A new post by the Orbitz Insider Index has just announced the busiest airports for Thanksgiving, with Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver taking the top three spots. Interestingly enough, New York-area airports ranked 7-9, narrowly beating Seattle which squeezed itself into the number 10 spot.

Where to expect the smallest crowds? Check out San Jose, CA, followed by Nashville and then Richmond, VA.

But, regardless of your departure site and/or destination, there are some friendly and useful tips that just may make your holiday travel a little bit easier.

Go small and flexible

You will find that planning in advance can make all the difference. One thing to think about before buying those tickets is whether or not you can fly out of smaller, alternative airports. Typically, these usually commuter-based hubs are much easier to navigate and less crowded. For example, if you are traveling in or out of New York, consider White Plains Westchester County Airport (HPN). Heading into or out of Los Angeles? Check out the scene in Burbank (BUR) or Orange County (SNA). Sure, tickets in or out of these airports tend to be in a higher price range, but you never know. Besides, sometimes time and aggravation outweigh all costs.

Save time

If at all possible, use online check-in. You will instantly bypass half the line-time. Print your boarding pass at home, and have them (and your ID) ready as you approach the security line. Most major airports now offer easy-to-use baggage check kiosks if you are traveling with luggage.

Stay informed

Check the status of your flight before you leave for the airport, as well as traffic conditions en route. There are a multitude of online and mobile tools that offer free flight status updates for your PDA or mobile phone. Also, most airlines offer real-time flight stats on their websites.

Also, staying informed means staying safe. Airport security can be a daunting endeavor -  Keep anything and everything you need to show airport security such as ID, boarding passes, liquids in a zip-top bag, or medication, in a separate compartment of your carry-on bag. Digging for these items once you get to the front of the security line will cause delays and certainly not make you any friends.

Get going

So, what are you waiting for? Lock-in early-bird rates before they hit the roof. Now that you got these key points in mind, nothing can stop you. Travel speedy, and have a great holiday season!

Smartphone applications developer Mobomo announced the new offering for the Apple iPhone 3.0 OS, called TrafficTweet, to provide a powerful yet easy way to view, search and “tweet” real-time traffic conditions in any U.S. city. The app relies on public Twitter feed populated with real-time traffic data from the Twitter community.

“Time after time existing traffic reporting services show a highway to be all clear, yet drivers hop on the highway to find it completely jammed because the data is delayed,” said Barg Upender, founder of Mobomo. “TrafficTweet makes it dead simple for iPhone users to tweet and search for local traffic conditions in real time – bringing the days of unexpected and unpleasant surprises on the road to an end.”

Upender, most recently a founding partner with Intridea, an innovative web development company, is a serial entrepreneur and technologist with 20 years of experience in commercial software product development. He was recently selected by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Top 100 Tech Titans for 2009, and is an alumnus of the prestigious MindShare CEO network based in the DC-metro area.

A unique advantage on the road

While most other smartphone traffic apps rely on collecting proprietary data and require driver-generated information to roll-out service in each market, TrafficTweet utilizes a more social, community approach. The app basically reads a public Twitter feed so that drivers are not limited to data for road conditions on major arteries in major cities. And while other Traffic apps track drivers’ whereabouts at all times once the user agrees to terms & conditions, TrafficTweet users choose when and where they want to report their location and road conditions.

“With the click of a single button, TrafficTweet is really the first way for drivers to, in effect, let off some steam about driving conditions in an easy, safe and productive way that allows other drivers to benefit from real-time updates tweeted by the community,” adds Upender. “And by leveraging the Twitter platform so drivers can report conditions of any road or region – no matter how rural – TrafficTweet is truly global from day one.”

Key features of TrafficTweet

• Embedded Google Maps provide a quick snapshot of all traffic alerts on nearby highways and roads
• Drivers report current road conditions (traffic accidents, lane closures, speed traps and other alerts) to others via Twitter on an interactive map
• Color-coded icons provide drivers with instant and easy-to-decipher feedback, while “One-Click Driver Reporting” eliminates driver texting

The TrafficTweet iPhone application is currently available for download in the Apple iTunes App Store at a cost of $0.99 for a limited time.