Tip 01: If you are flying for a special occasion and plan to carry presents in your hand luggage, don’t forget to check hand luggage restrictions first. Make sure all presents are permitted in cabin baggage and remember that the liquids in hand luggage rules apply to presents too. Do not gift wrap them as they are subject to security checks and may be unwrapped. If you are uncertain about carrying any item in your luggage, check with your airline before packing.
Tip 02: When boarding the aircraft, make a mental note of all exits, and count how many seat rows you pass from the exit to your row. This will expedite your escape route in case of an emergency landing if there is smoke and/or power loss in the cabin. And by all means, pay attention to the flight crew! No matter how uninteresting it may sound, their instructions are vital … and read the aircraft emergency procedure manual completely before takeoff. These are located in the pouch right in front of you. Do this – it pays to be prepared for flight. Knowledge is power and armed with the basics you can sit back and enjoy your flight.
Tip 03: Travelling alone can be an intimidating experience, especially for those who don’t do it often. Knowing what to expect and thinking about the challenges solo air travel throws at you ahead of time can make it an easy and efficient experience. Avoid checking a bag. This is true of any air travel really, but I find it’s much easier to be a self-contained entity when alone, leaving as little responsibility to the airline as possible. There’s nobody to search for the right baggage claim with you or to help you talk to the agent if a bag gets lost.
By keeping everything with you, there’s less chance of error. Along those same lines, don’t be afraid to gate-check a bag (usually signified by yellow tags put on the bag as you board). This works differently from normal bag checking, as any gate-checked bag is only given to the airline as you board the plane, and is retrieved right as you exit the plane.
The bag never actually goes through the whole luggage system – that invariably ends misplacing things.
