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General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: xnikki118x on July 18, 2007, 05:23:53 AM

Title: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: xnikki118x on July 18, 2007, 05:23:53 AM: Hi EB. I've never flown on a plane before. Ever.

In 4 weeks I'm flying out to Nebraska to visit my friend Sadie. I'm staying for a week. I got my tickets tonight [thanks to the world's most wonderful boyfriend] and now that everything's all set, I need pointers.

My flight there has two stops, one in Detroit and one in Cincinnati. The return flight has two stops, one in Minneapolis and one in Cincinnati. I'll have my mp3 player, James's Game Boy Advance, and some keychains to work on. I plan on sleeping on the planes because I get carsick, and my dad said that I won't get as sick if I try to sleep on the plane. [He was in the army, he's been on a LOT of planes.] I also requested window seats at Sadie's suggestion.

I'm a poor kid so I'm flying coach.

I'm only bringing a backpack/carryon and a large purse. I don't really need anything except my clothes, which are small to begin with, and I can roll them up really small from years of camping.

So here's my point. I need your tips and tricks and everything. I'm not afraid of a plane crash or anything, but I do get kinda scared of heights and I just generally wanna be prepared. Share with me your information plz!
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Glescoes on July 18, 2007, 05:41:53 AM: I suggest you buy some chewing gum, and chew it during the flight (when youre not sleeping anyway :lol)...

otherwise the air pressure may make your ears hurt
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: demi on July 18, 2007, 06:19:43 AM: There is a rule on liquids, should be on the Air Regulations site, something about 12 ounces. Not sure. Best to just avoid taking liquids period, if you need toiletries stop at WalMart while you are at your friend's and pick up some travel thingies.

Here's some general tips I came up with during my few flights I've done:

* Window seats rock
* Cross your fingers and hope the seat next to you is empty
* Flights can be relaxing if there is no fucking crying kid, otherwise prepare for shit
* Use flights to catch up on portable gaming, so make sure you have a few games at least to shuffle around, cause playing the same one can get a bit boring
* Books are also recommended
* Good luck trying to sleep, extremely uncomfortable, that's why you want a window seat so you can lean against it
* Chewing gum is supposed to help with that "pressure" that you feel in your ears/head, but I find that swallowing does the same effect in relieving it
* When the plane lifts off, your stomach will lurch and sink inside you, but that subsides quickly
* Take some tic tacs or something instead of constantly chewing
* For every DOWN there is an UP, so do not worry if the plane rocks, kinda like a boat
* Take chips or some snack with you, don't get swindled into buying their plane food, they usually offer peanuts or crackers and a small glass of soda anyway

I have a thing for heights and I was really nervous my first time flying, but all my other times were smooth sailing and I rather enjoyed them

That's all I could think up just now, I'm sure there are other things to keep in mind
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Ichirou on July 18, 2007, 06:24:11 AM: Agreed with demi, the rules on liquids are so complicated nowadays that it's best just to avoid taking them in carry-on. The only way to bring liquids without a hassle is if you put them in your luggage (not carry on).

The only thing I would add to demi's tips is to try to stand up at least every couple of hours so as to not screw up the circulation in your legs. Something about being up so high does something to the circulation in your legs that forms blood clots. An acquaintance of mine (in his twenties, not an old guy and not out of shape) died in his sleep a few weeks after taking several long-distance trip because a blood clot had formed in his legs, undetected.

How long is the flight?
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: cloudwalking on July 18, 2007, 07:23:44 AM: the rules on liquids aren't that complicated right now. i flew internationally, so i'm sure it's pretty much the same for domestic flights. everyone in front of and behind me who was in the line to go through security had liquids with them. no one fucked up, it all went smoothly.

the rules are:

- all liquids must be placed in a 1-quart (no bigger, no smaller) ziplock baggie. they had some at my airport in case you need them, but i brought my own. they're just your typical sandwich sized ziplocks.
- liquids must contain 100ml (3.4oz) or less.
- only liquids in the bag, nothing else. (i had lip gloss, mascara, and concealer in mine)
- you can only take one ziplock baggie.

more info here: http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/travelplanning/advisory/default.aspx

oh and they don't tell you this on the site, but when you actually go through security, you have to place the ziplock bag in its own separate bin, like you do with a laptop computer.

that's it. it's pretty easy. since you'll be taking only carry on luggage, you won't be able to bring things like shampoo or body wash unless they are in very small containers.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: tiesto on July 18, 2007, 08:29:20 AM: My only real trick is: If you get slight motion sickness, I've found that drinking ginger ale can settle your stomach.

