Travel Tips
Flying Tips
There are several lessons we have learned through the years of long plane flights. Most of them are common knowledge for frequent flyers, but some come out of our own experience.
For an update on the FAA security measures instituted as a result of the recent terrorism go to http://faa.gov/apa/faq/pr_faq.htm.
SCHEDULING
When scheduling connections we like to give ourselves at least an hour and a half between flights. Through experience we have learned that it is too easy to miss connections when flights are scheduled an hour or less together. You never know how far it will be from your incoming gate and your outgoing gate -- it could even be in a different terminal and we never assume that flights will be on time. So we would rather take a little longer to arrive at our final destination without the hassle of rushing to get to a gate on time, or having to make arrangements to get on a different flight because of a missed connection. This is especially important when making a domestic connection after an international flight.
The last two times that we were to meet international visitors at our local airport their flights were delayed for many hours because of missed connections. Both times were nightmares. In the first case our Australian visitor sat on the runway for 45 extra minutes , awaiting a gate vacancy, upon arrival at LAX in Los Angeles, making it impossible to get through customs and make her next scheduled flight. She was delayed about half a day, arriving at our home more exhausted than she needed to be. In the second case, our young Japanese visitors arrived at our airport, , at 2:00 AM instead of 8:20 PM, where everything was closed down and no was there to help. We didn't arrive to pick them up until 3:00 AM because it was impossible to find out which plane they were on and no one at the airline could help us get the information we needed. We had to rely on the information we could get on the airline's Internet site and it was inaccurate. A frightening experience for all.
We also found out through both of those experiences that even though we tried to have our visitors paged at their respective airports while waiting for connections, the airlines did not follow through with the pages we requested. Therefore, when making arrangements for connections between an international flight and a domestic flight we would recommend an even longer period of time between flights. Remember that you have to have time to go through customs when arriving in a country before getting on a domestic flight also. These are all things that your agent or airline personnel may not take into consideration when making your flight arrangements.
PASSING THE TIME
No matter how well your trips are planned there will always be waiting time. It is better for you and less stressful to find interesting ways to pass the time while waiting. If we have a long wait in an airport we might go for a walk within the airport to get our exercise that we like to get every day, or we might enjoy the exhibits or shops at the airport. Primarily, though we enjoy playing travel games such as Scrabble or Boggle. The last time we started a game we were so engrossed we almost didn't hear the boarding call! We also take lots of reading material including magazines or cheap paperbacks that we can pass on to someone else or discard so as to save space and minimize our baggage. Finally, we really enjoy each other's company so we don't get bored just chatting with one another, observing people, and visiting with people. We really like to get to know our fellow travelers so we take the time to learn about them and find out about their travel plans. It is amazing how many interesting people we have met, how much we have learned about other cultures, and the connections we have made. For instance, we now have a contact in South Africa who has promised to help us plan a trip there. That came about just because he could see our enthusiasm about visiting his country.
MOISTURIZING THE BODY AND SKIN
Since the pressurized air in the plane is very dry, flying is very hard on the skin and the whole system. It is important to apply moisturizer often and liberally, especially if you have dry skin to begin with. It is very important to drink lots of water. We usually bring our own bottled water because you never knew if an attendant will be available when you want a glass of water. Avoiding alcohol is a good idea for the same reason.
FOOT AND LEG COMFORT
Open sandals are very good for traveling. They are easy to slip on and off and when feet swell, they are a lot more comfortable. We favor Birkenstocks ourselves. After Marie's first flight to Japan her feet and legs had severe swelling for several days. After that we learned that it is important to get up and walk as often as possible while on a long flight. Since then we have also learned about the connection between flying and circulation problems such as phlebitis which only underscores our suggestions. Finally, if you have varicose veins or a tendency for poor circulation it might be a very good suggestion to wear an anti-phlebitis stocking on the affected leg(s).
SINUS AND EAR COMFORT
On a domestic flight in Australia Marie once had a severe ear ache develop from a rapid descent. She had another flight the following day and was suffering from a severe headache and earache. She asked the flight attendant if there was any way she could decrease the discomfort level and was given a small, eucalyptus inhalant packet. It worked like a charm. Since then we found a small tubular eucalyptus inhalant in a health and beauty supply store and have discovered it to be invaluable during takeoffs and landings. Although the more common suggestion of chewing gum may be sufficient and prescription medications such as nose spray may be necessary for some, we favor the most natural interventions we can find.
HUNGER
On our round-the world trip we were particularly blessed because we had no delayed flights or other major problems with flights. However, over the years we have had more than our share of experiences with flying that have left us feeling awfully hungry. They include sitting on runways for hours waiting in line to deplane or take off, or circling for long periods of time while decisions were made about whether it was safe to land; sitting for six hours in an enclosed waiting room with no facilities at an airport in Manila while watching mechanics work on a plane that we were supposed to take; waiting for hours in airports while flights were delayed and restaurants were closed because it was so late; arriving very late or early in airports before any food facilities were open. These are only a few of the memories that we have to remind us to always carry snack food when we fly. They might include small packages of crackers, hard candy, candy bars.
WARNING: A notable exception is that you can't take certain food into Australia, so, before entering customs, you may have to discard any food you have brought for snacking. Also, be sure that you declare all food that you may want to take into that country. Refer to our Australia page to learn about our adventures in this regard!
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
Do not assume that your frequent flyer mileage will be credited to your account by affiliated airlines -- irregardless of what the ticket agent says when you check in for your flight. Keep all boarding passes and ticket packets until your mileage is in your account! It took more than a year and many phone calls for us to get the miles to which we were entitled.
Happy traveling. We hope that you found our meanderings useful and that you have many adventures and unexpected surprises along the road in your own journeys.
Godspeed !
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