The Secret to Surviving Air
Travel
“Yippee ki-yay, Mother F@@k*r.” No, this isn’t a Die Hard movie where
you have to take off your shoes and socks, walk around barefoot, and make fists
with your toes. I have been flying on airplanes since the age of 10 and over
the course of my life, I have established a list of survival techniques for the
dreaded ‘travel day’ of any trip, particularly if you travel alone.
I fly almost entirely with Southwest Airlines, unless I am traveling internationally.
The secret to saving money when you fly with Southwest Airlines is to not waste
your money on the Early Bird check-in. If you set an alarm to check in
exactly 24 hours before your flight, you will get a good boarding position. Their
system automatically checks Early Birds in 36 hours before a flight and
everyone else’s first opportunity to check in is at the 24-hour mark. Now, if
you happen to be the last person with the Early Bird check-in (vs. the first person
checking in at 24 hours), your boarding position may only be better by ONE spot
while paying that extra premium. Regardless of what boarding pass you have this
hack will always work.
When you walk onto the plane, don’t ever forget to smile and say, “Hi” and “Thank
you” to your friendly flight attendants. It’s those little things that
mean the world to them. This will do two things; it will brighten their day and
they will be happier to help you with anything on your flight. On a daily
basis, they encounter rude and non-compliant passengers, and crazy work
schedules while flying into different time zones which is why its so important
to be empathetic, appreciative, and kind.
Everyone who boards a plane will pick these two seats first: the window seat
or the aisle seat, every time. Let’s be honest, most people don’t want to
sit in the dreaded middle seat, be cramped, and have no arm room. However, this
is one of my favorite techniques to follow when traveling solo because, if done
correctly, it is much more comfortable. If you are on any plane flying to your
beloved destination, what do you want after a flight that lasts an hour or 12
hours? We all want to be sitting closest to the front of the plane, so we
can exit quickly so that we don’t have to spend any unnecessary time inside a
crowded bubble.
You need to find the first available middle seat closest to the front of the
plane. Do not ask the person in the aisle seat if the seat is taken already—this
is a trap! Everyone wants space on their flight, so most of the time
those passengers always say, “Yes, it’s taken,” even if it’s not. This
will force you to move further to the back of the plane. To avoid this,
simply tell the person in the aisle seat that you are going to sit in the
middle. If the middle seat truly is already taken by someone else, they
will let you know. In this case, you can’t argue with the person or prove
that they are wrong – just move on to the next middle seat and repeat. I’ve had
a ticket with a C boarding position before and used this hack to be able to
secure a seat 3 rows from the front, even with 90% of the plane already
seated. I know, right? This will inevitably happen anyway once the
flight attendants realize they need to fill the remainder of the seats for the
passengers left over. Lucky you that you used this hack to secure your
seat closest to the front of the plane!
Now, that you have your middle seat closest to the front of the plane, you
must establish your place there. The window seat gets the view and a place to rest
their head. The aisle seat gets easy access to the exit and the feeling of
extra space. In my opinion, the middle seat deserves to have both armrests. When
you sit down, immediately place your elbows on the very back of the
armrests. This is the most important part because once this happens, you
will immediately feel more comfortable flying, as you will have already
established the armrests between the person sitting in the aisle seat and the
window seat. This will work 95% of the time, and I will tell you why: once
you already have your elbows in the back of the armrests, people will tend to
avoid touching you and just relinquish the armrest. This might be a
little awkward for both parties, but it’s the best way to survive your flight in
the middle seat. This will be a little harder to understand until you try it
yourself.
Now that you are feeling more comfortable having both armrests, the key is don’t
ever let anyone steal them back, because they will never give them up. Allowing
anyone to take them back will only have you flying the rest of your trip with
your arms in your lap. The secret hack to secure your place and keep
those armrests is to recline your chair back so that you have access to that highly
sought-after position for your elbows at the back.
Give these hacks a try, and I promise you will thank me! This is the secret
to surviving air travel.
Seconds2Travel-Worlds Beauty One Second At a Time
