Your ultimate guide during your first travel by plane. First-time flight travel can be exciting, preoccupying, and emotionally challenging. Whether you are traveling solo or with a group, there are things that you should always remember.
Traveling by a flight for the first time can be exhilarating and make you nervous at the same time. Just when you think the stress of having to plan your travel has finally come to end, you find your fear of traveling for the first time by a flight overshadowing your excitement.
Traveling by a flight doesn’t only make the first-timers anxious, but it also worries many frequent travelers or those who have traveled before by a flight. They are very much aware of the whole process of boarding a flight, yet they feel stressed out when they have to catch a flight. Right from reaching the airport on time to ensuring you have your passport with you, weighing your luggage, booking the right seats, or finding the boarding gates, everything is distressing.
No one should have to go through a distressing feeling especially when they are flying for the first time. Therefore, to ensure your first-time flight experience is thrilling, here are 8 smart tips you can follow when traveling for the first time by a flight.
Contents
1. Web check-in
First, on First-time flight travel is making web check-in. The usual guidelines of airlines suggest passengers arrive at the airport at least 3 hours prior to an international flight and 2 hours prior to a domestic flight. However, people sometimes arrive late at the airport due to which they end up missing their flight.
Web check-in is recommended for everyone as it saves time and has other benefits as well. You may have noticed or heard about the long queues at the check-in counters where you can drop your luggage and get a boarding pass. To skip these long-queues, its best to check-in online.
Many airlines also have their kiosks where passengers can print their boarding pass and proceed for security check and immigration. However, if you have to get your luggage checked-in, you will have to go to the check-in desks. This is where web check-in comes in handy, as there’s always a separate queue for customers who have checked-in online. The web check-in queue is usually short and you can drop your luggage within no time.
Web check-in is also useful if you are running late and your flight is about to depart in 1 hour. The airline authorities usually allow passengers to board if they have checked-in online and their flight is leaving in 45 min to 1 hour.
Lifetime Traveller Note: During COVID-19, web check-in has become mandatory to avoid contact between people.
2. Download the best flight booking app
Do not just depend on your boring lifestyle in booking your flights. be resourceful. use all your connections and resources. Search online. Use skyscanner, expedia, google flights, etc.
To book cheap flight tickets from the convenience of your homes, you should research and download the best flight booking app. The benefit of downloading this app is that you will not have to depend on your travel agent for information and other details. The app will send you all the information on your email and via text message. Moreover, these apps also offer 24/7 customer support to answer any query.
You can use the flight booking app to find all your booking details, check-in online, and receive notifications and reminders. The best apps also provide information on flight cancellations, delays, gate changes, and other important information related to the flight and the airport.
3. Pre-book your in-flight meals
First-time flyers are usually concerned about the kind of meal they would be served on the flight. Almost all international airlines and a few domestic airlines provide free in-flight meals. The other flights provide paid meals which you can book in advance or purchase on the flight.
This tip is the best for passengers with certain dietary requirements or religion-based food requirements. Moreover, oftentimes cabin crew runs out of non-veg meals or veg-meals, leaving the passenger with no option than to choose the remaining type of meal. To have a stress-free flight experience, it’s best to pre-book your meal. You will be among the first ones to receive your meals on the flight and won’t have to worry about a non-veg or veg meal getting over.
4. Select your desired seat
It is your first-time flight travel?Every passenger has their own preference for seats on the flight. Some prefer aisle seats while others prefer the window seats. Being a first-time flight traveler, you are bound to prefer the window seats. But what if you are assigned aisle seats? That would just blow-off the excitement of traveling for the first time by a flight.
However, you can select your desired seat while checking-in online. Most of the airlines charge for the window and aisle seats during web check-in. If you are willing to take the risk, you can just select any seat and get it changed later at the airport. Most of the times, many window and aisle seats are still available and the airline staff assigns you the seat you desire. However, if you aren’t willing to take that risk, you can purchase the paid seats online.
5. Carry an empty water bottle
The maximum quantity of liquids you can carry is 100ml per container. This limit applies to water bottles as well. Moreover, the water served on flights each time is about 100ml, which doesn’t really quench your thirst. Passengers also tend to feel awkward to ask the cabin crew for water numerous times. Therefore, the smart tip to having plenty of drinking water on a flight is carrying an empty water bottle that you can fill up after the security check. This tip will save you from being thirsty throughout the flight and having to survive on 100 ml water every time you manage to ask the flight attendant.
6. Weigh your luggage at home
Every airline has a different luggage limit for check-in luggage and the cabin-luggage limit is usually 7kgs in all flights. Moreover, some flights charge for extra luggage while some don’t provide that option. Therefore, you need to pack smart and light to avoid having to get rid of your stuff at the airport. You can find the luggage limit in your e-tickets or ask the customer service.
Purchase a luggage weighing scale and weigh your bags after you are done with packing. You can easily shuffle and rearrange your clothes and other items to bring the wight within the allowed limit. The weighing scale will save you from stressing about the luggage weight and the embarrassment of opening your bags in front of the people and shuffling your clothes.
7. Wear comfortable clothing
Next in first-time flight travel is wearing comfortable suits. Comfortable clothing is the key to a comfortable flight. Wearing uncomfortable clothes and having to sit in a compact space will worsen your experience. Avoid wearing slim-fit jeans, tight tops or t-shirts, or high heels. The most comfortable clothing for a flight is sweatshirts, sports shoes, and track pants or joggers. You can choose to wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and light. It is also recommended to carry a light jacket to cover yourself if the temperature gets colder on the flight, as domestic flights and a few international flights don’t provide a blanket.
8. Carry essentials in your handbag
Lastly, ensure you carry a few essential items in your handbag. You can carry a pen to fill in the immigration forms, a power bank or a charger for your smartphone, and other essential items that might come in handy during your flight journey. Ensure you don’t carry too many items or bags in your hand as there’s always a chance of leaving something behind at the security check if you are in a rush.
First-time flight traveller? Travelling by plane for the first time? Relax. There is nothing to worry. All of us have been there. There is always first time for everything.
See also:
Maximize hotel experience
Avoid Mistakes in Hotel
Food Safety Tips When Travelling
Find Cheap Flights
Vijaya is a content writer who loves traveling and writing. With a background in finance and a passion for writing, she has made her passion for writing, her profession. Her endless desire to learn new things developed her interest in writing for different genres. She enjoys writing and learning in the process as she believes there is no end to gaining knowledge.
