Six Christmas dreams for travelers in 2026

Since it’s time for Christmas dreams – or other holidays – here are six best wishes for frequent and infrequent travelers for 2026.

Dear Santa…. Can you make these Christmas dreams come true?

Better communication with airlines.

Things happen, and sometimes things happen at the last minute that airlines don’t expect. But as boarding time approaches, running to the gate and then seeing, for example, that the incoming flight has not arrived, or that the bus has arrived and is beginning to take off, is absolutely insane. Or to find out the crew hasn’t been arriving for some time.

Then, things happen! However, when an airline knows full well there will be a delay, why not tell passengers? Many of us may shy away from crowded places, leave a lounge or restaurant earlier than planned, or even skip buying food for fear of being late.

Finding out that an airline is not honest makes a bad situation worse. It is also disturbing when departure time has passed or an aircraft is sitting on the runway and there is silence from the crew. Even a simple, “There’s a delay in filling the vacancy and we’re not sure but we’ll keep you posted,” makes a difference.

Honesty from airlines about upgrades, especially “complimentary upgrades.”

As in, most of the time they’re not going to happen. Airlines like to promote upgrades as one of the benefits of elite status. However, this is still a long shot when redeeming frequent traveler miles or points, especially if a hub or popular route is involved. Personally, as a travel agent I know several 1k level flyers with United from SFO, Dulles, Newark, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and every single one of them is complaining about their upgrades expiring this year. And as far as “complimentary” upgrades go, I can’t remember the last time I saw any of those confirmed. (Travel agents get a message when their customers are upgraded. Now, reportedly, if you fly from an airport with very few United regular customers, like Sioux Falls or Bozeman, your chances are better. And the same is true for other major carriers at their main airports.

I get that airlines want to make maximum profit and sell seats, but even at the airport they often play the game of selling discount upgrades at the last minute. This practice infuriates frequent travelers who are at the top of the waiting list.

Recognizing that “no change fee” means no penalty on top of the potential fare difference.

Frequent travelers often, but not always, know this. But airlines, not just Southwest, proudly tout the lack of change fees in advertising, while not saying, even in the fine print, that even with flights that are not full, the discount you get could be double or triple the price. You will still have to pay the difference for confirmed change. This puts airline employees and travel agents in the unfortunate position of becoming the bearers of bad news.

Eliminating “carrier surcharge”.

As I’ve written, these surcharges – airlines don’t even pretend they are fuel surcharges – are in many ways worse than resort fees. They are very important and non-discountable. Fares for recently issued tickets from Europe for a family visiting parents/grandparents were $463, with a surcharge of $270. The surcharge on business class tickets to/from Europe is $1,900 at the time of writing. Even kids pay the same amount, and in some cases, airlines charge a surcharge on “free” mileage awards.

We travelers should be nice to each other.

Despite all the stresses of travel and increasing automation, human interaction can still be one of the best parts of travel – from the consumer side – whether it’s offering to help a fellow traveler with carry-on bags, or getting along well with flight crew, travel agents, airline reservations and gate agents, etc., as well as hotel staff. Yes, sometimes you can leave a tip, or a large tip, for the hotel maids. Being nice makes a difference.

In the end, everything’s fun! And thanks for reading my posts this year.

Also read:
Allow comparison of airline prices and ancillary fees across different airlines
Top Hotel Features That Travelers Really Want When Choosing Accommodation