Spend five minutes talking to your seatmate – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

We’re accustomed to two extremes: the gregarious seatmate who talks through the whole flight, and the one who has his eyes closed from the start. Most of us prefer the latter, but we may be cheating ourselves out of a business contact or an interesting story.

In my opinion, here’s the best greeting to use to help find that middle ground:

Hi. Nice sitting with you. Would you mind giving me five minutes about you, then we can each read/work/listen to music/sleep, having had our lives enriched by knowing another interesting person.

You never know, you may wish you had a longer flight.

Avoid conversations by wearing headphones – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

Sick of hearing about a stranger’s dysfunctional family or odd medical conditions? Avoid conversations all-together by doing a simple thing: wear headphones.

This works best if you also avoid eye contact (and it may be necessary to pretend that you don’t hear you fellow passengers the first time they speak). Pull your headphones off when speaking to them and then put the headphones back on when the chit-chat is over.

In reality, it doesn’t even matter if the headphones are plugged in. The other passengers just need to believe they are.

Get an empty seat next to you – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

Here’s your best shot at getting that coveted empty seat.

  1. Book a seat close to the back of the plane. Most airlines and bookers fill the seats at the front of the plane first, leaving more empty space in the back.
  2. Don’t choose the last row, though, as often times these seats don’t recline.
  3. Don’t choose an exit row seat (these tend to fill up) or a row of three that’s completely empty (lots of people travel in pairs).
  4. Finally, make sure to re-checkin at the airport kiosk to see if any more desirable spaces have opened up.

Have fun spreading out!

Lose the luggage, get a ruck sack – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

Now that most airlines charge to check your bags, more people are opting to carry their luggage onto planes. However, not much fits in your typical carry-on. To maximize your carry-on capacity and still fit your bag in the overhead compartment, take a tip from the U.S. Army. Trade your rolling luggage for an army surplus Ruck Sack.

A Ruck Sack offers plenty of pockets and lots of room for your belongings. They’re also durable and easy to sling across your shoulders. Look for a pack with an internal back frame to better support the load.

Check historical on-time ratings – Airlines tip

by Gadling Staff on

The uncertainty of flight delays can be nerve-wracking. Will you make that 40 minute layover… or will you be stuck in Newark for half the day? An alchemy of time of day, current weather, and the airports involved determine your fate.

You can obsessively check, but can’t really predict, weather. The other factors, however, are a little easier to figure out ahead of time. Sites like the well-regarded FlightStats.com offer historical on-time performance for most routes. Punch in your flight info, and you’ll be rewarded with average delays and details on past performance.

Maybe, now, you can relax.

Maybe.