Headed to the airport for a family vacation this summer? Take a little time to brush up on your defensive traveling skills.

Flying has become work. My motto: no surprises. The last place you want is to be in line at the airport frantically trying to pitch things out of your checked bags to avoid a fee for overweight baggage. The only thing worse might be to buckle in and then find out that you'll be flying foodless for much longer than you thought because your plane's takeoff has been delayed.

Airport changes

How early should you arrive at the airport for your flight? Sea-Tac officials still recommend two hours. You can skate by in less time if you've printed out your boarding pass from home and aren't checking luggage, but with thousands of cruise-ship passengers moving through Sea-Tac this summer, it's wise to give yourself extra time.

See www.portseattle.org/seatac for everything you'll need to know about Sea-Tac parking, security, food availability, etc.

The Port of Seattle recently converted the sky-bridge level — the fourth floor of the airport garage leading directly into the main terminal — from daily to hourly parking, handier for picking up or dropping off passengers.

Airport restaurants and cafés have finally adjusted opening hours to early-morning travel schedules. Coffee and snacks are available inside Sea-Tac gate areas starting at 4 a.m. at the Starbucks in Concourse B. Breakfast is served beginning at 5 a.m. at all of the restaurants in the new Pacific Marketplace inside security in the central terminal area.

As the airlines struggle to cut costs, they are eliminating everything from pretzels to magazines and introducing surcharges for services that used to be free.

The latest is a fee for curbside baggage check-in. At Sea-Tac, Alaska, United and American Airlines have begun charging $2 per bag for the service. Skycaps still expect a tip.

Security

Ignorance is no excuse for mistakenly leaving your grandfather's antique pocket knife stashed in the bottom of your backpack after a camping trip.

See the Transportation Safety Administration's (TSA) Web site at www.tsa.gov (go to "Travelers and Consumers") for a list of what you can and can't carry aboard. Cigarette lighters are the latest item to be banned in carry-on and checked luggage. In a concession to collectors, the TSA recently modified the rule to allow empty lighters.

Heightened security rules call for removing your coat and shoes before passing through the metal detectors. If you're selected for a secondary screening, you'll get a pat-down by a TSA screener, who will also swab your carry-ons with explosive trace detectors.

Toward the end of this year, 40 of the nation's busiest airports (Sea-Tac is 16th) are expected to have machines in place at security checkpoints that will reduce the number of physical pat-downs.

The walk-through devices — called puffer machines because they blow puffs of air on passengers — collect and analyze the air for trace amounts of explosives on hair, skin or clothing. Only those selected for secondary screening will have to pass through the machines.

To lock or not

Many passengers are still confused about the rules on leaving checked luggage unlocked.

"Absolutely, they don't have to leave it unlocked," says TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin, even though airlines have signs posted at check-in counters asking passengers to do so.

It comes down to weighing the risks of having something either stolen or placed in your bag (bigger, I think, if you're going through a foreign airport where the bags coming from the United States are seen as easy pickings) against having your lock broken open by a screener.

Inspectors open some bags as part of the screening process, and if necessary, they will break a lock.

One alternative is to use a TSA-recognized lock that screeners can open with a special tool. These are available nearly everywhere that sells luggage and travel supplies. However, some travelers have reported that not all TSA agents recognize the locks and break them open anyway.

It's never a good idea to pack valuables such as cameras, cellphones, laptops or expensive jewelry in checked bags. Both the airlines and TSA limit reimbursement amounts, and the process for sorting out who's responsible and making claims is a hassle. Put these items in your carry-on instead.

Airline fees

Airlines have raised fees and tightened rules for excess baggage and bags that exceed weight limits. Policies vary among carriers. Avoid surprises by checking with your airline.

Most limit checked luggage on domestic flights to two pieces, no heavier than 50 pounds each (70 for international flights).

If a bag is both oversize and overweight, Delta charges twice, $25-$80 for bags that exceed weight limits and $80 for bags bigger than 62 inches across. Alaska charges the higher of the two fees if a bag is both oversize and overweight. With a few exceptions, British Airways no longer accepts any single item of baggage that weighs more than 70 pounds.

When it comes to food, policies also vary, but most airlines have eliminated meals in coach. Delta still passes out free snack packs on longer flights, but Northwest gives away nothing, and recently eliminated free pretzels to save $2 million a year.

Bring your own snacks or lunch and prepare for emergencies such as flight delays or getting stuck on the runway.

Airline restaurants are packaging everything from sushi to salads in take-out containers. Soft drinks and water are still free, but most airlines have bumped the price of alcoholic drinks to $5.

Sending a child alone on a flight will cost extra. Delta's fee for children ages 5-14 unaccompanied by an adult to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda is $50 ($75 if there's a connection on another airline) and $60-$90 each way for other international destinations.

Alaska charges $30 each way ($60 for connecting flights). Continental charges $50 one way for nonstops, $75 for connections ($60 and $90 for international flights). Note that airlines often waive the fees for members of their elite mileage plans.

When it comes to infants, most airlines won't require you to buy a seat for children under 2, but that doesn't mean the child will fly free. Infants don't need tickets for domestic flights, but they do for international destinations, which cost extra.

Delta says its fare for a lap child is approximately 10 percent of the adult fare on international flights. Continental's policy calls for collecting international taxes for all destinations outside the United States. Alaska has a $6 immigration fee applicable for infants traveling from either Canada or Mexico. Lap infants traveling to an international destination are ticketed at 10 percent of the accompanying adult's fare.

Carol Pucci's Travel Wise column runs the last Sunday of the month in the Travel section. Comments are welcome. Contact her at 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com .