Many people have anxiety about traveling by airplane. The seats are tiny. The rules are strict. The air is recycled, so the person who sneezed across the plane basically just sneezed in your face. There’s not much we can do about the recycled air, here are a few genius ways to have more comfortable travel without spending a lot of extra money:
Get Upgraded
There’s no doubt that after you move out of the economy section of a commercial flight, the comfort level increases dramatically. Business and first-class tickets tend to cost quite a bit more then coach tickets, but there are some tricks that can get you an upgraded seat:
- Join frequent flyer programs. Getting points for your flight is an easy way to use your miles to “buy” upgrades. Plus, when the economy seats get overbooked, having a priority membership will get you to the top of the list free upgrades.
- Be likable. Flight agents are frequently subject to grouchy travelers. If you make it a point to be friendly when dealing with the flight agents, you might have better luck of being identified for a free upgrade.
- Leverage a special event. We’ve all heard of people on their honeymoon getting bumped up to first class. If you are traveling for a special event, tell the flight crew one million times in case it gets you something special. If you don’t have qualms about fibbing, you can tell them it’s your honeymoon anyway. That trick might not work if you are not traveling with a significant other.
Make the Best of It
If you can’t get yourself into it first class, make the best of your experience in the ticket class that you paid for:
- Treat yo self. Bring headphones and your favorite movie and zone out during the trip. Buy yourself a drink. When you’re one inch from a hairy personal space bubble invader, give yourself whatever it takes to make it more enjoyable.
- Sleep through it. Bring a nice neck pillow, silk eye covers, and your best over-the-counter sleeping pill.
- Get a good seat. Your comfort level of the aisle or window seat is going to be significantly higher than being jammed between two other passengers at the very back of the plane.
Private Jet Charters
It’s undeniable that traveling by charter plane services is about one million percent more comfortable than traveling on a commercial airline. You’re probably rolling your eyes because flying with private jet charters if typically equally one million percent more expensive then taking that cheap commercial flight. However, if you learn the tricks, you can land a pretty good deal on private jet charters:
- Private jet empty leg flights. If a pilot needs to reposition a plane to a different location for a scheduled private flight, the base fees of moving the plane are included in the fair that the scheduled passenger has to pay. The pilot might be interested in making a little extra money by taking you on the in the leg flight for a fraction of the cost.
- Downtime. If a traveling party has a several day gap between when they arrive and when they fly home it doesn’t make sense for the pilots to go anywhere, but they don’t make any money during the downtime. If you can book it within that window of downtime, you might be able to get a great deal.
- Group travel. A charter flight accomodates up to eight passengers. The fuller the flight is, the more ways the bill can be split.
