Travel Thread
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 3:27 am
Can't believe we haven't got one.
Today I'll fly BJS - AUH - DUS - STR with Etihad (EY 889/1997/1547), the first two in an Airbus A330-200. I'll probably post some photos later when (if?) I arrive.
Quite a long flight all in all (I saved around 30% though), so I was thinking about how to make the flight most convenient and comfortable:
- usually I fly around 10-15 times a year, mostly 'short' haul (up to 4 hours) -- if so, I try to exclusively travel with carry-on luggage, and no checked in suitcase.
- if you often fly a specific route, or a specific destination, of course try to stay with one and the same airline or with the same alliance - this does not make sense if you fly twice a year, though.
- first, check tbooker, ctrip and other online ticket agents to find out which airlines actually serve the desired root
- clear cookies
- visit the airlines' websites directly and compare pricing - remember to clear cookies
- buy ticket 3 months in advance (if you know you will definitely fly, make these non-refundable and non-flexible, that's risky but makes a difference in price)
- be very flexible for the date of your return trip - the overall price (also for the outbound flight) might go down quite a lot if you pick the return flight a week earlier or later
- order a special meal (I took HINDU this time because it's an Arabic airline, so their food is definitely halal and/or kosher. Of course, a vegetarian would pick an Asian Vegetarian meal, or Jain vegetarian, or Dog knows what. With other non-Arabic airlines, pick Muslim or Hindu ;) - you usually will be served first, you get something that's not 'chicken or beef?' and especially hindu/indian meals are a bit spicier than the usual mass-produced crap. remember: roast your own ;)
- when the booking is confirmed, check what aircraft will be in use. Go and investigate on seatguru or similar pages
- immediately sign up for their free membership. (It's always good to have a card or number to show if the regular check-in counters are full - you just go to the Priority counter, put your passport and membership card on the counter and *pray*. Sometimes, especially when the regular check-in counters are crowded, the Priority counter will process you)
- around 2 weeks prior the flight, go online and change the seating to the aisle seat in one of the 4-seat rows - usually, the ladies at the check-in counter will assign one of the first free seats (from front to back) to their passengers, so you might have better luck at the back of the plane - only choose one of the last 2 rows if you like the fragrance of urine, stool, or enjoy being bumped by the trolleys or looking at other passengers waiting in front of the toilets.
- captain obvious: if you plan to get/give a lot of gifts or items that cannot be put into carry-on, try to get a large backpack that fits the exact specifications of the airline, and cram as many clothes as possible in there. 6 or 7 kilos for the free carry-on means a lot of stuff. I have so-called travel pouches (which are basically bags with a zipper). Put all heavy items into your suitcase.
- wear several layers of clothes. I mean, a fat person of 30000 lbs will pay exactly as much as a Ukrainian prostitute of 2 lbs, so at least put it on your body. Nobody will check this.
- if the weather allows, wear a jacket with huge pockets. yeah, I managed to carry 20 packs of cigarettes (cough cough!) wearing such a coat.
- don't fucking wear a belt. wear some comfy clothes but keep the belt in your carry-on, if you really need it. put your keys and coins somewhere, but not in your pocket. you will thank me for this at the security check. wear sneakers if possible, comfy but clean clothes. nobody gives a fuck how you look like on an economy flight, you cheapskate.
- a hoodie is one of the best clothes you can wear on a flight - planes can get quite chilly, on some of them you can't adjust the air valve overhead, the hoodie prevents a stiff neck and gives a bit of cover when you try to sleep
- talking of sleeping, earbuds are absolutely recommended. sometimes you just don't want to listen to music, or the f*cking baby crying behind you.
- put your cables and in-ear headphones in a zip lock bag. you will love this.
- take one of those plastic sports bottles with lid with you. hot water is gratis (as in free software), take a few tea bags or instant coffee with you - yeah I knoooow - BUT still better than paying 3x more for the same shit at the gate, especially if you have a layover.
- if you plan to sleep on the plane (anyway) get yourself dimenhydranate - not because it helps with travel sickness, but taking two of them makes you sleepy.
- of course you should have a few paracetamol, ibuprofen or similar meds with you, and some lozenges. I always have eye drops with me, no matter where, but on the plane they are really helpful.
- smokers: nasal snuff or snus is an excellent alternative to your cigarettes. to prevent cravings, don't drink coffee on the plane. try to get some sleep instead.
- books, magazines and newspapers weigh quite a lot and take away valuable storage space for duty free items, if wished. think twice if you really need them. i generally read ezines, pdfs, ebooks. most planes have USB slots at the seat, so you don't need to worry about charging. you can even download the whole wikipedia before your trip and put it on your SD card (pick the version without images).
- during the flight, try to move your ass every two hours for a few minutes. you don't want to have thrombosis.
these are just a few ideas, they might be completely bullshit but they work well for me.
if you plan to travel somewhere, you can use this thread to share it with us.
