In my previous post I said you were on the plane. Well…..not quite. You see right before boarding there is almost always an announcement made that goes something like this. “As we are about to begin boarding for flight XXXX for Phoenix, let’s say, we do have an extremely full flight today and as overhead bin space is limited, we will check your carry on bag for free if you wish to check your bag here at the gate and it will arrive with you at your final destination” This is not a trick by the airline to steal your bag and if you take advantage of it, you will find it may help you. You see, even though I have never ever heard of an “extremely full” flight – there is either full or not full, as they cannot put more people on the planes than they have seats, they are right about limited overhead bin space. Two reasons that space is limited is that there are only so many bins above the seats and a lot of passengers are really inconsiderate about using that space. You should only put your carry on or roll on in that space and in the manner that they tell you. For example on some planes they will tell you to put the bags in wheels first and the bag on its side, not its front or back, but its side (or edge), but no matter which way you are told, the bags go in wheels first, so that the TOP of the bag is facing you. Not sideways, not wheels last. This will get the most bags as possible into the bin provided that nobody was able to get an oversized or overstuffed bag in there and lots of people try that. Flight crews ARE NOT permitted to put the bags in for you any longer. Too many injuries. So, don’t even ask. Ask another passenger to help if you can.
Okay, so If you allow them to check your bag at the gate, you will usually end up rolling it down the jet way with you to the aircraft door. Just leave the bag there with the tag that the agent put on the bag and a person will magically appear to take your bag and delicately (LOL) put it in the cargo hold of the aircraft. Now, you only have your personal item to carry, hopefully. The big advantage to this is that you just got a bag checked for free. I have done this many times to get my bag checked for free. When they tell you that the flight is extremely full for example, they are sort of lying to you. Most of the time, the flight is not full, but they know passengers will abuse the overhead bin space and this comment alone will free up some of that space by having people check their bags. It’s sort of a reverse psychology thing and it really works well for the airline, but I think it works out well for me and I don’t do this if I have connecting flights. I only use it on direct flights and they haven’t lost my bag yet. In fact, when you go to collect your bag at baggage claim, it will often come down the belt first, as it was loaded onto the aircraft last. It doesn’t always happen but it does happen a lot.
So, now you hop in your seat. Hopefully, you found that without too much difficulty. Depending on your seat will determine what you do next. If you have an aisle or middle seat and no one is sitting in the window seat yet, do not, I repeat, do not put on your seatbelt yet. Put what items you will need right away in the seat pocket in front of you, put your personal item under the seat in front of you and wait. If you are in a window seat, you can put on your seatbelt if you want. You will be getting up again if there is no one in that window seat, so be patient. It takes a while for everyone to board anyway. If you find something wrong with your seat assignment, let the flight attendant know and they will take care of it for you. Almost anything is fixable before the flight leaves.
Okay, the flight is ready to go. Seat belt is on and now it is time for the safety briefing. Please listen to the safety briefing. It’s not that they just have to give it to you. Well, it is that, but it really is for your safety. When all hell breaks loose if there is a problem in flight, that info is going to be helpful to you and your so-called brainwashing will have kicked in. It could save your life. I have been flying for over 45 years and I still listen to it. You have nothing better to do at the moment anyway. I think people underestimate flight attendants. Their primarily role on the aircraft is not to serve you in the way that you might think. Their main role is your safety, but that requires your cooperation. It is not to serve you drinks and snacks, bring you a pillow or a blankie. That is secondary. Everything they do is for a particular reason. You may not know that reason and they don’t have to explain that reason to you necessarily, but rest assured, 99 times out of 100 it is for your safety.
While we are on the subject of flight attendants, let’s talk about them a little. Flight attendants can be your biggest fan on a flight most of the time. You will find that if you are exceptionally polite and helpful to flight attendants, that they will be exceptionally polite and helpful to you. Flight attendants are not your servants, but will serve you. They are not your waiters, but will wait on you if you show them that you are worth waiting on. They love working with passengers that are appreciative of their service. Smile as you board the aircraft. Flight attendants love smiles and hellos when boarding. Believe me, they are trained to watch for grumpy passengers. It really is a thing. I used to bring gifts for flight attendants occasionally and chocolates always worked the best. Nothing expensive, just a little snack for them to have. It was always appreciated. They work hard. So, they appreciate this small recognition. They also know it is a little bit of a bribe. This little gift will often (not always) get you some extra attention during the flight. It will often come in the form of an extra beverage, snack, headphones or they might even ask you if you would like to move to a more comfortable seat for free..Yes, first class. That one doesn’t happen so much anymore, but hey, it’s worth a shot. I had one bring me an extra warm chocolate chip cookie that was normally reserved for first class passengers. Even an extra bottle of water is appreciated by me. Now this little trick seems to work best with the gate agents. It could get you a seat or class upgrade. You never know, but in any case, be nice, smile and speak softly. Gate agents have amazing power to either get you on that flight or make sure you don’t get on that flight, but they are limited in their power too. Your situation is nothing unique. They have dealt with thousands of issues and they know it’s important to you. The idea is to not pressure them into helping you and they will see it’s important and if they can help, they will. Even if they can’t help you with your immediate problem, still be pleasant, thank them and go wait. Sometimes the result will surprise you with something else to help. Like I said, they have some amazing powers and will use them to help the right person if they can. Most of them really do love the work and to help others.
Next post, I will talk a lot about what to bring and what not to bring on a flight for your traveling convenience and pleasure. You may be surprised by some of the suggestions. For now, just enjoy the flight.