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.
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