Today I'll fly BJS - AUH - DUS - STR with Etihad (EY 889/1997/1547), the first two in an Airbus A330-200. I'll probably post some photos later when (if?) I arrive.
Quite a long flight all in all (I saved around 30% though), so I was thinking about how to make the flight most convenient and comfortable:
- usually I fly around 10-15 times a year, mostly 'short' haul (up to 4 hours) -- if so, I try to exclusively travel with carry-on luggage, and no checked in suitcase.
- if you often fly a specific route, or a specific destination, of course try to stay with one and the same airline or with the same alliance - this does not make sense if you fly twice a year, though.
- first, check tbooker, ctrip and other online ticket agents to find out which airlines actually serve the desired root
- clear cookies
- visit the airlines' websites directly and compare pricing - remember to clear cookies
- buy ticket 3 months in advance (if you know you will definitely fly, make these non-refundable and non-flexible, that's risky but makes a difference in price)
- be very flexible for the date of your return trip - the overall price (also for the outbound flight) might go down quite a lot if you pick the return flight a week earlier or later
- order a special meal (I took HINDU this time because it's an Arabic airline, so their food is definitely halal and/or kosher. Of course, a vegetarian would pick an Asian Vegetarian meal, or Jain vegetarian, or Dog knows what. With other non-Arabic airlines, pick Muslim or Hindu ;) - you usually will be served first, you get something that's not 'chicken or beef?' and especially hindu/indian meals are a bit spicier than the usual mass-produced crap. remember: roast your own ;)
- when the booking is confirmed, check what aircraft will be in use. Go and investigate on seatguru or similar pages
- immediately sign up for their free membership. (It's always good to have a card or number to show if the regular check-in counters are full - you just go to the Priority counter, put your passport and membership card on the counter and *pray*. Sometimes, especially when the regular check-in counters are crowded, the Priority counter will process you)
- around 2 weeks prior the flight, go online and change the seating to the aisle seat in one of the 4-seat rows - usually, the ladies at the check-in counter will assign one of the first free seats (from front to back) to their passengers, so you might have better luck at the back of the plane - only choose one of the last 2 rows if you like the fragrance of urine, stool, or enjoy being bumped by the trolleys or looking at other passengers waiting in front of the toilets.
- captain obvious: if you plan to get/give a lot of gifts or items that cannot be put into carry-on, try to get a large backpack that fits the exact specifications of the airline, and cram as many clothes as possible in there. 6 or 7 kilos for the free carry-on means a lot of stuff. I have so-called travel pouches (which are basically bags with a zipper). Put all heavy items into your suitcase.
- wear several layers of clothes. I mean, a fat person of 30000 lbs will pay exactly as much as a Ukrainian prostitute of 2 lbs, so at least put it on your body. Nobody will check this.
- if the weather allows, wear a jacket with huge pockets. yeah, I managed to carry 20 packs of cigarettes (cough cough!) wearing such a coat.
- don't fucking wear a belt. wear some comfy clothes but keep the belt in your carry-on, if you really need it. put your keys and coins somewhere, but not in your pocket. you will thank me for this at the security check. wear sneakers if possible, comfy but clean clothes. nobody gives a fuck how you look like on an economy flight, you cheapskate.
- a hoodie is one of the best clothes you can wear on a flight - planes can get quite chilly, on some of them you can't adjust the air valve overhead, the hoodie prevents a stiff neck and gives a bit of cover when you try to sleep
- talking of sleeping, earbuds are absolutely recommended. sometimes you just don't want to listen to music, or the f*cking baby crying behind you.
- put your cables and in-ear headphones in a zip lock bag. you will love this.
- take one of those plastic sports bottles with lid with you. hot water is gratis (as in free software), take a few tea bags or instant coffee with you - yeah I knoooow - BUT still better than paying 3x more for the same shit at the gate, especially if you have a layover.
- if you plan to sleep on the plane (anyway) get yourself dimenhydranate - not because it helps with travel sickness, but taking two of them makes you sleepy.
- of course you should have a few paracetamol, ibuprofen or similar meds with you, and some lozenges. I always have eye drops with me, no matter where, but on the plane they are really helpful.
- smokers: nasal snuff or snus is an excellent alternative to your cigarettes. to prevent cravings, don't drink coffee on the plane. try to get some sleep instead.
- books, magazines and newspapers weigh quite a lot and take away valuable storage space for duty free items, if wished. think twice if you really need them. i generally read ezines, pdfs, ebooks. most planes have USB slots at the seat, so you don't need to worry about charging. you can even download the whole wikipedia before your trip and put it on your SD card (pick the version without images).
- during the flight, try to move your ass every two hours for a few minutes. you don't want to have thrombosis.
these are just a few ideas, they might be completely bullshit but they work well for me.
if you plan to travel somewhere, you can use this thread to share it with us.