Discover Top Posts Tagged with #flying advice

My dad and I booked a flight to rome in november for 3 persons, for a week. My sister couldn't come with us because she dosen't have vacation anymore 🥺. So it's my parents and me, she said that she is taking care of our dog this time. I might fly with her alone next year 🥰

The thing is I've never flown in an airplane before 🙈

Any tipps or advices? 🙈

What can I expect? and What do I need to be prepared for? 🙈

#just a post #flying advice

Airport Travel: Dos, Don'ts, and You're Guilty Too!

I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with traveling. Now, I don’t necessarily mean the actual vacation/business part of traveling, oh no, I mean the part where you actually have to GET to where you’re going. I say consider yourself lucky if you’re close enough that you can just drive a short way to your destination. I know, I know, you say “UGH! Yet another person with tips for making plane travel more bearable or some shit like that.” To this I reply, “Well how the hell else am I going to make a shameless plug for a future blog series I’m going to be doing on the best dining and info on airports around the US.” Big fat wink to you, sir or madam ;o) Don’t worry, I’m not just going to give tips for how to make travel nicer for you, but I’m going to share some thoughts on traveler courtesy because I know we all do shitty things at airports that make other people want to spontaneously combust us with their minds. I am actually looking at one of these people I want to beat savagely right now as I write. (Yes, I’m at an airport in San Antonio). Seriously, though, here is a perfect example: I’m sitting here at a VERY crowded terminal where there are hardly any seats available and the gentleman across from me is laying across 5 seats (and snoring very loudly). That’s, for those of you who can’t do math, 4 seats that anybody could be occupying. We all make excuses for the things we do in airports or reason out why it’s ok to do this, that, or the other thing, but at the end of the day…

WE’RE ALL OFFENDERS! (Even me, sadly)

1) Ever been at a terminal then, thrown your purse/backpack in one seat and your other luggage/book/other item that we don’t need, but can’t put away in another then sat your happy ass down too? You’re a dreaded seat vacuum! You might say, “Well, I need to be able to keep my things close so they don’t get stolen,” or “I need to keep my things out of the aisle,” but at the end of the day you could just as easily put your things between your feet or under your chair.

2) How about when you get to an area and you see an outlet, so you whip out every charger you have for every electronic you own and charge them all? You’re an electricity hog! Chances are at least one other person in that terminal desperately needs to charge something either for work or to call their ride and give them an update on their flight. Airplanes and airports are notorious for killing battery life. I know you think if someone REALLY needs to charge they’ll ask, but at the end of the day a lot of people are either too nice to ask or some people are just too rude to care.

3) I know 8 out of 10 of you will say you’ve done this one: yelled or otherwise was rude to either airline staff or someone working at one of the numerous eateries in the airport. Or worse yet you were rude to some poor fellow passenger. I’m sure they deserved it right? Right? Maybe you thought they did at the time, but staring back did they really? Hey, if you’re in an airport chances are you’re more annoyed or rushed than you are normally, but I know in most cases the person you’re mad at currently is not the person whose fault it is that you’re upset. Missed a flight and you’re yelling at the lady who WAS taking tickets for your flight 10 minutes ago? Not her fault! That burger you ordered was all sorts of wrong when it got to your mouth AND it was overpriced? Maybe a little the person who took your orders fault, but more than likely not his or her fault.

These are just a couple of awful things people do when they hit the airports. I’ve found that airports or airplanes are kind of like Walgetgreens, in that all humanity is left at the door. And, like I said, I’m just as guilty as anybody. If you’re sitting there saying “no, I’m not like that when I go to an airport” well then either you have never been to an airport to fly, you’re lying, or you’re not really examining some of your actions’ seemingly rude side effects. It’s not like we mean to do these things when we get ready to travel. Sometimes it just slips our mind in the rush or there are extenuating circumstances (or we feel there are). Here are some things I suggest for helping to make your time at an airport more enjoyable or at least more pleasant for those around us. I start with the basics because you would be surprised how many people do not know the basics.

Helpful Tips to Aid in Not Annoying People or Getting Ourselves Pissed Off at Airports

1) Allow yourself ample time. This goes for EVERY process involving travel. Allow yourself enough time to get to the airport, get your ticket, get your bag checked (if there is a bag to check), get through security, get to the gate, and get between one flight to the next flight. I am not able to stress this enough! I have seen countless people start their trips off poorly by missing their first flight or their flight all together.

a. In most busy airports they say to get there an hour before your flight, but I call bullshit on that. I’ve flown out of Denver, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Dallas Fort Worth, Orlando, and countless others and I can tell you 1 hour prior to departure is laughable. If you’ve flown out of the airport before and know how long it usually takes to get from arrival to gate then as a good rule of thumb is to add about a half hour buffer to that time.

b. If you don’t know how long it will take ask someone how busy the airport usually is. For me I think of it like this: If my departure time is noon, they’ll probably begin boarding at 11:30. If I have no bags to check and I’ve printed my ticket online all I have to deal with is security. Nowadays most security has been cut down to about a 30 minute or less wait time (this varies depending on the airport and the time of year with holidays being the worst time ever). If it’s a large airport with trams it could take about 10 minutes to get to your terminal. This puts you at an arrival time of 10:50. Don’t forget parking either. Some airports have traffic and parking nightmares that can take up to 30 minutes to find parking and then get to the terminal building. That’s 10:20 for an arrival time now. If you have to check bags or print tickets you’re dealing with more time, and again at busy airports this can be VERY time consuming. In my way of thinking that means you have to show up AT LATEST by 10 am. See why I say that one hour for a busy airport can be a load of hooie?

