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Smooth Flights: 30 Air Travel Do’s And Don’ts To Keep In Mind
Traveling is a thing everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. It offers you heaps of great emotions and fills you up with memories that you're bound to cherish till the end of your sweet days.
You get to learn about different countries and people's cultures, meet great companions, and try all the mouth-watering foods of our world.
However, the actual travel process can be rather stress-inducing. The packing, a dreadfully long wait at the airport, and what seem like endless security checks – and don't forget the unforeseen circumstances – these things are not fun for most.
But worry no more – a couple of netizens turned to one of Reddit’s communities, wondering what handy tricks and etiquette rules there are to bear in mind before heading off on your next adventure. The questions were directed to frequent flyers; they received up to 29K upvotes and got showered with helpful comments discussing the ins and outs of air travel.
More info: Reddit 1 | Reddit 2 | Reddit 3
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#2
Make Sure To Pet The Plane Before You Get On
Make sure to pet the plane right before you get on and tell it that it is a good plane. I do that every time and the plane never crashes.
#3
Take A Picture Of Your Passport And Luggage
1. Take a picture of your passport. Keep a copy on your phone and a hardcopy in your luggage. 2. Take a picture of your luggage. If it is lost, showing the picture to the lost luggage person helps a lot.
#4
If A Person Has Headphones On, Don't Try To Make Small Talk
This one is pretty general, but from experience I guess it still needs saying: If a person has headphones on, earbuds in, *whatever,* don't try to make small talk. It's nothing personal, but some people have really long days at airports (Can't tell you how many red-eyes I've caught after waiting standby all day) and just *don't want to talk*. Follow-up, for the flip side of this instance: If you're listening to music, be reasonable about the volume. The people around you shouldn't be able to hear your tunes.
#5
If You Have Time To [end], Find The Area In Baggage Claim Where Pets Are Reunited With Their Owners
![If You Have Time To [end], Find The Area In Baggage Claim Where Pets Are Reunited With Their Owners](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2-62cbdebb19cec__700.jpg "If You Have Time To [end], Find The Area In Baggage Claim Where Pets Are Reunited With Their Owners")
If you have a lot of time to [end], find the area in baggage claim where pets are reunited with their owners. It's a blast watching those dogs get out of their carriers, and they all behave differently.
#6
Make Sure To Check Behind You Before You Throw Your Seat Back
I’ve flown over a million miles so hopefully this helps. Make sure to check behind you before you throw your seat back when reclining, the overhead bins are shared spaces, if you have a backpack it’s best under the seat in front of you to save room in the overhead. The person in the window seat gets the wall and an arrest, the middle person gets two armrests, the aisle person gets a little extra leg room and an armrest. Treat your flight attendants with respect. Most of all flying is inherently miserable so don’t be a d**k.
#7
Don’t Put Your Armrests Up If Your Neighbor Asks You To
Late to the discussion, but... If you're a smaller person and a large person sits next to you, do not say "yes" if they ask to put up the arm rest between you. I feel a little bad for them because they are crammed into a small seat, but the most miserable flight I've ever had was having 1/3 of my seat taken by another person.
#8
Don’t Stand Up As Soon As The Plane Lands
Once the plane lands and the seatbelt sign is switched off, just...chill. Stay comfortably in your seat until people start exiting the plane. There is no point standing with your head hitting the overhead locker for five minutes - it's not going to get you off any sooner.
#9
Bring An Empty Bottle Through Security And Fill It Up Inside The Terminal
You can't bring a bottle of water through security, but you can bring an empty bottle through security and fill it up once you are inside the terminal.
#10
Don’t Crowd Up The Gate When It’s Not Your Turn
Quit crowding the f*****g gate when it's not your turn. Your seat will be there.. Unless you're on southwest then stand where you belong. Edit: in order to answer the question-- to improve your gate experience, and the experience of those around you, wait for your turn instead of crowding the gate. Really bumps up your experience from s***ty to almost s***ty
#11
Pack Medicine And Extra Clothes In Your Carry-On
Not a frequent flyer but in my experience frequent flyers say try not check bags if you can help it. If you have to, try to have medicines and a change of clothes in your carry on if they lose your checked bag
#12
Always Check The Location Of The Gate To Avoid Missing Your Flight
It doesn't matter how much time you think you have before your flight, find your gate first, and confirm it is the right one for your flight. Then, set an an alarm on your phone to give you plenty of time to get back in time to board. Missing your flight because you don't realize how far away your gate is will be a mistake you only make once, but better to not make at all.
#13
Take Early Morning Flights If Possible
Early morning flights FTW — a lot less can go wrong with the first flight of the day, that plane is typically there overnight so you aren’t waiting on crew or equipment. Security lines are shorter. Traffic to the airport [is bad] less. Reclining, especially in steerage, is a moral failing and should be avoided at all costs.
