10 Things I have learnt after flying a Million Miles

- 2 minutes read - 390 words

Lifetime Flight Map (twitter.com/sricola)

  1. Be kind to your cabin crew. They literally have your lives in their control. Service is their secondary job — getting you safely from A to B is their primary. And they do their jobs 100% of the time.
  2. On the topic of cabin crew, they only get paid on block time — door close to door open. Pre boarding help / stowing your luggage etc is literally volunteer time. Again, be nice. I take them a box of chocolates on occasion to show appreciation.
  3. Stay hydrated. Skip the coffee and alcohol. Drink water. Plenty of it.
  4. Try not to recline when possible. Space is limited and if we are all kind to one another — it makes it better. Especially don’t recline during meal service.
  5. Don’t walk around barefoot. An airplane is the most disgusting space (filled with germs and bacteria) we all spend hours in. The floor is probably the worst. Keep the shoes on.
  6. Try to board as late as possible. Get to your gate early but don’t board in a hurry. You’re going to be in that metal tube for hours.
  7. If switching time zones, set your watch to the destination’s time and do what you’d be doing at that time. Fall asleep or stay awake — train your body and use the time on the plane to combat the challenges of that shift.
  8. Airplane food (even in first class) is gnarly. Eat before you board and skip meals onboard (if possible). Instead drink tons of water.
  9. Listen to the safety briefing. Or at the least locate the life vest and exits. It’s not just for you, your fumbling around in an emergency is going to cost everyone else precious seconds. Be a team player, listen to that briefing.
  10. Airplanes are designed to stay in the air. Don’t sweat the turbulence. It’s normal. Although uncomfortable, remember that we all pay for Disney land rides that give us the same feeling. The aircraft itself is designed to handle these.

Lastly, air travel is one of the safest ways to travel. Your chances of being in a car accident is significantly higher. So sit back and enjoy being in a metal tube for hours — our ancestors could only dream of doing it. Besides, its the closest we have ever come to time travel.