Best Travel Advice Archives

Travel but expect the unexpected.

by Donna Hunter, PhD | Jan 30, 2022 | 0 comments

When people think of travel, they often have thoughts of all the wonderful things they expect to happen. Suppose it’s a beach vacation; travelers think of sunny beaches and warm waters. If it’s a winter vacation, many will think about the snow and the incredible snow activities. However, for many, vacation expectations can be disappointing and frustrating. These expectations are because social media often only shows picturesque and positive vacation experiences. Therefore, it’s best always to have an open mind when traveling and expect the unexpected. Here are a few things that could go wrong despite all your best-made travel plans.

Missed flights.

Even though travelers may have booked their flights in advance and know the time guidelines for getting to the airport before a flight, many still miss their flights. Reasons from waking up too late, confusing am times with pm times, long TSA lines, or leaving items at home are common. It’s always best to prepare and do prechecks the day before departure to ensure none of these scenarios is a factor for your travel plans.

Expired passport.

Many people do not have a passport, but many of those who do, have passports that have been expired or are very close to being expired. International travel requires having at least six months validity. Many travelers take the time to plan and pay for their trip then get to the airport with an expired passport. An expired passport is a traveler’s self-inflicted wound; all related expenses are at the traveler’s cost. If you plan to travel internationally, check your passport’s expiration date before booking your flight.

Getting sick.

Getting sick is probably one of the most common realities of traveling. Most often, travelers get sick from consuming contaminated food or water. However, many often get overexposed to the sun and get sunburnt or are bitten by insects. Travel, in general, puts us more at risk for sickness as we most often travel to places with persons we are not familiar with. Traveling by air puts us in close contact with people we don’t know, and the airplanes’ recirculated air makes encountering germs more possible. If you plan to travel, take precautions like staying hydrated and getting enough sleep. In addition, traveling with some medicines to combat minor sicknesses is highly recommended.

Lost items.

When traveling, it’s not uncommon to lose personal items. Items such as passports, mobile phones, losing your wallet or purse, losing luggage, and forgetting to pack certain items are common occurrences for many travelers. Often, we are so caught up in our new surroundings that we forget our belongings. It’s best to be organized when you travel. Use packing lists if you must and keep copies of your important documents like passports, credit cards, and reservations. If you lose your electronics or wallet, you can more easily make reports if you have more than one way to access your information.

I hope you never experience the unexpected when you travel, but I want to make sure you are prepared if you do. Have you ever experienced any of these scenarios? If so, how did you handle it? Please let me know in the comment section below.

What your flight attendants may know about you when you board an airplane?

by Donna Hunter, PhD | Jan 23, 2022 | 0 comments

In my years as a flight attendant, I have had passengers try to claim premium seats, embellish their airline status, and even claim to have paid more for their ticket than they did. Passengers do not realize that the flight crew is provided a passenger information list (PIL) or passenger manifest list before the plane leaves the gate. That PIL has a wealth of information on passengers. Here are a few things your flight attendants may know about you when you board the airplane.

Name.

You must provide identification before boarding an airplane. Before that airplane leaves the gate, a passenger list is provided to the flight crew listing everyone on board by name. This information is often utilized in premium cabins to personalize the flight experience, but it is available for everyone on the airplane. Immigration also uses this information to prescreen arriving and departing passengers.

Seat assignment.

Recently a flight had to be returned to the gate because passengers refused to leave premium cabin seating. Although there may be empty seats on the airplane, they are not for the taking. Seat assignments are allotted by ticket pricing, airline status, and other factors. Flight attendants do not assign seating, the gate agents do, but flight attendants have some leverage in reassigning seats while on board. Often passengers are asked to accommodate other passengers traveling together. However, once you are assigned a seat, you do not have to give up that seat assignment unless requested by a flight crew for a specified reason.

Airline status.

Depending on your airline status, you may be entitled to certain perks onboard the airline. Many were the days when I had passengers declare themselves to be “million” milers, platinum passengers, or VIPs demanding a particular service. That information is available on the passenger manifest, so claiming a status you are not is often a waste of breath.

Flight itinerary.

One of the initial reasons for the passenger information list was to assist passengers with connecting flights while onboard. Before landing, the flight crews are provided with connecting gate information. When traveling in a premium cabin, passengers are often individually given connecting gate information before the list is relayed to main cabin passengers. This list also helps flight attendants request other passengers’ patience to allow connecting passengers to deplane first. In some cases, if seats are available, the flight crews can move passengers closer to the front of the airplane for faster deplaning.

