Flying in the States seems to be considerably different to here in Europe and Asia. I always sit as close to the front as possible to aid disembarking, and at a window both for the view and to stop people climbing over me. In all my years I have never had a bag go missing, so I try to check everything I can and board the plane with only a book, the less you have to carry the happier you’ll be, and if you are late they are much less likely to throw you off the flight if you have some bags checked. I generally find that if I ask for water or munchies I am given them, so there is no need to carry those around. On longer flights eyeshades and earplugs make a world of difference. It never hurts to ask if there is any chance of an upgrade to something more comfortable, and the higher up the frequent flier programme you go the better your chances become. Several airlines have reserved seating for Frequent Fliers, so you get business class seats without the service but also without the price, it can’t hurt to ask. And I can only add a yes to being polite but firm with the staff, you won’t get far by being the hundredth whiner they have had to deal with, but its the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Bon voyage.
I used to pack everything into two daypacks. That would be enough for a typical trip. Then I started packing one “parachute bag” (this is a large green bag used by military pilots to carry stuff) and checking it. This made getting on and off the aircraft much easier.
My last two trips required transfers to turboprops (one a Fairchild, and the other an Embraer). Both times my bags didn’t make the connection until the next day. The first time was worse because I didn’t have my sleeping bag for the first (very cold) night and my friends didn’t have a lot of blankets.
From now on I’ll pack the bulk of my stuff in a parachute bag (or a duffel bag, since it has shoulder straps) and pack necessary items in a carry-on day pack.
I like turboprops better than jets. For one thing, I like looking at the engines. For another, they seem to have more room. I’d make the entire trip from L.A. to Bellingham in a turboprop (oh, I like the Fairchild better than the Brazilian plane) if I could. But it’s not cost-effective for the airline and most people don’t like to be in a plane that long.
Actually, I’d rather fly myself (used to be an option when dad had his Cessnas). For short trips (300 miles or so) it’s quicker than getting on a jet. For longer trips… hey, what’s 10 hours when you’re getting to fly yourself? 
I agree totaly with what rackensack said. I always go for the window seat. I get one armrest to myself, and can prop myself up against the wall to sleep. I rarely if ever get up to use the restroom, so it’s not a big deal to me to not get up, and I hate people crawling over me. Take the emergancy exit row if you can, but be careful about this. I had one trip where they switche the type of plane at the last minute, so I ended up in the row in front of the exit…which meant I couldn’t recline at all.
I usually take a book or something, but mostly I try to go to sleep on the plane. It makes the trip go faster, and I’m rested when I get to my destination.
I always get to the airport an hour ahead of time, just so I know what’s going on. Always be polite to the airline people. They can sometimes help out by seeing what seats aren’t taken, and putting you in an empty section.
I try and carry a small blanket with me when I’m going on long trips…that way if I get stranded in an airport, I don’t freeze my butt off trying to sleep. Along with that, I keep a change of clothes, and shower kit with my carry on.
I only carry one bag on with me…nothing annoys me more that someone with 5 or 6 bags of shit trying to fit it in the overhead, or get it all off at the end of the flight.
Flying in Italy was a trip…no gateways or anything…everyone walked out to a little shuttle bus, they drove us out to the plane, and every boarded at the same time…no pre-boarding, no “women and children first” just “get the hell on the plane”…the entire boarding process took like 10 minutes.
I, too, prefer the window seat. I rarely get up in flight, I lean against the wall to sleep, and I enjoy spotting landmarks on the ground along the way (the Pentagon, the Gateway Arch, the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi River, etc.)
However, I don’t recommend the bulkhead seats if you expect to retrieve items from your carry-on bag during the flight. These seats don’t have storage space “under the seat in front of you” since they don’t have seats in front of them. Your only option here is to store your carry-on in the overhead bin, which makes it more difficult to retrieve items, especially if you are seated by the window. And it’s OK to store your stuff in the space under the seat in front of the empty seat next to you. That way, you have easy access to your stuff and the ability to stretch your legs out.
And for the love of all that is good and merciful, please don’t be one of those passengers that try to carry on 17 bags. It’s (a) rude because you hog up all the space from other passengers, (b) causes you to hold up the boarding process while you try to cram all 17 bags into the overhead, and © causes you to hold up the deplaning process while you try to gather up your 17 bags.
If you will be making a connection at a large airport, be sure to check the airport maps in the inflight magazine. Sometimes you may not have but 30 minutes between flights. That could be cutting it close in a large airport such as Dallas/Fort Worth or Atlanta. Make sure you know where you need to go for your next flight. The flight attendant sometimes announces connecting gate information during the flight.
As to my seating preference, I generally prefer window seats to aisle. You can lean on the window/wall to sleep, and you don’t have people climbing over you or bumping into you while they run down the aisles (or, my favorite, trying to sit in your lap while the beverage cart passes.) One risk of the window seat is that in some planes there is less room under the seat in front of you.
