Most useful tips on a flight
 

I understand this is not a spotters forum but I feel like putting a thread here to collect your tips for when we fly again.

The question is simple: irrespective the type of commercial flight (short/long haul - business / pleasure) what is the most useful trick you have discovered to enjoy the flight more or make it a bit more comfortable.

Get an upgrade - by fair means or foul. Standard, economy seating is abysmal for anything more than 15 minutes!

Drink water to keep the innards hydrated, eat sparingly if possible, abstain from alcohol (unless in 1st Class), set your watch to destination time to get psychologically in the groove and smile at the cabin crew :-)

SHJ I have heard those suggestions many times and find that I may be in a small category to whom they do not apply! I eat when I feel like it and drink alcohol as I feel. Whilst not a great consumer of alcohol on the ground, I find it's influence on me REDUCED in the air! My watch stays on departure time until I land. Finding one's own balance is trial and error.

Upgrade is certainly the case and the older I got the more so! I now pay, or use Points, whenever I can. Certainly I do not travel long haul in Y and have not dones so in over 20 years.

I thought I had already answered when I realised it was PAXboy's post! :) Ditto on all counts. However, if you're young you can put up with a lot more discomfort than us oldies! :)

True Pistonprop! I take things much easier now and plan the long sector timing carefully. Jumping off long haul and going into the office (even from the old Upper Class) was something for my 30s!

Be pleasant to the cabin crew .... say good morning (or equivalent) on boarding, when speaking to them, or being spoken to, make and keep eye contact and smile. Thank them on disembarkation. Be civilised, polite and respectful, and you'll have a good flight.

Alsacienne
 

Dead right! Simply because we are paying customers doesn't give us the right to treat them as underlings. "Restaurant rules" is a phrase used by a mate of mine.

I must have been a cheapskate for international travel LOL,we always ended up flying 'Cattle Class' :),we always checked up on upgraded seats but the difference in price was often enough to pay for the whole rest of the holiday (or at least a major part of it).I used to love flying in the 747 and as somebody else posted recently I usually tried to get in the rear window seats,the couple of rows which only had 2 seats together.7-11 hours of relative discomfort is doable when it (say) pays for your entire holiday car rental cost.
We have always been polite and well behaved with the CC's but possibly because we dress for practical comfort rather than style - have never been offered an upgrade (except for a couple of jump seats over the years :) ).

Alsacienne
A good way to operate in all situations even when not at 30,000ft + I find.

Paxboy
With you all the way on your comments.

I always try to enjoy my flying even when it is at a bad time, or poor carrier, or indeed taking me some where I really do not want to go to. It is a privilege to be able to look at our world from up there, so in away I cherish each opportunity as I know that at some stage in my life I will no longer be able to do it, and I will miss it greatly.

I always choose a cheap window seat in the Row just in front of the over-wing emergency Exit. This virtually guarantees you won’t have to endure someone’s knees in the small of back but also no chance of a horrible child banging their tray table behind you for a couple of hours en-route.

When the engines shut down upon gate arrival, stay seated because you will not be going anywhere for several minutes. I always have a silent chuckle when there is a delay opening the doors because people standing up never look comfortable.

If you are a regular flyer, invest in a good pair of noise cancelling headphones.

I always wear natural fibres cotton wool etc much better in the dry recirculated air. Pair of stout shoes/boots. I always count the rows fore and aft to the nearest exit as I sit down, every little helps !

Good idea for a thread in these times, Rwy In Sight.

I certainly agree about respect of the CC. When I was a child my parents taught me that the call button was (pretty much) like a '999' [aka 911] and this was doubtless to keep my naughty little fingers away from it. However, It means that I cannot remember the last time I used the call button - I mean it might be more than five years! I always wait until a CC is passing to ask for something extra during service or, when not in service, I wander to the galley to ask for a cuppa or something. Irrespective of where I am sitting.

There was a flight on Virgin Australia (PER-MEL) in Y and the food was all very spicy. All I could eat was the cheese and crackers. But CC sourced several for me and then, as I had eaten the choc pudding - would I like another? Yes please and two more arrived! So that got me through the three hour sector!

Thanks S.o.S. for the comments and all of you.

One very good piece of advice come for Slot him/her self about people barely making the high-level frequent mile program and behave like they are the most knowledgable pax on earth and there are others they qualify in no time and are so humble they will not even ask for an extra glass of water if the crew is too busy.

Also my advice is a bit practical: as during the meal there are many covers and detritus. If the seat next to me is empty I open a vomit / waste bag to throw what I don't need - not food I love airline food. The bag is given to the crew after they take the trays away.

Most useful? Keep your seatbelt fastened all the time. Not tight but fastened.

Same as Runway - take a plastic bag to but in all the rubbish you generate through the flight......

Try and avoid doing anything similar to what these passengers have done:

https://m.facebook.com/PassengerShaming/

Rather than count how many rows you are from an exit I look for "landmarks". Things like bulkheads, toilets, galleys. Works for me on wide bodies, perhaps not so effective on narrow bodies.

Pay for the best seat you can. When I was younger economy was fine because (a) I WAS younger and (b) there was more space in economy in those days. Now I save up and buy premium economy for long haul and, if I have enough "air miles" if it's an overnight I'll try and upgrade to business. Always look at the price of a "better" class; I've found Business for LESS than economy and Business for only £100 more than premium economy by being flexible on dates/times. You don't have to come home from the same place you fly to. In fact, you don't even have to come back to the same place. I once went Manchester/Los Angeles and came home San Francisco/London - they just charge half of each fare (usually).

Try not to interfere with things the crew are doing but, on long haul, get up and move around if you can. Don't just go to the toilet, take advantage of the fact that you're out of your seat (so you've disturbed your seat mates probably) and stay out while you do a few stretching exercises.

Boarding and disembarkation, if someone is having a problem lifting a bag (yes, they shouldn't bring a bag they can't lift but.......) give them a hand - keep things moving.

In the end, relax. Make sure you check in in plenty of time, particularly if you want to do some shopping. Keep an eye on the screens showing which gate to go to and have a look at the signs about how long it takes to get to each group of gates so you can gauge your trip to the gate. It's the same at the far end. let everyone else bust a gut. By the time they get through to the baggage carousel you'll catch them up just as the bags start to appear.

1. Count the seats to your nearest exit (both ways)....it might one day help you get out when all is not well
2. Keep your shoes on until after take off and put them back on before landing....sharp red hot metal is a poor companion for flip flopped or socked feet
3. Read the safety card, even if you've flown 1,000 times before....I'm not ashamed to admit that a dropping oxygen mask has a certain startle factor
4. If you can, enjoy the view....its a privilege. Distant night time thunderstorms, sunsets and sunrises, the vast empty spaces of the oceans and continents, familiar cities and landmarks and of course those lovely fluffy clouds
5. Play the take off game by estimating the time between application of take off power and rotate and see how it compares with the actual.....although again not ashamed to admit that on one very hot Jo'burg departure I really did begin to think about the brace position (see safety card above)
6. Take a picture of your aeroplane....in 20 odd years time it will be "a classic"
7. Agree with Less Hair; seat belt always
8. When you are in a bit of chop, just be glad you are flying in 2021 and not 1951