Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #6 – 15 Flying Tips That’ll Keep You Sane this Summer

by Adam Last updated July 7, 2014

This week Betty shares 15 tips to keep ourselves, our fellow passengers and, most importantly, our flight attendants as happy as possible when we fly this summer.

Betty continues spilling her secrets. Thanks to Mark from Yahoo! for sharing a new weekly series called “Confessions of A Fed-Up Flight Attendant” written by “Betty”. Below is a snippet of the sixth entry from the series, you can check out the full post here and a new one each Monday.

1. Think about your outfit for your airplane trip. Not how you look but how you will feel! People get on airplanes dressed in ripped shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top and then complain that they are freezing?!? Whenever I fly, I always have a scarf or jacket I can put on if I’m cold or use as a pillow.

2. If you’re traveling with a pet you might want to ask your vet about a light medication for your animal. We call it “doggy dope.” It will lessen the stress on your furry friend and you both will arrive at your destination a little less harried!

3. I know it may sound basic but wear socks or shoes when entering the airplane bathroom. You’d be shocked at the number of passengers who go into the bathroom in bare feet. Men don’t have the best aim even when they’re on the ground; you can be sure that in a small space and with rough air, the bathroom floor is not exactly germ-free!

4. Airline tickets used to be booked by professionals. Today consumers do it themselves online, with price being the only factor they consider. Big mistake! When booking online, you need to consider another important factor: the time you have between connecting flights. If you only have 45 minutes or less to connect to another flight, you’re basically flirting with a very stressful running-through-the-airport situation.

5. My favorite packing trick is to bring clothes that are old or you’re not crazy about and then just leave them behind during your trip. Your closet gets cleaned out and you have more room in your suitcase for purchases. And as an added bonus, if you’re traveling to a developing country, you can give those items away! Now you’re thinking: “Lovely… you’re giving dirty old clothes away?!” That doesn’t have to be the case. Lots of times you buy something and it just doesn’t fit perfectly or it’s not your color. So it sits unworn in your closet. Why not just pack it, wear it, and give it away to someone who can use it? I once gave this green velvet shirt from the Gap to a woman in Morocco. She was so happy you’d have thought I’d given her gold!

6. Ohe best new trend I’ve seen is the preemptive baby apologies. I was on a flight a few months when I saw a passenger with a baby putting little bags of candy on the seats around her. The bags had a note attached that read: “Hi, my name is Jordan and I’m five months old. Sometime during the flight I may get hungry or fed up with sitting on my mom’s lap. So I may cry a bit. Just know that my parents are going to do everything they can to keep me happy and quiet so I don’t bother you!”

Check out the rest of the list using the link above!

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Adam

Adam is the proud Founder and CEO of both Point Me to the Plane and point.me. An international consultant turned TV programming strategist, Adam currently works full-time on both websites. His obsession with points and miles dates back to his freshman year at college. After browsing Flyertalk and Mileage Workshop, Adam pulled the trigger and signed up for his first Citibank AAdvantage credit card and MCI phone line (yes, landlines still existed). Back then, both deals were churnable and in no time at all, the college freshman had enough miles to travel to Europe and Asia in First Class for free, multiple times. Needless to say, he was hooked! Fast forward a few years and Adam of course ended up in a career with a heavy travel requirement…which meant extra miles for awards! As his colleagues and friends started to hear about and see pictures from his trips, they wanted in on the secret and Adam began to assist them with their bookings, Juicy Miles was born. At the same time, Adam started an email newsletter to prevent those less obsessed co-workers from squandering their point collection opportunities. The bi-weekly email covered everything from upcoming promotions, guidance on maximizing points, and redemption advice. The distribution quickly expanded outside the office and Point Me to the Plane became a BoardingArea blog.