Know your airport’s code.
It’s easy for luggage-destination tags to get mixed up at a curbside check-in. Learn the three-letter airport code for your destination and make sure your skycap labels the bag properly. The codes aren’t always easy. For example, New Orleans’s Louis Armstrong Airport is MSY, so check the list at www.airport-technology.com, especially if the city you’re going to has more than one airport.

Ask about your options.
Many airport waits can be made more enjoyable by asking insiders for advice. Stuck with your children at Boston’s Logan Airport? You can go to terminal C, where a baggage carousel–style slide anchors a play area. Tired of the same old food-court choices? In the Austin, Texas, airport, make a beeline for Salt Lick — it serves up some of the state’s best barbecue.

Exercise caution in duty-free shops.
Not everything in duty-free is a bargain. Find out what the item costs in your local department store first. And consider the three-ounce rule when stocking up on things like alcohol and olive oil. If you are transferring to another domestic flight after clearing customs in the United States, you’ll have to put your liquid duty-free purchases in a checked bag. And if you don’t have room in your suitcase, you’ll have to leave that big bottle of olive oil behind.

Spring for an afternoon in the lounge.
For a fee — usually about $50 a day, which you can pay on the spot — you can take advantage of the drinks, snacks, uncrowded bathrooms, and comfy chairs at most airline club lounges.