Travel status.

With the many security matters that have arisen since 9/11, flight crews now can know if you are traveling alone or with a group, if you have or need medical assistance while onboard the aircraft, or even if you have been a problem passenger on a previous flight. If a problem arises and authorities meet the flight, they will already have your information when the flight lands.

I hope you realize that you are far from anonymous when you board an airplane or travel in general. The flight attendant can note your behavior, bad or good, in your flight itinerary. It’s not all to your detriment however, I remember wishing passengers a happy birthday, congratulating couples on their wedding or anniversary, even upgrading passengers for special milestones, or assisting grieving passengers. Were you aware of how much your information is shared? Please comment below and let me know.

Tips for enjoying airline flights

by Donna Hunter, PhD | Dec 1, 2021 | 0 comments

Although many people love traveling, the actual flight time is not the most attractive part of traveling. As a former international flight attendant and someone who commuted to work by air travel, there are a few ways travelers can make their flight more tolerable. Here are a few tips from my lived experience.

Research airlines.

Travelers should research the different airlines not only for fares. Services and amenities are also used to rank airlines. Although I worked for an American carrier and knew the airline well, my preference for personal travel was not always for the airline I worked. Airlines differ in how they handle the services they offer, booking flexibility, and luggage fees, to name a few. While one airline you research may show the lowest price, it may not be the best flight available for your needs.

Seat selection.

Many travelers prefer a particular seat selection, and as an experienced traveler, seat selection can make a difference. However, not all airlines are configured the same, and knowing where your seat is located on the airplane can make a difference. Frequent travelers are more conscious of choices when a seat map is available for seat selection. However, if you are unfamiliar with flying, looking up the aircraft configuration can be pretty helpful in seat selection. For example, a person who prefers an aisle seat may be much more comfortable with a seat selection that is not an aisle rather than an aisle seat that is direct across from a bathroom.

Entertainment.

As a former international flight attendant, I can honestly say that the service advertised is not always available. If the flight’s entertainment system happens to be unavailable, it is not considered a no-go item by the airline. Additionally, flight attendants are not engineers. If your particular seats’ entertainment system does not work and there are no other seats available in your class of service, this means that you may have to travel without entertainment. A traveler’s best bet is to always have their entertainment by downloading movies, books, music, or podcasts in enough quantity to entertain themselves.

Amenity kits.

Premium passengers on long-haul flights are usually given an amenity kit. The kits typically include a toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, eyeshades, earplugs, perfumes, lotion, and usually a pen. They may also come in some neat packaging that can be reused as pouches for other accessories. Once my old airline provided one that could be used as an iPad cover when it first came to market. Amenity kits will also have branded items from many top brands such as Tumi, or Ferragamo to name a few. Many travelers can create their own with travel-sized items packed just for inflight purposes.

While travelers cannot always choose the flying time or be able to have their class of service, they can always make the flight a more pleasant experience. I hope these tips help. Have you any to add? I’d like to know.

Travelers Beware-Drug mules.

by Donna Hunter, PhD | Oct 17, 2021 | 0 comments

I recently wrote about theft on an airplane and got so many responses. Today I’d like to discuss another aspect of air travel many do not consider. As flight attendants, we knew to look out for the warning signs of drug mules, excessive sweating, refusal to eat or drink, or acting nervous. I recently saw a post on social media where a lady shared the story of her interaction with a drug mule. I like to write short insightful pieces, but I had to share this as is. This story is not my story, but I am sharing it because it is accurate and does happen.

COPIED (As was written by the unknown author without correction)

If you travel by air a lot, beware of over friendly chatty seat neighbours.

The older lady comes and sits next to me inside the plane. She asked me to help her put her bag in the overhead luggage compartment. But a gentleman sitting across quickly came through. (I am not very tall and the overhead luggage compartment is something I try to avoid at all costs.

Immediately she sits down she strikes up a conversation. She was very pleasant and well spoken. So we chatted all through the flight to Dubai.

Suddenly, when the pilot announced that we were now proceeding to begin our descent into DXB, my good friend ‘developed’ stomach pains. Me with my good heart, I pressed the stewards button, and the stewardess came to find out what the problem was. I told her my seat mate was not feeling well. And this lady, she suddenly began to address me as ‘my daughter’. The stewardess told me that there was nothing they could do except give her some painkillers and wait until we landed. The pilot announced that we had a medical emergency on board and advised us all to stay calm. My new friend was crying and sweating like crazy. And she refused to let go of my hand… everyone assumed we knew each other.

