This year, I've flown a lot. As it stands right now, I'm averaging a flight every two weeks. While I'm no stranger to stepping onto an airplane (I took my first flight at 6 months old and have been regularly flying since then), it's only been in the last nine months that the frequency has skyrocketed. Given that Nathalie and I have taken a year off to travel around the world, it makes sense that we would be seeing so many airports and airplanes over the past year.
Now, having spent the equivalent of one week straight on airplanes, I've gathered a great sample of what to do and, more importantly, what not to do when flying. I'll be writing and releasing these aviation travel guides periodically, starting with my first post on the topic: how to take an airplane if you've rarely or never taken one before.
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| Garuda Indonesian Airways B737 in retro colors parked at Bali Denpasar International Airport |
Arriving To The Airport With Zero Hassle
Depending on where you're going to and which destination you're leaving from, your airline will tell you how early they suggest that you arrive at the airport before your departure time. Usually, this is somewhere between two to three hours before the scheduled take off.
For the most part, this time frame should be taken as a guideline and not as an exact rule. I try to avoid arriving at the two (or three) hour-mark. Why? Because that's when everyone customarily shows up. This means you'll wait in line longer and chances are if you have people accompanying you to see you off, they'll have to stand around doing nothing.
If they brought you with their car, they're also having to pay for parking which at airports isn't exactly cheap. Ask yourself: wouldn't you rather be getting a coffee with them instead of stressing out in a needlessly long queue? I thought so. Here's what you can do save yourself time and stress:
If they brought you with their car, they're also having to pay for parking which at airports isn't exactly cheap. Ask yourself: wouldn't you rather be getting a coffee with them instead of stressing out in a needlessly long queue? I thought so. Here's what you can do save yourself time and stress:
Check-in online and purchase any checked bags/flight add-ons (if necessary) before leaving for the airport.
By checking in before you get to the airport, you'll wind up saving yourself beaucoup time by not having to deal with superfluous lines. Most airlines also supplement this with bag drops meaning that once you've shown your boarding pass (which you can either print it at home/the office or send it to your smartphone), you simply put your bag on the belt and the agent does the rest.
Some airlines, like Ryanair and Air Asia, require that you check-in online before showing up the airport. Others don't require it but recommend that you do so. In any case, it's definitely worth your time to check-in before arriving at the airport.
Additionally, airfares are becoming increasingly compartmentalized, meaning that unless you're on a full, non-restricted fare, you'll have to pay for checked bags, extra legroom, priority boarding, or even the privilege to choose your own seat. Again, this varies depending on both what airline you're flying and the terms of your ticket, but it's not only easier to book these in advance of arriving at the airport, but often times cheaper too.
This especially rings true for checked bags. On many airlines if you haven't bought a bag in advance you'll be forced to pay per pound/Kg at check-in. No one wants to pay 4 times as much the same good regardless of what it is. Checked bags are no exception so remember to book them in advance to save money.
Find out a) what time the check-in closes and b) average security time
Another step to maximizing your free time and minimizing how long you wait in lines is to plan your route. A big part of this depends on how many minutes you need to get from check-in/bag drop, through security and into the terminal. Again, this will vary by both airport and airline.
Before traveling to the airport, look on the airline's website to find out what time the check-in/bag drop desk closes prior to departure. If you can't find it easily on their website, a quick web search should do the trick (e.g.: searching "Swiss Check-in JFK" gave me the list of all check-in desk closures for Swiss Airlines as the first result).
Ideally, aim to be at the airport 30 minutes before the check-in closes to give yourself a small buffer. If it's getting close to cut-off and you're in the queue, someone from the airline will probably ask if anyone is flying to X destination. These passengers are then bumped to the next open check-in counter.
That being said, don't push your luck too much. The goal is to get to the airport with enough time to check-in without stress but not getting there too early and having to endure unnecessary waiting. If you want to get to the airport with zero or even negative buffer, feel free to contact my dad as he's a master at that.
Additionally, it helps to know how much time you'll need to clear security and passport control (if traveling internationally*). You'll want to be at your gate by the announced boarding time, again to give yourself a bit of buffer.
In the United States, you can use the TSA's (the national airport security authority) website to check average security wait times on the day you travel (TSA app airport security wait times). For travel outside the US, it's best to check either on the airport's website or via a web search. This real-time information not be available, but you'll probably find general information given by either the airport or other travelers.
*If you're traveling internationally from the United States, there are no passport controls prior to leaving the country. However, this seems to be the exception to the rule as I have yet to leave any other country without doing a passport control prior to getting to the terminal.
Each airline has it own set of rules when it comes to boarding. Some airlines don't assign seats but rather allocate places on a first-come first-serve basis. This system is used mainly by low cost airlines (Southwest, Air Asia, etc).
Most full-service airlines assign seats and along with it, boarding numbers. The logic behind boarding in groups is to keep long lines forming at the gate and prevent a bottleneck in the plane. Unfortunately this system isn't exactly efficient and most of the time, you're going to be playing 'hurry up and wait' in the air bridge or on the tarmac before finding your seat.
The root cause of this delay? People don't immediately sit down when they find their seat. Instead, they rummage through their bags, looking for whatever they need for the flight. Don't Do This.
Remember all that time spend waiting for your boarding group to be called? Instead of standing around idly, take the 20-30 seconds to get what you need out of your carry-on bag and keep it in your free hand. This way, you're not blocking people behind you from finding their seat once you're on board. I usually take out the following items before boarding:
As soon as I find my seat, I quickly toss these personal belongings on my chair, put my bag in the overhead bin and take my seat. I'm not wasting time rummaging through my stuff, blocking the aisle. Additionally, if I'm taking the laptop out (usually to work on a blog post), I'll throw everything I need into the laptop sleeve. This way, I only have to carry the laptop in its pouch and I'm not juggling to find my stuff.
