Wendi’s Top Tips for Air Travel

I like to travel and see new things, thus the reason for starting my blog. However, flying is not one of my favorite ways to get somewhere. I do it because it is convenient, not because I like it.

Photo Courtesy of Martijn van Exel.

It isn’t that I’m afraid to fly. I’m not. I am truly amazed that I can travel to Boston, MA or St. Louis, MO in under two hours. The Wright Brothers (the guys who “invented” flying machines) would be, too. It is that I get motion sick. Taking off is bad. Landing is worse. Not sure why a final approach takes 20 minutes.

If the motion sickness wasn’t bad enough, then there is the hassle of the airport. There is the checking in at the terminal. Deciding whether to check luggage or carry it on. It is the whole process of going through security. Finding the right gate. Going to the restroom with bags. And on and on it goes.

Thankfully, for years I have not had to travel alone. Bobby is a great help in keeping me calm when we travel.  However, I recently went to a conference in St. Louis. Bobby offered to come with me, but I didn’t want him to have to spend his days bored while I was in conference sessions.

So I had to come up with a plan to navigate the turbulent airways on my own. Here are some tips I put into place to alleviate my stress. You might find them useful, too.

1. Check your bag. For the airline I was using, it cost me $25 to do this. It was worth it, because I didn’t have to think about how I was going to lift this heavy (I can’t pack light to save my life) bag into the overhead compartment by myself. It turns out the plane I was on was quite small, so I could have taken my bag to the gate with me and then left it at the end by the plane for it to be loaded for free. However, I didn’t want to take a chance on this occurring. The $25 was worth it for peace of mind.
2. Wear slip on shoes. Unless you are a “senior citizen” you have to take off your shoes to go through security. It is so much easier to wear shoes that slip on and off. I’ve worn tennis shoes before and the ordeal was quite stressful. The whole grabbing your shoes, carry-on bag and whatnot out of those bins and then trying to find a place to sit and put your shoes on, is something I try to avoid at all costs.
3. Bring an empty water bottle. I drink a lot of water. Problem is, you can’t bring more than 3 oz of liquid through security.  (I actually don’t know if they will even let you bring that much of just water.) But, if you bring an empty water bottle, you can fill it up at water fountains in the airport terminal after you pass through security. Some airport water is better than others, but it saves me the money that I would spend to stay hydrated while waiting to board the plane.
4. Get there early. I know that the airlines say to get to the airport an hour ahead of time. Some say 90 minutes and if flying internationally, 2 hours.  I like to get to the airport well in advance, because then I beat the rush through security. I am not my best when I am rushed. If I feel I am holding up others, that raises my anxiety level, too.  So if I can get the the airport and go through security before there is a huge line forming, I feel less stress. If I feel less stress, the better for those flying with me–whether I know them or not.
5. Bring snacks.  I like to eat when I travel. It helps with the motion sickness. Also, keeps me from being bored. This past trip, I’m glad to have brought something to snack on. Where most times you get free peanuts or pretzels, the airline I flew this time offered “sweet and savory snacks for purchase.” I wasn’t even tempted because I had my snacks in my carry on bag.
6. Store your carry on bag under the seat in front of you instead of in the overhead compartment. I have a Boston Red Sox backpack that I use as a carry-on. It fits nicely under the seat.  If your bag is small enough, this is the way to go.  That way whatever you have deemed necessary to carry on, you can access easily. Well, maybe I should say, more easily. Nothing is very easy when you are packed like sardines in a little metal tube at 30,000 feet.

These are my tips. If you have others, please let me know in the comments below. I’m always looking for ways to make the travel experience less frustrating.