Traveling by air is indeed a wonderful experience. However, for the first time, you may encounter worries as I experienced years ago. Later after following several air travel guides, it starts getting better.
Just like we have life hacks to get better at living, we’ve flight hacks to make the journey smooth and relaxed.
Sharing with you some of my best travel hacks for international flights; some of them are pre-airport while a few of them are post-airport hacks:
#1. A Mini Guide to cheap air flights
Everybody is interested in buying cheap flights, right?
So here are a few hacks to buy cheap air tickets:
- Check from a variety of sources. Whatever top-rated booking apps are there; including Priceline, Kayak, Skyscanner and official sites, watch out for the fares. This way, you can find the source that is offering the best value for the route you’re choosing.
- Don’t go for no-layover flights. Universally, we find non-stop flights more expensive than the ones with a layover. A bonus hack, choose the one with some long stops and so you can enjoy two trips in one go.
- Booking tickets is going cashless, we usually prefer to book directly from web portals. In case if you’re booking from a web portal, clear your cookies or go with an incognito mode. Web booking apps are coded in such a way that they fetch your route details on your first search and later when you come back with money loaded in your credit card, they’ll slightly increase the prices using cookies. Better clear your cookies or open incognito mode for booking.
- Best of all, book as early as you can. It is often observed that if you book a few weeks or months earlier, a decrease in fares is observed.
- Last but not least, don’t rely on big-name airlines if you are looking to save some bucks. Go for other airlines (specifically for the state’s airline that you’re visiting), it may offer you the best value for your air-experience.
#2. Take a Walk!
If you’ve followed the above cheap air ticket hacks, I am sure you’ll end getting a discounted price.
Before you board make sure you take a great walk. Either at the airport or in the backyard of your house, just do it. As you get a bit physically tired, it will help you relax and so you can have some easy sleep on the go.
#3. Dress like a Sportsman!
It may sound weird but it is worth a try. International flights often refer to long waiting hours. You might end up walking a lot and feel sore in your legs, so the hack is to dress like a sportsman.
Wear compression socks as these help in protecting against blood clots on long flights. Also, don’t go for formal dressings. Look at the weather forecast for the destination you’re traveling to and dress accordingly. So that you have no worries about the dress and no sore in your legs when you hit your dream destination.
#4. Always ask for a seat in front
No matter which seat you’ve booked, planes usually do have some vacant seats in front. As you book a flight, call the airline and ask if they can owe you a seat in front.
Seating in front has great advantages. Flight attendants usually serve from the front rows and get their trash picked up ASAP. While for the passengers, in the end, you have to wait for your trash to be picked up. Also, if you’re thirsty or hungry, you have to wait for long to get yourself served.
#5. Avoid Alcohol on the go!
While it may sound good to have alcohol on the go, but you might end up getting a jet lag and encounter sleeplessness. International flights do serve free alcohol for the passengers on board, but this gets worse when you have several hours left for the landing.
Whether you’re going out for holidays or a vacation party, avoid drinking alcohol and prefer water. This way, you can have a relaxing flight and get a good sleeping time too. After all, you save yourself from jet lag. 😀
#6. Reach a few hours earlier before take-off
I can’t resist sharing this one, make sure you reach a few hours earlier when going for an international flight. It has got several perks when you visit the airline cabin, you can get a seat in the front rows or get a free or partially paid upgrade to business class, free access to passenger lounge or more.
I got a free upgrade to business class a few times, all you require is visit the airline correspondents a few hours earlier before the take-off. Ask them for upgrade and they’ll get back to you with offers you can’t resist accepting.
#7. Have personalized tags on your luggage
On international flights, you may experience a lot of hassle to get access to your suitcases or luggage. To save time, put personalized tags on your luggage. You can use ribbons, stickers or tags (with your names on them) to find your luggage in no time.
#8. Carry the important stuff in your backpack
Your backpack can save you whenever you require essential documents or gadgets. Make sure to have your passports, boarding passes, immigration cards exchanged money, and mobile chargers, in your backpack (never pack them in your suitcases). Better accessibility to important stuff can make your international flight experience hassle-free.
Other than these hacks, make sure to have your documents saved in your phone (to help you in case of luggage loss or theft), use eye-mask, noise-less headphones, and yes, travel pillow!
Wishing you the best of luck for the next international flight. 😉
Written By Boyan Minchev
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