I realize most of us aren’t flying right now. But travel and airports have to open eventually, right? Here are some tips I’ve learned about airline travel.
- One tip I haven’t quite mastered is this: pack less. When I moved to England for the year back in September, the trolley’s to carry luggage were broken and I had to try to carry three suitcases and a backpack. They were heavy and it was not fun. I probably looked like an idiot kicking the one case on wheels in front of me. Plus, if you pack less, you’ll also pay less. Airports love fees–fees for checked bags or overweight bags, for example.
- Arrive early. A good rule of thumb is to arrive at least an hour before boarding for domestic travel and two hours before boarding for international travel. At least. The worst thing is to be stressed you’ll miss your flight because the line for security takes forever. Trust me, you get all sweaty running with your luggage to the gate and you’ll be too afraid to go to the bathroom lest you miss the plane and it’s just a mess.
- One way to save time and not be the sweaty, bladder-full mess is to check-in online. Usually you can check-in to your flight 24 hours before boarding. Just make sure you have access to a printer because you might need to print the confirmation though these days most can get confirmations and passes on their phone.
- Also, to make going through security quicker, try to have your bag of liquids and your laptop ready. I realize this is hard to do when you’re constantly moving in the line, so I always pack the liquid bag and electronics right at the top of my suitcase so I can just pull them right out. Though I also have signed up for TSA Pre-Check so I don’t always have to pack my liquids or take off my shoes–it depends if you want to pay the fee. I think it’s about $85.
Hope this helps and flying is easier from now on!
Adventure is Out There 