It’s incredibly fun to travel to new places. The actual act of traveling, however, is not. If you love to travel but hate sitting on a cramped, crowded airplane, here are some travel hacks that will make your experience a little less miserable.
1) You can bring alcohol on the flight.
If you’re 21 or older, feel free to bring alcohol on the flight with you. It’s perfectly legal. Obviously, you shouldn’t drink so much that you get intoxicated, but a travel-size bottle of vodka or whiskey might make your time on the plane a bit more relaxing.
If you want to mix your drink, just ask the flight attendant for a cup of ice or some soda when they walk by. Always be mindful of how much you’re drinking on a plane; alcohol can hit you harder in the air than it does on the ground.
2) Clear your cookies when booking a flight online.
There are several websites that claim to compare airfares to find you the cheapest flights. Some people might sit and refresh the page or check back the next day to see if prices have gone down. In most cases, the prices go up because the page knows you’ve been comparing flights.
The website wants you to think the price is going up, making you more inclined to book before it goes up even more. Before refreshing the page again, clear your cookies or browse in private mode. This way, the site won’t change the prices based on your browsing history.
3) You can ask to be upgraded.
We’ve all been on flights where we walk past empty seats in first class only to take our cramped seat in coach. It’s incredibly frustrating to think that those comfortable seats are just going unused.
If you happen to see unused seats, just ask the flight crew if you can be upgraded. You’d be surprised how often they actually say “yes.” The worst thing that can happen is that the flight attendant says “no,” and you’re right back where you started. It never hurts to ask!
4) Bring an empty water bottle to the airport.
Once you get through security, the price of everything goes up. This includes bottled water. To avoid getting gouged on a drink, bring an empty water bottle.
Many airports have water fountains or stations where you can fill up your water bottle, allowing you to quench your thirst without breaking the bank for a simple bottle of water. You may want to bring some snacks too, just in case your flight is delayed and you’re stuck in the terminal.
5) Charge your phone in airplane mode.
Most of us sit and browse on our phones while waiting for our plane. When the battery starts to get low, we panic because this is all we’ve brought to keep us occupied.
If you find that your battery is low and you need some juice quickly, set your phone in airplane mode and let it charge. In some cases, your phone will actually charge twice as fast, allowing you to get back to social media instead of idly people-watching.