I hate the bulkhead. There is no underseat in front of you to put your carry-ons, and there is no tray table to flip down, just an awkward one that folds out of the armrest (though this can be a risk in an exit row seat, too).
One thing that I found in turboprops is that they often have less room to store carry-ons, even “standard” ones. If you’re flying on one, you should make sure whatever you need for the (usually short) flight like reading material or work is easily removable from your carry-on when you board (or you have a small carry-on bag with the essentials), because they may require you to check the carry-on at the gate. Fortunately, with the turboprops, when bags are gate-checked they almost always arrive with the plane.
Actually, that’s always a good thing to remember, turboprop or not. If you have only one or two bags, and would prefer to check one but can’t risk losing it even for 24 hours, you typically can carry it with you to the gate and check it there. This has several advantages:
[list]
[li]the odds of it getting on the wrong plane are practically nil (though I have had one gate-checked item go missing for a while, namely my son’s stroller);[/li][li]it’s almost guaranteed to be among the last items into the luggage compartment, and thus is likely to be among the first off, so if you’re arriving at an airport where the bags go almost directly into a conveyor to the claim area, it’s likely to be among the first to arrive in the claim area;[/li][li]you can bypass the line at curbside baggage check-in or ticket counters;[/li][li]it passes through fewer hands on the way to the plane, perhaps slightly minimizing the risk of theft (no difference coming off, however).[/li]
If you’re in a hurry and are in danger of missing your flight, you’re usually better off skipping the ticket counter/curbsides completely and going straight to the gate (assuming there’s nothing in your checked bags that’ll get you in trouble at the security screening – knives, etc.). Even if there’re long lines at both the counter and the gates, you’re a lot less likely to be left behind if you’re at the gate than if you’ve checked in at the counter and are still sprinting to the gate.
Judging from the ZetteCam this isn’t a problem for you, but if I could offer one piece of advice for the air traveler, it would be: Don’t be fat.
Speaking as a fat person, I can tell you that it really diminishes the whole flying experience, especially when you get stuck sitting in a middle seat. I always try to get the bulkhead row if I can…the tray table issue doesn’t matter for me, because I can’t use the damn things anyway. And all you thin people who keep shooting us whales annoyed looks when we come in contact with each other, try to remember: the real culprit is the airline, which decided that passenger comfort was less important than squeezing in a few more seats. And it’s not like I gave a blowjob to an air compressor to balloon up specifically for the purpose of inconveniencing you.
Sorry for the rant.
Live a Lush Life
Da Chef
All great advise, but I would add the following:
travellers size hand lotion & lip balm cause it’s sooo dry in the plane, I also take eye drops for the same reason.
I would throw a couple of power bars into your bag, just in case. I don’t know about you but I’m not at my best when I’m hungry, this way, no matter the cause or length of the delay, I can still wait patiently.
Get a gameboy, to kill time for delays. It’s fun that’s why kids do it, I only have one game on mine - tetras (of course) It’s small enough to put in your carry on and will provide hours of distraction whenever required.
You guys have given GREAT advice! I knew I could count on you
I am printing out this thread to put in a notebook and take with me. I already have a good walkman, I have loads of games on my laptop (but I may get a gameboy anyway. I love handheld games). I ordered some luggage today- just a carry on bag and a toiletry bag. The carry on is small enough for me to carry with my laptop bag, but big enough to put a change of clothes in (in case my luggage gets lost).
It looks like I’ll be doing mostly US travel- in a week or so I may be taking off for FL, then soon after CA. I’m looking forward to it!
I am a pretty patient person, so I likely would not get very put off by delays. I’m just as happy to grab a drink in the airport bar and wait
Keep the advice coming if you have any more!
Thanks for the tips!
Zette
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not enough and you’re gonna die…
Click here for some GOOD news for a change Zettecity
Gee, I can’t get online for a couple of days due to a technical problem and I nearly miss out on a speciality of mine.
As a former corporate travel agent lemme tell you one of the biggest headaches that agents and gate agents encounter: SEAT ASSIGNMENTS.
There are windows. There are aisles. There are forwards seats. Bulkhead seats. Seats in the back and (cue the menacing music) the dreaded Middle seat. You will not always get what you want. Someone will beat you to the ideal seat you really want. Sometimes your seat is just going to suck beyond measure.Sometimes you get a great seat. It doesn’t matter that much as long as you get to the destination on time. Shut up, sit down, buckle yourself in and don’t annoy your neighbor with stories
As for bulkhead seats: Most of the people you see sitting in them are probably GOLD or PREFERRED status in the frequent flyer program of that particular airline. These seats open up either the day of or the day before departure for the business traveler with a bajillion miles under their belt that year. It is fairly rare that a walk up to the counter will get bulk head seats.
(Due to tech problems with Netzero in my area, I can only get on line for about 5 min. at a time. So this reply is in segments.)
