year-olds may be too naive or dependent. Every child develops at her/his own rate. If your child is shy and uncomfortable speaking up, then they probably shouldn’t be traveling alone.

2. Prepare your child for the whole journey. Your child will need the right tools: snacks, spending money, extra layers of clothing, entertainment, and a cell phone or calling card with a list of contact and emergency numbers. Instructions and advice are important too. Talk with your child about how to request a seat change if uncomfortable with a row mate. And remind your child not to tell strangers any personal information. Make sure your child knows what to expect on the plane — from the dings and the announcements to the fact that they’ll be required to turn off games and other electronic devices during take-off and landing.

3. Provide your child with back-up at both ends of the trip. Guardians are allowed to escort a child flying alone through security and out to their gate, but you need to make sure you arrive at the airport early enough to fill out the paperwork and make your way through the security checkpoint together. Don’t rush off once your child boards the plane — stay in the gate area until that flight leaves the ground and is well on its way. If the plane returns to the gate for a mechanical problem or weather delay, you’ll want to be there to reassure your child. The same advice applies at the other end: make sure the person picking up your child knows what’s expected of them and is at the airport well ahead of the airplane’s scheduled arrival.

4. Simplify the trip for your child. Avoid booking your child on the last flight of the day; if that flight gets delayed, your child could be stranded at the airport overnight. Whenever possible, book your child only on direct and non-stop flights. Any extra cost or extra driving to a more distant airport for a direct flight is worth it to ensure your child’s peace of mind – and your own.

5. Don’t expect airline staff to be responsible for your child. Gate attendants and flight attendants have plenty of duties to perform and can’t devote them selves to one passenger, no matter how young. They aren’t day care providers.

Keep in mind that tickets for unaccompanied minors are more expensive. While Southwest Airlines recently began charging $25 to send children ages 5 to 11 years old on non-stop on direct flights , most other airlines levy fees between $50 and $100. But there may be rule wrinkles that work in your favor. On Alaska and United, for example, one unaccompanied minor fee covers up to three siblings traveling together. On American Airlines, some checked bag fees are waived when an unaccompanied minor fee is paid.