I travel a lot and being a regular traveler I am amazed at the amount of FAIL that I see at the airport. Most people can’t seem to even make it through the ticket line without looking like they are going to kill each other. My own stress at the airport is most often caused by people who don’t know what they are doing. I have tweeted on a number of occasions the desire to club a fellow traveler to put them out of their misery. I have been thinking about this for a while and I wanted to share my approach to keeping it easy and stress free. My hope is that more people will travel light and make my life easier.
A trip at the airport can be made easy by focusing on three key things:
- Planning and Packing
- Check-in and Security
- Boarding
Success from the start.
Before I ever get to the airport I do a lot of things that make my travel easy, the first of which is selecting an airline that suits the way I like to travel. I love flying on Virgin America, it doesn’t fly everywhere I want to go, but if I had to pay more to fly on Virgin vs. some lesser airline (Alaska) I am there. When I have to fly with an airline that is less full of awesome than Virgin, I make sure I know about fees, rules, regulations, and any phone numbers or contracts of carriage. But to be honest that is the easy part of preparation.
The hard part? Packing. I try to avoid checking baggage at all cost. If you check a bag they will lose it. It is inevitable. It isn’t the airlines fault they move thousands of bags hourly and when you most need them to deliver the bag when you land that is when they will screw it up. So I have learned to pack the essential and choose my luggage carefully. For my laptop, I have a TSA Friendly Timbuk2 Commuter 2.0. This bag is a sick bag and I could do a whole post on what is in my Go Bag.
When I pack for a trip that is a week or less I don’t bother with a large bag I use a backpack. I love my Timbuk2 Hemlock; I can fit dress clothes, shoes and even workout kit in this bag. There are a couple of tricks though. One only bring the minimal amount of clothes. Think things you can mix and match. Be prepared to wash clothes at a Laundromat or send them to the dry cleaner. I do this all the time.
If I am staying anywhere longer I still prefer a carry-on bag, but if you really have to check a bag still consider what is the minimal amount of things I need to make this trip happen. Traveling light will make your trip much easier and you a happy camper. If you don’t think it is possible to get all your kit into one bag, I recommend getting a compression bag from REI or other store. I recommend that you read the blog one bag. They have helpful diagrams on how to fold to maximize the amount of things you can fit in a bag. Read it, live it, love it.
Finally understand the TSA rules for bags and liquids. I mean lets be honest… It has been almost 8 years since 9/11 I can’t believe how surprised people act when they can’t carry on a gallon jug of water or jar of homemade jelly. Save yourself time know the rules ahead of time.
Get to the plane.
Amateur tip: Check in online before you get there.
Pro tip: Many Airlines release 1st class ticket upgrades at 6:00 the night before. A $50 upgrade can make your flight awesome.
Either way if you don’t have your ticket in hand before you get to the airport there is something wrong with you. How many lines do you like to stand in? If you don’t check in bags and you checked in the night before you can skip the lines and go right to the security. If you forget to check in or you must check a bag consider the following: Checking in is not rocket science. It is a two step process.
- Swipe your credit card: It is amazing how many people stand and wait for an attendant to ask them if your card will be charged for a ticket.
- Check in your bag or don’t: Get out of line and move on.
Stop, look, listen. It isn’t hard. I also recommend smiling at the airline staff. They like to help the one friendly person, because everyone is pissed off. If you smile and are polite they will help you a lot faster.
Security Line, this is easy:
- Know What’s Allowed and Not Allowed
- Remove Small Items from Pockets, Take Shoes Off
- Remove Laptop Computers from Bags
- Carry Liquids in a One Quart Sized Bag
If you want to take it up a notch, most of the larger airports have multiple security lines and checkpoints. Avoid crowds. Human nature dictates that we will follow the crowd. You must resist this tendency when queuing. Because if you use your eye you can find quicker lines or queue faster. Every decision that I make before I get to the airplane is about making it through security faster. I wear slip on shoes. I take off my jacket, belt and watch. There is no excuse for getting up to the security officer and getting an extra screening because you forgot to take off a jacket, left a water bottle in your bag or some other regulation that has been on the books for months or years.
Boarding
This would seem obvious but it isn’t. Boarding is full of fail for most people. First, unless you have children there is no advantage to being first on. I see people struggling to get in line because they want to be on first. Just relax. Get in line when they call your boarding priority. When you get in line before that you generate stress because you create a disorganized queue. Take a deep breath and keep reading your magazine. IF you are on Southwest be sure you understand how boarding works. You don’t want to be the one idiot who gets kick to the back of the line and if you are in the C group. Assume you need to gate check your bag and that you are sitting in a middle seat. You will make everyone’s life better.
When you get on the plane, try relaxing, I mean we are in the home stretch. You need only to open a magazine or use your p
hone to ping twitter. But here is a few important don’ts.
- Don’t bring McDonald’s or Pizza or any food that will smell up the whole plane. People will hate you.
- You have a seat. It isn’t your office don’t pull out binder after binder before the plane takes off.
- Don’t creep into your neighbor’s seat. Do unto others….
- Don’t wear pajamas and forget to shower. You will be sharing the space with others. Comfort is ok, but have some class.
So I could write tips for days; I am always looking to find ways to hack travel. So here are some of my best sources. Please feel free to add more in the comments.
Happy and safe travels.
– Jeremiah Andrick
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This blog post is the SHIZNIT. Techno Tim, thats me, has had buy to cram a $10K HD Studio into cases and jump on a plane to work with the BBC at a major tech conference. A few lessons learned.
A) Travel Light
B) You can drop off your gear at air transport shipping where it is actually INSURED a few days before a gig, then pick it up in a secure lot at destination. This is the key if you haul video gear and other valuables.
As a DJ I dig the DJ style bags and also like hidden convertables with backpack straps.
Word! TEK
You should totally do a whole post on what is in your Go bag, Lifehacker-style.
My addition to your list is this: pay attention to what stuff is yours as you go through security. I've had people walk off with my shoes because they thought they belonged to them, and had to go running after them in my socks. Not cool. Only take your own stuff, people.
I have serious problems travelling light (heh, I *am* a girl), and therefore always have to check a bag. But I make sure my carry-on contains the minimum to get me through 24 hours in my destination if my bags are lost; gum, contact solution & my glasses, some moisturizer, and any medication I might need. All in sizes less than 100mL (or whatever the US equivalent is). Anything else can be bought.