What Makes Your Least Favorite Airport So Awful?

We've heard about the trouble with snow globes. And wrapped gifts. And even big hairdos. And when I checked in at Washington DC's Reagan National Airport last weekend, I probably should have known I was setting myself up for scrutiny. After all, our story "7 Surprising Items That Set Off Airport Security" pointed out that even the tiniest bit of gum-wrapper foil wadded up in a pocket can set off airport metal detectors. And yet, it never occurred to me that my snazzy gold sweater—shot through with lurex threads—would earn me a TSA patdown. "Cute top, but not airport friendly," the TSA agent said as she searched me for weapons. Apparently, the metallicized thread in the sweater yarn was making the scanner go crazy. That got me thinking about all the other ways a festive holiday sweater could cause a travel delay: jingle bells dangling from Rudolph's harness, tiny metal ornaments, and the worst offender of all—battery-powered mini-lights strung on an intarsia Christmas tree. Okay, so probably no savvy Budget Travel reader would be silly enough to try to fly in a battery-powered sweater, but gold threads? An easy mistake to make—and lucky for you, reader, one that I've made for you. Have you ever been singled out for a similarly silly-seeming reason? What are the most surprising things you've been pulled aside for by the TSA? SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: 8 Most Common Air Travel Snafus Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2012 8 Items You Never Pack...But Should

London's Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest international airport, but it's too full and it can't grow any further. Protests by local residents have prevented an additional runway and terminal from being built. Rival airport Gatwick faces a similar problem. So, government officials have turned their eye south to the idea of building a brand new airport where no local residents can possibly protest it—in the middle of the Thames Estuary. Earlier this month, the plan for a new airport was unveiled to the public by famous British architect Norman Foster. The Thames Hub would be set on an island near the mouth of the Thames River. It would be connected to the city by a $10 billion "orbital shuttle train," says the Times of London. The airport could be partly financed by private investment or international sovereign wealth funds, claim officials. This weekend, the Financial Times reported that the idea of building an alternative hub airport south of London has won support from key players: Chancellor George Osbourne (who oversees the British Treasury), the new Transport Secretary Justine Greening, and the prime minister's main policy advisor Steve Hilton. The mayor of London Boris Johnson has been advocating for a new airport since he released a report in January saying the city's economic future depends on such expansion. Air passenger numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years, and British officials worry that airlines may re-route their flights to rival, larger airports, such as Schiphol in Amsterdam, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Frankfurt am Main, and Dubai International. Unlike these airports, Heathrow has not been expanded since it was first built in 1946. Its two runways already operate at 98 percent of capacity on the typical day. Britain isn't the first to consider moving its main transit hub to a larger airport. Moving a hub airport is something other cities, such as Milan, Hong Kong, Paris, and Tokyo, have done successfully. Governments have talked of expanding London's airport capacity since the 1960s, though. The debate is likely to continue for another couple of years before a final decision. So travelers shouldn't expect relief any year soon. What do you think about Heathrow? Does it deserve replacing? SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL London: Heathrow Airport Debuts Driverless Pods Avoid Heathrow! Pod Hotel Lands at Heathrow

Window, aisle or middle? Countless fliers have faced that age-old question, the answer to which could have serious implications for the enjoyment of any flight. A collection of online tools and apps is now helping passengers settle the issue once and for all. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('47422524-2ba5-4fb1-9cb7-3d939d8a6a96');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) The question of seating is actually quite complicated. Aside from the three classic options, there are exit–row seats, bulkhead seats, seats located in the proximity of restrooms, plus physical differences in the seats themselves. If you’re a seasoned flier, you may well have all these variables committed to memory already. Unfortunately, what you can’t control is your fellow passengers, and by the time you scour an airline’s online seating chart for your beloved aft/aisle/exit row throne, some rube may have snagged that very seat without even knowing that he’s in possession of the gold standard. What’s a discerning flier to do? With ExpertFlyer's new Seat Alerts, you might still have a chance at reclaiming your rightful place. ExpertFlyer allows you to search the seating map for an upcoming flight and set up a Seat Alert for any seat (or range of seats) you wish. If that seat opens up before the flight, ExpertFlyer will send you an email notification of the vacancy so that you can contact the airline and change your seating arrangement. (Beware of additional airline fees for doing so.) With a free ExpertFlyer account, travelers can set up one Seat Alert at a time. Additional Alerts cost $.99 each, or users can purchase monthly Basic ($4.99) or Premium ($9.99) accounts that allow up to thirty alerts plus lots of other features. But what if you don’t know a bulkhead from a bassinet seat? There are tools for that, too. Paid ExpertFlyer accounts come complete with reviews and ratings from SeatGuru, permitting even beginners to the cutthroat world of airline seating to figure out which seats are best for a given flight. SeatGuru not only provides free color-coded seating maps, but also detailed comments on leg room and degrees of recline. SeatGuru is the venerable king of the airline–seating industry—it launched back in 2001—but there are newcomers challenging the crown. Seat Authority, a $2.99 iPhone app, gives fliers similar information in a handy portable package. Aside from over a hundred seat maps, Seat Authority provides photos of the seats in question and all the necessary comfort metrics: width, seat pitch, and recline. For ease of use, the recently launched Jets iPhone app is hard to beat. Jets displays crisp seating maps from its database of flights, and lets users select specific seats to get the pros and cons of each. Even the most inexperienced flier can develop an understanding of seating dynamics from Jets’ clean graphical interface, and at $2.99, the app costs the same as Seat Authority. Both are a cheap price to pay for the assurance that you won’t end up wedged against a bulkhead or suffering from the foot traffic—and aromatics—of a nearby restroom. Are you that uncommon flier who prefers the middle seat, or does the aisle or window win you over? Vote in our poll and explain your answers in the comments below. —Ryan Murphy MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Would you fly more frequently if airplane seats were more comfortable? The Ultimate Guide to Travel Apps 10 Most Useful Travel Websites

Holiday lights and decorations brighten up cities and towns, but capturing those images can be tricky. Or at least, it can be tricky to get your family to look good in them. Improve your shots in a snap with our five tips, gleaned from travel photographers and Budget Travel readers. Frame the photo, and then "insert" your subjects Most people do the opposite, driving their families crazy while they stand waiting. In other words, when trying to get a photo of your family with, say, the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., frame the tree first. Then have your family step into the frame, as it were, and stand close together. Get closer. As Life magazine and Magnum photographer Robert Capa once said, "If the pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.'" Be silly. Before you say "Cheese!" look up from the camera and say something silly to your subjects. The distraction of looking at your face and responding to what you're saying will relax their faces and often loosen up their frozen grins. You can snap the photo without looking through the view finder. Consider setting your camera to a "quick shot," rapid-fire setting that takes multiple photos at once. That will boost your chances of getting a shot with everyone wearing easy smiles. Have your subjects wear bright clothes. Blacks, whites, and greys may look nice to the naked eye—especially to trendy residents of New York City and L.A., ha ha—but bright colors, such as red, yellow, and orange, "pop" in pictures. Brighten your wardrobe with a colorful hat, scarf, or sweater, and your pictures will brighten up, too. Shoot at golden hour, for outdoor shots. Namely, dusk and dawn. For sites to help you figure out when golden hour will strike at your destination, try golden-hour.com or Twilight Calculator. (For details, see our previous blog post "Tools to find the "Golden Hour".) SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Readers' Best Winter Photos How to Take Better Food Photos How to Take Better Sunset Photos