Traveling can be a living nightmare for many of us, so imagine what it must be like for those who live it every day – flight staff! Well, actually, for the professionals, journeying hundreds of miles at a time isn’t so bad. They just learn to cope. They have amassed a great wealth of handy tips and tricks to bear what many of us assume to be unbearable. And thankfully they have decided to share these travel secrets with you.
So, here are 11 handy travel hacks brought to you by those who know, the flight attendants themselves.
1. How to get the most attentive service from flight staff
Because people often seek seats at the front of the plane – for a faster entrance to and exit from the aircraft – they also assume they will get better service and more attention from attendants there too. This is wrong. Because extra supplies of nuts, alcohol, earplugs, and the like are usually not overflowing, staff are reluctant to swiftly respond to calls from the front of the place. They realize if they are seen by the rest of the passengers giving out freebies, they will receive more and more requests.
This is not a problem if you are seated near the back where few people will see you being waited on. So, always seek the rear-end seats for the best service.
2. How to iron your clothes quickly
If you’re in a rush, you can use your flat iron or hair iron to uncrease your clothes. So says a flight attendant with 30 years’ traveling experience.
3. How to only sleep in the cleanest sheets
If you are offered a hotel bed with sheets that have no creases from recent folding, it has certainly already been slept on. One flight attendant of 19 years’ experience points out that you should always request freshly cleaned sheets for any hotel room you are paying for.
4. How to make your hotel room perfectly dark
If you’re having trouble ignoring the chink of light beaming through a gap in your hotel room curtains, try this tip from a flight attendant with 15 years’ experience. Use the clips from a pants/trouser hanger to clip the curtains together.
5. How to prevent travel damaging your ears
Another flight attendant recommends that you not travel if you are currently suffering from a severe cold. She did so once, and the result was that she lost her hearing for a week and was in tremendous pain. Flying while having a cold can damage your eardrums and affect your hearing.
6. How to avoid being seated next to infants and babies
Our friendly flight attendants have some great advice to help you avoid being the person sat next to a crying infant. Because the partitions or bulkheads are the only places where a baby can be placed into a bassinet, babies and mothers are almost always seated near them. If you can get a seat far away from these partitions, you’ll be far less bothered by the baby’s inevitable wailing.
7. How to prevent jet lag
We sleep better when we follow a bedtime ritual. One flight attendant suggests her own routine, which invariably has her dozing like a lamb. She recommends not using any electronics for an hour while having a cup of tea and doing some reading. If this doesn’t work, she suggests forgetting sleep for a while before trying again later on.
8. How to pack light
In order to avoid over packing, inquire whether the hotel you have booked has a washer and dryer you can use. If they do, all you need to bring is a Ziploc bag containing some detergent packs and a dryer sheet. For this flight attendant with a year’s experience, the trick saves several days’ worth of clothing.
9. How to breeze through customs
One flight attendant, who wishes to remain anonymous, suggests paying for global entry in order to help us whisk our way quickly through customs. She exclaims: “it’s totally worth it!”
10. How to pack a suitcase efficiently
Instead of folding clothes into your suitcase as you would normally, one flight attendant with a year’s experience recommends you roll your items up to help save space. This is something you have to try!
11. How to always get a free breakfast
For some reason or another, you know you’re not going to be able to make the complimentary meal you’ve been offered. In such a case, a flight attendant with one year’s experience recommends you request a snack or sack lunch ahead of time. Even if this only amounts to a bottle of water and a piece of fruit – it could suppress your appetite when you need it!
Image courtesy of Depositphotos
