Is there any way to these long 'terminal' delays at the airport? Now there are Web services to steer you clear of wasted travel time.

Dr. John Sullivan has no time to spare hanging around in some airport.

Dr. Sullivan says he tries "to minimize how many flights I'm on and do direct flight. Cost is always a factor, but I also want to get from A to B as quickly as possible."

He has all sorts of tricks to avoid travel delays, like leaving at the crack of dawn or making sure there are multiple flights going his way. Dr. Sullivan also uses a travel alert service which sends a message to his PDA.

Travel expert 'Johnny Jet' John Di Scala says travel alerts are a godsend during these bumpy travel times: "Last week I was in Florida at the gate, and my flight was delayed and I would show the gate agent, look this flight is delayed another 30 minutes. I was getting the information before they were."

Some Web sites monitor weather or give you a bird's eye view of your plane in the air. Others will send a 'travel delay' message to your PDA or cell phone. Check for service fees, but remember, Di Scala says the accuracy is about the same as the airlines, because it's all from the same place.

"Flight delay information is all up to the flight controller. They put in the information and the moment they put it in, it's accurate," Di Scala says.

Dr. Sullivan thinks getting an alert when you're on the road is a distinct advantage because the earlier you know, the better your chances of re-booking.

Fees for many of the services are less than five dollars a month.