#14
When The Boarding Process Begins, Don’t Rush To Queue
When they start the boarding process, you don't have to stand up and queue. It usually takes a long time and you have a seat assigned to you anyway, so relax a bit more before your flight.
#15
People Should Get Out Of Their Seats By Alternating Rows
For the love of god, if everyone could learn that people should get out of their seat by alternating rows, de-boarding would be so much easier.
#16
Tuck A Blanket Under Yourself To Hold Your Legs Together, It’ll Allow You To Relax Without Bumping Into Your Neighbors
If you get stuck in a middle seat, you can put a coat or blanket over your legs and tuck it under you to hold your legs relatively close together. This will allow you to fully relax your leg muscles without bumping into your neighbors.
#17
Take A Bus 3 Hours Prior To Your Flight
If you are taking a bus to the airport, and there is one that gets there 3 hours before your flight, and one that gets there half an hour before your flight. Take the one that's there 3 hours before and just have time to relax, and you don't have to worry about your bus being late/stuck in traffic.
#18
Drink A Ton Of Water Before A Long-Haul Flight
I learned the hard way my first time flying overseas: drink a s**t ton of water while you're waiting on your layover. Just bring an empty canteen or aluminum water bottle to fill up at fountains. I know you don't want to get up to pee all the time, but on a long haul flight you'll get sick, bloated, headachey, and dried out if you don't hydrate. Drink up. You'll thank me later.
#20
Screenshot Your Boarding Pass And Keep Your Id In Your Front Pocket
Screenshot your boarding pass and keep your ID in your front pocket makes security as simple as possible. EVERYTHING goes in your bag before you even get in line (wallet, keys, belt, shoes). Edit: Turn the brightness on your phone ALL THE WAY UP when presenting your boarding pass in security lines or when you board the plane. Lock the orientation on your phone, with the QR code open, and place your phone about a foot above the scanner. Push the phone down onto the glass scanner, and then raise it back up. This is the best way to scan that QR code... those scanners can be finicky.
#21
Pack Half The Clothes And Take Twice The Money
Pack half the clothes and twice the money. If you have to check a bag, keep changes of underwear with you in your carry-on. Over-the-ear headphones are much more comfortable for long haul flights than on-ear or buds. Start doing stretches to limber up your hips and back a few weeks before a long flight. Don't use public wifi. If you have to, use a VPN.
#22
Don’t Assume Everyone Of The Same Race As The Majority In That Country Is From That Country
Don’t be a [jerk] and assume everyone who’s the same race as the majority in that country is from that country. (My mother tried talking to a guy in Japanese, and he was like “dafaq? I’m from Canada “)
#23
Take A Reusable Water Bottle And A Kool-Aid Concentrate
My personal favorite is taking a sturdy, empty, reusable water bottle and a bottle of Koolaid/Mio/etc concentrate. That way you have something yummy to drink, the concentrate is small enough to get through TSA, and you're not paying for expensive drinks past security.
#24
Take Notes From “Up In The Air”
There's a clip in the film Up In The Air where George Clooney basically profiles the respective people in the security line. Watch it; everything he touches on is correct. Then choose your line accordingly - tl;dr = line up with business travellers.
#25
Do Not Stop In The Red Zone
The white zone is for loading and unloading only.. Do NOT stop in the red zone
#26
Prepare To Lose Your Luggage, It Will Happen Eventually
1. You will lose luggage eventually. Be ready for that by having cash and essentials for overnight on your person. 2. If the overhead bins are completely full, they'll usually check your bag free. So no need to worry about rushing the door before your group is called. Chill out. Wait for your group. You'll be fine. 3. Netflix episodes can be downloaded to watch offline. Great for when there's no in flight wifi.
#27
Take The Stuff Out Of Your Pockets Before Getting To The Security Checkpoint
Take all that stuff out of your pockets before you get to the security checkpoint and put it in a small compartment on your carry-on. Now you have one less thing to juggle while trying to keep your belts-less pants up after going through the x-ray machine.
#28
Study The Terminal Maps Before You Get To A Connecting Airport
Study the terminal maps before you get to a connecting airport. Knowing where you're going - especially with limited time to make a connecting flight - is a godsend.
#29
Check What The Airport You’re Going To Has To Offer
After traveling to the same cities multiple times, I make sure to know what each airport has to offer in case I have extra time there. For instance, Portland has a great little free theater with local short films. Many airports have massage places. Midway has a free use yoga studio. Sitting around being bored is for suckers.
#30
Adjust Your Armrests To Get More Space
There's a little latch underneath the outside arm rests. When pulled, you can adjust your arm rest up or down. For larger people it can give you a few more inches of hip space.
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