Soar High – Advice for a Safe and Smooth Flight

About Airplane Travel

I’m a flight attendant so I know a lot about airplane travel.

NOTE: I readily admit I know nothing about buying tickets. I’m also not going to pretend I know about upgrades, selecting seats, the best time to buy a ticket, checked bags or extra costs.

Since 2006 I’ve bought exactly two tickets . . . one from Paris to Athens for $65 USD and another from Stockholm to Amsterdam for $75, which I didn’t use.

Although I don’t actively participate in buying airplane tickets, I spend hundreds of hours every year in airports and on airplanes and most of my friends are flight crew.

Also, as part of my job I ride around the country as a passenger between 10-20 flights a month. I regularly go through TSA and encounter gate agents and flight attendants who may or may not know I’m an employee.

Because I understand what it’s like to travel weekly as both an airline employee and as a passenger, I have a few tips to share that I think will make your traveling experience more enjoyable.

FOUR BIG ISSUES THAT CONSTANTLY SURFACE

Upgrades

Contrary to what you read on the internet, unless there’s a weight and balance issue flight attendants aren’t allowed to “upgrade” anyone.

Temper your expectations . . . if you buy a coach seat, plan on sitting in coach.

If you want to sit near the front, you’ll need to upgrade your ticket.

It isn’t fair to those who actually paid a premium for their upgraded seats to watch you be upgraded for free.

Put yourself in the flight attendant’s shoes for a moment. How would you explain to the other passengers in coach why they also can’t be upgraded for free after they watch a passenger get moved to a more expensive seat? Worse, how would you explain to those who paid for an upgrade why coach passengers are being upgraded for free?

Awkward!

When you buy your ticket, make peace with where you’re sitting. Don’t demean the flight attendant or gate agent over rules they didn’t make, but are still required to follow.

Side Note: If you complain to the airline about not getting upgraded, the flight attendant and gate agents are following company policy so your complaint will fall on deaf ears.  

Luggage

Flight attendants are not allowed to help passengers stow bags. Period.

Would you care to know why?

If a flight attendant is injured helping you stow your bag in the overhead bin, Workers Comp won’t cover it.

If you pack it, you stow it or we can check it to your final destination.

Will I Make My Connection?

Crystal Ball Anyone?

I’m truly sorry, but I honestly have no idea if you’re going to make your next flight.

Delays happen for a variety of reasons, most of which are completely out of our control.

No, there isn’t anyone we can call.

However the gate agent working your connecting flight knows exactly where you started, where you currently are and how long it should take you to get from your arrival gate to your departure gate.

In most situations it’s the gate agent’s supervisor (or someone even higher) who decides whether the flight waits for you or leaves you behind. 

My advice . . . keep a positive attitude, run on down to your gate and see what happens. If you miss your flight the airline will roll you over to the next available flight.

I’ve never met anyone who lives in an airport because they could never get on a flight out.

The Terminal was a movie.

Babies

They cry. Their ears hurt. They’re tired. They’re hungry. Their mom or dad is anxious and the little baby feels their fear.

Let the babies cry. I don’t mind.

If you find yourself getting irritated about screaming babies, put on your noise cancelling headphones and remember that YOU were once a screaming baby. Hopefully those around your frustrated mom and dad were patient with them when they couldn’t calm you down.

Ways You Can Make Your Flight Positive

Your own behavior and actions often dictate how your flight will go. Control what’s within your control.

Here are some helpful tips to make your trip a positive experience:

• Be kind and courteous . . . even when kindness and courtesy aren’t shown to you. It’s okay to be the bigger person. Who knows what that grouchy person is going through.

• Don’t make a flight attendant ask you multiple times to comply. 

• Show up to the airport early, follow the rules and bring your best attitude. If you bring a great attitude you’ll get that right back. It’s really difficult to be snarky to someone when they’re being nice to you.

TSA Precheck and Global Entry

• If you plan on traveling a lot, TSA Precheck and Global Entry are both worthwhile. It costs $100 for five years, even if you only travel two to three times a year the time you save standing security lines is worth the cash. 

Travel Cards

• If the travel bug catches you and you start traveling a lot, it might be worth it to you to get a travel credit card with some sort of Airport Club Membership. The Points Guy offers currently updated information about travel cards.

Earbuds and a Pillow are a Must on Long Flights

• A good pair of noise-canceling headphones can make or break your flight, especially if there’s a screaming baby, an inconsiderate passenger watching a movie without headphones next to you or a couple falling in or out of love nearby. I love my Bose Noise Cancelling Earbuds. I know wireless earbuds are the big thing (and the future), but nothing says “I’m Busy” like wires coming out of your ears.
• If I’m traveling internationally I usually bring my own neck pillow. When I first became a flight attendant, everyone was carrying pillows around but you see them less and less now. On long flights I still carry mine because it’s both a neck pillow that transforms into a real pillow that I’ll use at hotels throughout my whole trip. (Only American hotel chains seem to believe in big fluffy hotel pillows).

Food and Drink

• Bring your own treats/snacks/drinks/lunch to make your flight enjoyable (but nothing offensively smelly), especially if your flight is under three hours. I’ve decided that $3 for an overpriced Coke Zero is well worth the cost to have happy taste buds. As far as food onboard goes, you’re really at the mercy of the airline. Unless I know I’m flying first class on a long International flight, I always either bring my lunch or get my favorite treat from the airport. 

