Before Booking Your Ticket
If you are flying in economy class you need to first visit Seat Guru. This terrific web site allows you to type in your airline and get a list of the best and worst seats in there entire fleet of planes. You have to decide if being too close to the bathroom is worth the trade off of having extra legroom.
Booking Your Ticket
The second tip is when you book your ticket contact your travel agent or a travel consultant. Most tickets are bought online now and you always have the option of choosing your own seat. Now if you are travelling alone always look for group of seats where an aisle or window seats are already taken. You then take the other aisle or window seat, leaving the middle free. These middle seats fill up last so you have a greater chance of having a free seat.
Booking Your Meal
When you book your ticket you can also choose from a variety of meals (low fat, vegetarian, kosher, etc). You can also take help of your travel agent while booking it.
Before You Leave for the Airport
A lot of people will tell you to check in online. They say it's quicker and you don't have to get to the airport as early. It might be quicker if you have no luggage but if you have bags to check, that line is often just as long as the check in line.
Also, if you check in you have the opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Don't be a jerk about it, dress well and ask nicely. They usually smile at you and tell you they will see what they can do. Quite often you won't know until boarding, when they take your boarding pass and issue you a new one (in business!!!).
Boarding
Arrive early at the airport. As soon as they call your plane boarding, use the restroom. This reduces the amount of airplane washroom trips. And then just relax until the line is finished. Why rush to get on the plane and sit in those cramped seats before you have to. Stay in the boarding lounge and watch the line.
On the Plane
Before you even sit down get out everything you want for the flight and put it within your grasp. Book and bottle of water can go in the pocket in front of you. Laptop (if you HAVE to work) can go under the seat in front of you. If confused take help of an air-hostess on the job to help you out.
Dinner Service
Hopefully you pre-ordered your special meal and you will eat first. This is perfect if the middle seat is free. You can finish your meal; put the tray in the middle seat and watch a movie and drift off to sleep.
Sleeping
Your Nyquil should be kicking in. Put on your headphones even if you aren't watching the movie so that people won't talk to you. Put your seat back as far as possible. Don't worry about the guy behind you; the guy in front of you isn't worried about you. Pull out the foot bar from under the seat in front of you. Unbutton your pants, pull up the blanket up to your chin and head off to dreamland before the guy beside you starts snoring.
Arrival
Here it pays to get off the plane quickly. If you can walk fast do it. You have to get ahead of all the rest of those passengers or you will be stuck behind them at passport control/customs. Use the moving sidewalks and walk on them!
Passport Control/Customs
Your journey is almost over. You have made it this far. You are well rested, well fed and just got some great exercise racing to customs. All you need to do here is have your documentation ready, be courteous, and be polite.
So next time you have an overseas or other long haul flight try these little tips and maybe you can find a little of the magic that exists above the clouds.