Up next: Part 2: hacks to make your time in the air as comfortable as possible!
Before traveling to the airport, look on the airline's website to find out what time the check-in/bag drop desk closes prior to departure. If you can't find it easily on their website, a quick web search should do the trick (e.g.: searching "Swiss Check-in JFK" gave me the list of all check-in desk closures for Swiss Airlines as the first result).
Ideally, aim to be at the airport 30 minutes before the check-in closes to give yourself a small buffer. If it's getting close to cut-off and you're in the queue, someone from the airline will probably ask if anyone is flying to X destination. These passengers are then bumped to the next open check-in counter.
That being said, don't push your luck too much. The goal is to get to the airport with enough time to check-in without stress but not getting there too early and having to endure unnecessary waiting. If you want to get to the airport with zero or even negative buffer, feel free to contact my dad as he's a master at that.
Additionally, it helps to know how much time you'll need to clear security and passport control (if traveling internationally*). You'll want to be at your gate by the announced boarding time, again to give yourself a bit of buffer.
In the United States, you can use the TSA's (the national airport security authority) website to check average security wait times on the day you travel (TSA app airport security wait times). For travel outside the US, it's best to check either on the airport's website or via a web search. This real-time information not be available, but you'll probably find general information given by either the airport or other travelers.
*If you're traveling internationally from the United States, there are no passport controls prior to leaving the country. However, this seems to be the exception to the rule as I have yet to leave any other country without doing a passport control prior to getting to the terminal.
Breeze Through Security
Speaking of security, let's look at how to make your passage into the terminal hassle free. Although each country has their own set of rules, by and large, they follow the same guidelines. I'm going to work with the TSA's policies as they are both strict and emulated around the world.- When packing your carry-on, put your plastic bag of liquids (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc) at the top of your bag and not in your toiletry kit. This saves you time from digging around your bag, holding up the people behind you.
- Put your laptop/tablet somewhere easily accessible. This is the same rule as the one above. If you can easily reach it, then you won't be stressed trying to find your computer when you reach the x-ray machines.
- Put the contents of your pocket (keys, wallet, coins, etc) in your carry-on bag: You'll have to go through a metal detector of some sorts to clear security. By putting this stuff in your bag before getting to the check point, you avoid hastily fumbling through your pockets when it's your turn.
- Take off the metal jewelry before getting in line if you think it's going to set off the detectors. Yeah, I get it, you bought some nice looking but cheap jewelry that isn't pure silver/gold. The problem is that it will set off the metal detectors buying you a one-way ticket to additional screening. Avoid this situation by taking them off and putting your budget jewelry into your carry-on before getting in the security line.
- Shoes off. The Americans seem to the be the only ones still requiring that shoes are taken off and scanned separately. While I don't understand the logic, just be prepared to take your shoes off before you get to the front of the line.
- Repack your bag the way you want after clearing security. Airports offer ample space with tables and benches post-security screening point to allow travelers to recompose themselves and their bags. Once you're in the terminal, you more than likely won't be checked again so feel free to pack your belongings however you'd like.
Again, these rules will vary depending on where you're traveling from. In most parts of Europe, you'll follow the same guidelines as above except without the shoes. In Southeast Asia, we never had to take our liquids out and only rarely did we whip out the electronics.
Last week when we flew out of JFK, we went through a new security line that doesn't require passengers to remove anything from their bags or pockets. If I understood correctly, this is being tested by the TSA and will (hopefully) be rolled out to all airports sometime in the near future.
Like with every other tip I've put here, it's important that you check beforehand either on the airport website or via a web search to find which rules apply for the airport you're traveling from.
Take Out What You Need Before You Board
You've checked into your flight, made it through security and are now heading towards your gate. Congratulations, you're almost on your plane! Now comes the part where you get to be herded like cattle.Each airline has it own set of rules when it comes to boarding. Some airlines don't assign seats but rather allocate places on a first-come first-serve basis. This system is used mainly by low cost airlines (Southwest, Air Asia, etc).
Most full-service airlines assign seats and along with it, boarding numbers. The logic behind boarding in groups is to keep long lines forming at the gate and prevent a bottleneck in the plane. Unfortunately this system isn't exactly efficient and most of the time, you're going to be playing 'hurry up and wait' in the air bridge or on the tarmac before finding your seat.
The root cause of this delay? People don't immediately sit down when they find their seat. Instead, they rummage through their bags, looking for whatever they need for the flight. Don't Do This.
Remember all that time spend waiting for your boarding group to be called? Instead of standing around idly, take the 20-30 seconds to get what you need out of your carry-on bag and keep it in your free hand. This way, you're not blocking people behind you from finding their seat once you're on board. I usually take out the following items before boarding:
- MP3 player/Phone/something to listen to music on
- Headphones
- Tablet or laptop
- A book/magazine that I'm planning on reading
As soon as I find my seat, I quickly toss these personal belongings on my chair, put my bag in the overhead bin and take my seat. I'm not wasting time rummaging through my stuff, blocking the aisle. Additionally, if I'm taking the laptop out (usually to work on a blog post), I'll throw everything I need into the laptop sleeve. This way, I only have to carry the laptop in its pouch and I'm not juggling to find my stuff.
Up next: Part 2: hacks to make your time in the air as comfortable as possible!
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