Don’t Be Bored

• Download movies or books for your flight to keep yourself entertained. Not all airplanes have seatback entertainment or power outlets so make sure you bring something to do . . . and the juice to keep it going. I carry this portable external charger to keep my phone and tablet charged all flight.

Reclining Politeness

• Don’t put your seat back without asking the person behind you if it’s okay. I’ve had multiple drinks knocked off my tray table and electronics pushed onto the floor because the person in front of me slammed their seat back into my tray table. I could have quickly moved my things if they’d told me they were going to move their chair. (I’m not sure anyone really needs that extra two inches of space anyway.) 

Be Mindful of Your Backpack

• Avoid wearing a backpack. Backpack wearers are blissfully unaware that they’re slamming their backpack into nearly everyone and everything they pass by. If you must wear a backpack, when you board the airplane flip it around and hug it to your chest as you maneuver down the narrow aisle.

Layer Up and Dress Appropriately

• Dress in layers, even during the summer. Some planes run hot, others cold. It’s easier to remove a layer than to freeze on an airplane. Crews do what they can (I am very sensitive to keeping an airplane a comfortable temperature) but each airplane has a unique temperature personality. I’ve had a handful of flights where the cabin was too hot or too cold and nothing we did made it just right. 

• When it comes to your personal outfit regardless of the time of year or where you’re going, it’s never appropriate to wear half a shirt, a bra as a top and/or biker shorts.

Watch Your Language – There are Little Kids Everywhere

• Please watch your language. Little kids also fly around and don’t need to be subject to the F-word flying out of your mouth or written on your t-shirt. An airplane isn’t a bar, a social club or your house. An airplane is a crowded space where a wide variety of different types of people with different beliefs and cultures have merged together in a very small space. Save the colorful language for social hour with your friends.

You can visit Passenger Shaming on Facebook or Instagram for more information on how NOT to act on an airplane.

For the New or Anxious Traveler

To make your travel experience better, here are some suggestions:

Boarding

• Boarding is the busiest time for flight attendants . . . and a time that flight attendants aren’t getting paid. This isn’t the time to ask for water to “take your pill” (every flight attendant is thinking, You were just in a terminal with running water and shops, why is your pill suddenly my emergency during the busiest time of the flight? Boarding is also not the time to ask for snacks and it’s certainly not the time to demand special treatment. 

Potty Inside, Please

• If you’re boarding first, please use the restroom in the terminal. The airplane bathroom is basically an outhouse in the sky and for reasons I don’t understand the first people on the airplane always clutter up the galleys lining up to go to the bathroom. PLEASE USE THE BATHROOM INSIDE!  (I understand when folks are running from a tight connection or have small kids, but the first group of people who come on the airplane are NOT coming from a tight connection). The many, many bathrooms in the terminal are roomy, have comfortable toilets and the hand washing water from the sink hasn’t been in an airplane holding tank. 

Please Don’t Complain

• Please don’t start a stream of complaints as soon as you walk onboard. Flight attendants meet hundreds of people a day, and most of us enjoy interacting with the nice, friendly folks. However I will keep my interactions to a minimum with anyone who starts complaining the moment they walk on board the aircraft. Negativity breeds negativity and I don’t want to be around people who bring me down.

NOTE: There is a huge difference between legitimate issues that need to be resolved (which I want to address and take care of) and people who complain, complain, complain and don’t want solutions (energy vampires).

We’re Paid to Remind You to Follow FAA Rules

And Report You if You Don’t

There are passengers who intentionally go against all FAA safety rules and do exactly opposite of what flight attendants ask them to do.

Then they’ll scream at flight attendants after being asked multiple times for compliance with the most basic things (how many times should a flight attendant ask someone to put on their seatbelt, for example).

My experience is these passengers enjoy negative attention and love being able to later complain about flight attendants picking on them.

If you have a friend who’s always having trouble with TSA, gate agents and flight attendants, there’s a good chance your friend is bringing that trouble on themselves.

If you ever see a video of someone getting kicked off an airplane, ask yourself what happened BEFORE they started to make the video . . .  

Narcissists on the Airplane

These crazymakers demand constant attention and have unrealistic expectations from the moment they walk on the plane. Then they pout when they don’t get their way. I used to be afraid of these people, I now forget about them the moment they deplane, grateful I can focus on something else.

Most Passengers are Wonderful

Most passengers are amazing, kind people. If you’re still reading, I’m guessing you’re one of them.

It’s the complainers, the problem causers and the crazymakers (you all know the kind of people I’m talking about) that make travel so much more difficult for everyone.

If your crew doesn’t seem like they’re having fun, they might be dealing with one of these “special” passengers.

Please don’t be like these people.

Control What’s Within Your Control

Airplane travel is a part of any exciting journey. Do your part to make it a great experience by arriving early, be prepared for your trip and keep a great attitude.

Unfortunately things happen and you might experience cancellations, delays or other hiccups.

Give yourself plenty of time between connections and if there’s somewhere you NEED to be, (like on a cruise) fly in the day before. 

A smile and a kind word goes a long way with anyone who seems like they’ve had a long or difficult day. If you’re a gifter, a treat for the crew will also go a long way.

I hope all your flights are smooth sailing!

Thanks for Popping By

Please feel free to share your questions or comments below. If you see any typos, let me know!

I encourage you to share my tribal knowledge with someone who loves or would love to travel.

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, a huge thanks to Alex for helping with photos.