So we landed at DXB and the same gentleman who helped put up her luggage in the overhead compartment removed her luggage. But as he removed the luggage, he advised me to distance myself from this lady and make it clear to the cabin crew that we were NOT travelling together. He was a godsend!

So indeed, the cabin crew came and asked me if we were related, I categorically told them we had met on the plane. I didn’t know her at all. So we began to deplane and as I said goodbye she kept begging me to carry her handbag. I was so torn… but the gentleman looked me in the eye and emphatically shook his head. He passed me a note telling me to let the cabin crew handle her.

So I exit the aircraft and leave my ‘new friend’ to wait for the wheelchair and be handled by the cabin crew feeling very guilty.

As we waited for our luggage to come through, I hear this commotion. My ‘new friend’ was running, trying to escape the cabin crew, having gotten out of the wheelchair! She left the stewardess with her handbag and just ran towards the exit with the rest of her hand luggage! Luckily the airport police were faster than her. They got hold of her and brought her back in handcuffs.

This lady starts calling out to me.. my daughter… my daughter!.. how could you do this to me….. that’s when I caught on. She was carrying drugs and she was trying to implicate me!

Luckily for me, the gentleman who had helped her with her luggage came forward and told the airport police that me and her had just met on the plane. The police took my passport and asked her to reveal my full names if it was true we were travelling together. By God’s grace, I had not even told her my first name! I was still asked to follow the police to a little room where I was questioned extensively. Where did I meet her?… where did I board… where did she board. Etc… And my luggage was extensively searched and dusted for fingerprints.

They dusted all her luggage and my fingerprints were not found anywhere on her luggage or on her handbag!

I was let go with advice never ever to touch anyone’s luggage either in flight or at the airport. So from that day, I don’t care how much luggage you have, you will deal with it yourself. I will not even offer you a trolley to put your luggage on! Your luggage… your problem…. is my policy. And if you can’t reach the overhead compartment, and I am the nearest person, please call the cabin crew because all I will do is give you a blank stare and then look away!

A lesson to glean therein for intending air travelers.

COPIED.

Just as I wrote about theft on the airplane, I could not have relayed the dangers of being too friendly more pointedly. Travelers should be relaxed and have fun, be nice, but most of all, be cautious. I hope this story opens your eyes a bit.

Airline tickets.

by Donna Hunter, PhD | Jun 27, 2021 | 0 comments

I was an international flight attendant for 23 years. After learning this fact about me, many people assume that I have or know how to get the best deals on airline tickets. No, I do not get to fly for free. The reality is that I research and use some of the same methods most people do when purchasing flight tickets. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind in getting the best flight deals.

Compare flight costs. Airline reward programs have changed significantly over the years. So, loyalty to a specific airline does not provide the benefit it once did. Your favorite airline may not have the best deal, and the only way to find out who does is to shop around. Very rarely does an airline have a monopoly on a destination. It’s best to consider all options if the cost of airfare matters to you.

Timing matters. Sometimes circumstances do not allow for the best timing for making a ticket purchase. Try not to purchase your flight tickets too far in advance or right before you need to fly. Keep in mind the peak season flying months of the summer or popular holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, or Thanksgiving. With these in mind, you might want to make your purchase well in advance. However, last-minute flight deals are also possible, and there is no rule as to when airlines will unexpectedly drop their prices.

In addition to timing your flight ticket purchases, the days you choose to fly also can make a difference in airline ticket prices. Historically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays tend to be cheaper days to fly. Most people want their travel to extend over the weekend, so those days tend to be more expensive. Fridays and Sundays usually cost more to fly. Sundays are always hectic as people want to return from travel to start their workweek.

Flight times also can make a difference. Early morning or overnight flights tend to be cheaper as most people prefer more convenient flight times. I tend to prefer early morning flights. They are often more reliable as the airlines need them to be on time to keep their daily flight schedules on time.

Finally, choosing a non-stop flight or a connecting flight can affect pricing. Only the traveler will know the value of a lower price compared to an inconvenient or long travel day.

As air travel resumes, travelers must consider pricing and what they value most from their travels. As always, I encourage research on the different options available. I hope these ideas help as there is no one solution for everyone. I’d like to know.