c. Schedule flights at least an hour and a half apart if you have the option. I know I’m not the first to tell you that shit happens. You can’t plan for it all. I’ve flown through some of the most notorious offenders of delayed flights. I actually refer to Chicago O’ Hare as my personal Hell. This is a fact: at least once in your life, if you fly regularly you will be delayed. It sucks to miss your next flight by 5 minutes because you only gave yourself a 30 minute layover. I know, layovers can be a bit of a drag, but what’s worse: waiting for 30 minutes to an hour or waiting 5 hours because you missed your flight and can’t get on another flight?

2) Know before you go: meaning know the rules damn it! There are rules everywhere you go, why would the airport be any different? No, you can’t bring a 20 oz. drink through security. No, you can’t bring your lighter through security. Yes, they charge you 20 dollars for your bag. Yes, they are allowed to hand-check your bag. Yes, you have to take your laptop out of its bag before sending it through the x-ray. Yep, shoes have to come off too. No, when you’re flying in a small plane you can’t have roller bags in the overhead compartment it has to be checked at the gate. Know every single rule because if you don’t people are going to get annoyed with you if they know the rules. Also, arguing about the rules with the person who works there is NOT going to change the rules…again it’s just going to make people hate you. These rules are not difficult to find. Go to the airport website, the TSA website, or the airline website before you fly and you can find many of the restrictions there.

3) If you don’t know the airports you will be dealing with consider printing maps before you leave. Some airports can get a bit confusing if you’re a newbie to flying. It never hurts to get a map. If you were going to a strange new place you would get a map or at least Google map it before you went, right? Why should an airport be any different?

4) If you don’t like spending money, bring from home. This goes for everything, except for liquids, which we have established you cannot bring too much of through security. Personally, when I’m not going on a business trip I bring snacks to eat (depending on the length of the trip I even bring a sandwich), reading material, my electronics (laptop with movies downloaded or dvds, iPod loaded with movies and music, phone, and anything else that can keep me entertained), and chargers. As a small aside, I recommend bringing chargers that can be plugged into a laptop or main device. I stated before some people hog the outlets and if you really need to charge your phone nothing saves you more than being able to plug in your charger to your laptop to get a quick charge.

5) Listen to instructions. Many of you will know that these instructions are commonly heard, but only a handful of you will know that they are seldom adhered to. Even fewer of you is like me and get annoyed when people don’t listen to them. People like me will appreciate this piece of advice that I will repeat: LISTEN TO INSTRUCTIONS!!! We would now like to board group A, group A please step forward. If you are not group A please do not try to get on the plane! Some airlines will straight up tell you to step out of line. There is a method to some boarding groups…when you mess with the method and step on the plane people will notice. If they’re boarding back to front and you board and you’re in the front you are officially holding up progress. You do realize that the plane will not leave without you if you board according to the appropriate group, correct? Please switch off ALL electronics, place seat up in their upright and locked position, and place all tray tables up. We are all adults here, or at least people able to read, I know at some point you were taught how to listen and adhere to oral instructions. Please do so.

6) Consider not bringing that roller bag onto the plane. Yes, if you have tight connections or you are only going for a night you don’t want to check a bag. I get that. There are certainly some instances where a roller bag is appropriate, but not always. A good sturdy backpack can work just as well, and on some flights will save you from a gate-side check bag.

7) Pack important things with you. Giving a briefing tomorrow? Pack a USB with you that has a copy of the briefing. Also, pack a set of clothes and PJs with you. Consider taking essential things with you as well i.e. medications, chargers, wallet, etc. Nothing sucks quite as much as getting to a destination and finding your bag didn’t come off the plane because it never made it to the plane. It makes it a bit better if you have something with you. The airlines are pretty good about getting stuff to you by the next morning or even that night, but on the off-chance it takes a day or two make sure you have what you need.

8) Be considerate. Do you hate it when someone is in the bar at a table for 5, but it’s just him and bags in every seat? Don’t be that guy, then. Hate it when someone lets their child scream at full noise level in the gate area? Don’t be that parent, then. Hate when someone smacks into you on their way to the next gate because they’re in a rush and since you’re not running they assume you’re not? Don’t be that person, then…or at very least apologize if you end up being that person. Hate that person who brings 2 carry-ons and a personal item even though the rule is clearly 1 carry-on and 1 personal item? DON’T BE THAT PERSON. I’m sure you’ve heard your mother say it, so repeat after me “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Very good!

9) Above all else, try to have fun and not get too upset. Things are bound to happen and when they do, most times, there is really nothing you can do about it. Try to stay calm and go with the flow because once you step in that airport that’s really all you can do.

AND now the shameless plug. In the coming months I will be adding tips and hints about various airports to this site, so check back from time-to-time to check and see if I’ve listed an airport you might be going to.

If you have anything to add let me know in a comment!