Always take with you at least one snack and a bottle of water. Lip balm and hand lotion are a good call too. You can take aboard with you laptops and walk mans, but during take offs and landings you cannot operate them. The walk man would be for cd’s and tapes only.
To get more miles with the airline you are using, go with their hotel and car partners if the price is copacetic with your travel budget. You will usually add an additional 500 miles per hotel or car rental to your frequent flyer program.
Learn the lingo: ( most of these are no brainers.)
Non-stop flight - flies non stop between Detroit to San Francisco.
Connection: Flies Detroit to Saint Louis with a change of planes before going to San Francisco.
Direct Flight: Flies Detroit to San Francisco via Chicago with no change of planes.
(It’s the word direct flight that throws off alot of people. It can be one or a couple of stops. It is a speciality of Southwest Airlines flights.)
Always leave a copy of your itinerary with someone. Make a copy of your credit cards, driver’s liscense and leave it at home with the number to call if they are lost or stolen right on the sheet. It will save you alot of headaches later on when your wallet goes walk about.
This is a personal trick of mine and doesn’t take anything but the powers of observation:
When sitting in your coma-like status in the gate area, PAY ATTENTION to what the gate agents are doing. Just a glance once in awhile. If they are huddled together and seemingly talking in whispers and the weather is fairly crappy outside, you just may want to mosey up to the counter and sweet talk them into telling you if the flight is going to be cancelled. ( I’ve beaten the rush on cancelled flights many a times because of this.)
If your flight is cancelled due to whatever reason the airlines pulls out of its ass and the line is forever long, GO TO A PAY PHONE and call the toll free number and get a new flight assigned. Write down the alternate flight numbers and times as well for back up. OR go down the concourse to another gate area ( one not for your flight, but same airline) and get another agent to change your ticket.
Learn how to read an airline ticket. If you were next to me I could show you everything you need to know on it to make you the ultra savvy traveller. It takes about five minutes and the more you know, the more the gate agents just may respect you.
Oh, when you call up the airlines to change a ticket learn your PNR - PASSENGER NAME RECORD. It is also called a confirmation number. Just say, " Hi, I need you to pull up my record it is QPR(6M." It is a combination of letters and numbers. To make you sound even more savvy, you can use the military lingo ( or just make it up)on letters that sound alike: 9 - niner, T-Tango…its a small perk in a cold cruel world.
Someone’s suggestion of comfortable shoes is dead on. The day you forget comfy shoes is the day you have to stand in line for two hours in heels.
Also, if your schedule allows, volunteer to be bumped off the flight whenever possible. The travel vouchers or money you collect are usually well worth the extra couple of hours of people watching at the airport. ( Before children, I use to volunteer on every flight home if it was booked solid. Took alot of free trips for an hour or so inconvenience.)
Take along something to read. It kills the time and keeps the weirdo’s away from you from asking you if you’ve been saved by Jesus.
I’m a little hazy in this area, but you can ask a gate agent/travel agent for more information:
If you have a non-weather related delay for more than four hours, the airlines must compensate you. (this is domestic flights) I cannot recall the amount for compensation or length of time you have to sit on your keister, but its about four hours. International flights, I beleive, is 6 hours.
Before you leave for the airport, always call to see if your flight is on time. Just because the weather is perfect where you are, doesn’t mean the weather is great on route or where you are going. This is a do as I say, not as I do rule. I drove an 1 1/2 hour to the airport in great weather and it was packed with long lines. There was a storm that threw off everyone’s flights and I ended up staying in a hotel by the airport to get a flight out at 5am. I could have done everything from home. ARGH.
If you are in a plane that has a middle seat section and it is looking pretty empty in the middle, just after they close the doors on the plane, DIVE for a five seat section that is empty and claim it like you’ve struck gold. You can move your stuff after take off.
If you check luggage, put your address inside the luggage and also where you are heading.
I can attest to this. About three years ago, before a trip to Europe, I read this tip in a travel book and decided that it sounded like a good idea. Good thing I did. I lost my wallet while touring Neuschwanstein Castle outside Munich. Thankfully, since I had left a copy of all my credit card numbers and their corresponding contact info with my parents back home, I was able to cancel all my cards within 30 minutes of discovering my loss and before anyone was able to use them. Of course, it cost me about $200 in international long distance charges to do it, but it was worth it.
Brady Bunch Quote Of The Week:
“Judging from the reaction around here, I’d say Davy Jones is the hottest thing since pepperoni pizza.” - Carol
I have to laugh- the one and only time I flew was on US Air from BGM to PGH. I didn’t get my seat assignment until I went to the airport (on the way there AND back) and both times the workers were extremely nice and game me the bulkhead seating. It rocked, and I wasn’t even a big wig!
Zette
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not enough and you’re gonna die…
Click here for some GOOD news for a change Zettecity