28/06/2023
Traveling via planes this summer? This is worth a read. I know it’s long, but you’ll be thankful you read it!
I (Conner) recently traveled internationally and can personally vouch for basically every point made below by the flight attendant. Every airport was a MESS. I saw more crowds, more delayed flights, more cancelled flights, more long lines to talk to an agent, etc. than I’ve ever seen in my life. I personally had to physically run to catch every one of my connecting flights…getting to both during “final boarding call”… meaning, the doors were literally about to shut. All of my layovers were originally 2+ hours but with delays…I had MAYBE 30-45mins to get off one plane and to the next. In a non-cocky way, I consider myself a pretty experienced traveler…so, I know my way in and around airports pretty well compared to first time travelers and can figure out where I’m headed fast…and never in my life have I experienced so much stress and anxiety around flying.
Now, I say all of that- not to scare you away from travel- but to help you prepare! I’d do it all over again (yes, even the running through airports), because the destination and memories are worth it!
This experience taught me…
1) Spend the extra money for nonstop flights (or at least as few layovers as possible)!
2)Pick seats near the front of the plane, if you have connections to make. You’ll get off the plane sooner and potentially only have to speed walk versus running full speed to your next gate. 🤣
3)The longer layover the better- again, I normally feel pretty comfortable with 2-3 hours. BUT, now, I’m looking at flights with 4-5 hours. I’d rather twiddle my thumbs in an airport to pass time (if all things go according to plan) than miss a connections because I wanted the shortest layover and then my original flight was delayed causing a domino effect and potentially missed connections.
The below was posted by a flight attendant—
I know flights are crazy right now!
Worth a read if you are traveling by air this summer!
✈️SUMMER TRAVELING ✈️
Flying this summer is ROUGH!!! I feel like as a Flight Attendant I should attempt to share some tips to get you through airline travel for the foreseeable future. ✈️✈️
1. Things are not good..... if its less than 7 hours - DRIVE! I'm not kidding. There is nothing enjoyable about flying right now. On any airline. If you must fly, keep reading. 🚗
2. Download and use the app of the airline you are flying. You can do everything on it - get your boarding pass, track your bags, see your incoming plane, and change a flight. It sure beats waiting in the long line to talk to an agent! Trust me - Usually these apps will tell you a flight is cancelled before the crew even knows! 📲
3. Fly MUCH earlier than you need to - a whole day early if its important!! This week I saw many people miss important things like weddings, funerals, cruises, international connections, and graduations. The tears were very real, for very real reasons, and there was nothing I could do! If you have to be somewhere, spend the extra money, go a day early. Have a glass of wine and stay in a hotel, enjoy your night not being stressed while everyone else misses their events. 🍷
4. ALWAYS fly the first flight in the morning so you have all day to be rebooked if the s**t hits the fan. Yes, that means it might be a 3:00 alarm, but morning flights don't cancel nearly as often.⏰
5. This is not unique to this year, but keep in mind summer is thunderstorm season. A single storm can shut down a whole airport. We can't fly through them. Storms usually build as the day gets later. Book early flights! ⛈
6. Schedule long layovers - Your 1 hour layover is NOT enough anymore. 30 minutes, not a chance. Two hours minimum. 🏃♀️🏃🏃♂️
7. What you see on the news is an understatement. We are short staffed and overworked. Not just pilots and flight attendants, but also ground crews. Without ground crews there is no one to park the planes, drive jetways, get your bags on/off planes, or scan boarding passes. This causes many delays that snowball throughout the day. Sometimes HOURS.(Another reason morning flights are best!)
8. When flight crews get delayed we time out. We can NOT fly longer than 16 hours. Its illegal. So it doesn't matter if you have a wedding to get to, when we are done we are done. The way things are now, there are no back up crews, so when this happens your flight cancels. (Now you are starting to see why those morning flights are best!) 😴
9. They have been cancelling flights at their starting points just to keep the planes out, because there just aren't enough people to manage the planes, so the gates stay full.
10. Be nice. As stated above, we are overworked and tired. We will not help you if you are mean. No one cares that you are going to miss your cruise if you are a jerk. So even if we can help, we will save our help for someone nice. Tensions are high. Our patience is gone. If you make us mad - you will not be flying on our planes. We will leave you behind without a second thought, and laugh about you later. And maybe even post a video of your poor behavior! OK, not us, but the guy across the aisle certainly will!
11. Being drunk on an airplane is a federal offense, so don't overdo it. If you drink too much at the bar waiting for your delayed flight you risk not being allowed to fly at all. We are too tired to deal with your drunken behavior when we have legitimate issues to deal with.
12. Get trip insurance if you have a lot of money invested. I hate the whole idea of this, but I also hate the idea of losing money. Example: I was working a flight yesterday that waited over an hour for a gate. A family of 8 missed their flight to Rome. The only flight of the day. They were going to a cruise which they would now miss. They were all crying, there was nothing I could do. (Also a reason to fly a day early!) 🛳
13. Flights are FULL. If you buy the cheap seats you will not be able to sit with your family. It says so when you purchase your ticket!! Flight Attendants aren't there to rearrange the whole plane just so you can sit with your family because you tried to save $100 on a third party website. 💸
14. Speaking of third party websites and saving money..... Like I said flights are FULL. If a flight is oversold, and no one volunteers to give up their seats, who do you think is the first to be bumped? You guessed it, the family that saved a few $$ by using sites like Expedia, Kayak, Hotwire etc. 🤷♀️
15. Pack smart. Don't be "That guy" Don't hold up boarding because you have your extenders open till they are busting and you can't figure out how to make it fit in the overhead. (Passengers are stressed too, they can be aggressive when boarding a delayed flight) 🛍
16. Take showers, brush your teeth, leave the perfume off, don't eat stinky food (caesar salad and tuna fish I'm talking to you!), and bring headphones. Trust me. These things sound basic, but add to stress on crowded planes. If you are stuck on the tarmac for 3 hours after a 4 hour flight, you will thank me for this. 💜
17. Bring a sweater if you tend to be cold. So tired of half naked girls asking me to turn the heat up. NO. Wear clothes!!
18. Thats not water on the bathroom floor. For the love of God wear shoes to the bathroom!!! 🤮
19. Don't tell a Flight Attendant they look tired. We are and we know. You may cause us to ugly cry right there in galley. 😭
20. Happy Travels!