What airline are you flying?
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: ToxicAdam on July 18, 2007, 09:59:28 AM: Don't forget your chewing gum.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: brawndolicious on July 18, 2007, 11:20:14 AM: http://www.seatguru.com/sitemap.html

make sure you're not sitting next to a bathroom.
(http://slimg.com/seatguru/seatmap.gif)
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: xnikki118x on July 19, 2007, 02:35:12 AM: Best to just avoid taking liquids period, if you need toiletries stop at WalMart while you are at your friend's and pick up some travel thingies.
^ That's probably what I'll be doing. ^

* Cross your fingers and hope the seat next to you is empty or doesn't have a huge fat person taking up half of your seat.
^ fixed ;) ^

* Use flights to catch up on portable gaming, so make sure you have a few games at least to shuffle around, cause playing the same one can get a bit boring
^ That's where Ecro comes in :D ^

* Books are also recommended
^ I can't read in the car so I'm not going to chance it while flying, but I'll probably take a book with me for the layovers. ^

* Good luck trying to sleep, extremely uncomfortable, that's why you want a window seat so you can lean against it
^ I can sleep anywhere, anytime. Will the flight attendant give me a pillow and blanket? Will I have to pay for them? ^

* When the plane lifts off, your stomach will lurch and sink inside you, but that subsides quickly
* For every DOWN there is an UP, so do not worry if the plane rocks, kinda like a boat
^ This is good to know and exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. If I wasn't expecting my stomach to lurch/the plane to rock so much I'd be like "oh god here comes the puke!" ^

* Take chips or some snack with you, don't get swindled into buying their plane food, they usually offer peanuts or crackers and a small glass of soda anyway
^ Someone told me they have free soda/water/juice, and you only have to pay for an alcoholic beverage. I don't plan on drinking alcohol. Is everything else free in your experience? ^

The only thing I would add to demi's tips is to try to stand up at least every couple of hours so as to not screw up the circulation in your legs. Something about being up so high does something to the circulation in your legs that forms blood clots. An acquaintance of mine (in his twenties, not an old guy and not out of shape) died in his sleep a few weeks after taking several long-distance trip because a blood clot had formed in his legs, undetected.
^ That's very scary and sad. ^

How long is the flight?
^ 1 hour 32 minutes, then 1 hour 10 minutes, then 1 hour 51 minutes going.
Coming home it's 1 hour 8 minutes, 1 hour 55 minutes, 1 hour 31 minutes. So the longest I'd be sitting is two hours, but I will stand up and move my legs a bit at least once during every flight. :) ^

- all liquids must be placed in a 1-quart (no bigger, no smaller) ziplock baggie. they had some at my airport in case you need them, but i brought my own. they're just your typical sandwich sized ziplocks.
^ Thank you, because I wasn't sure what the quart-sized ones were. :) ^

- only liquids in the bag, nothing else. (i had lip gloss, mascara, and concealer in mine)
^ I thought makeup wasn't considered liquid. Maybe it depends on the airline, I'm definitely going to look it up. ^

oh and they don't tell you this on the site, but when you actually go through security, you have to place the ziplock bag in its own separate bin, like you do with a laptop computer.
^ I heard that someplace too. Like when you're going...I don't know, into a national monument or something and you have to take your keys and cell phone and metal stuff and put it in a separate bin while someone searches your purse? ^

My only real trick is: If you get slight motion sickness, I've found that drinking ginger ale can settle your stomach.
^ You know, I hate ginger ale, but I might just grin and bear it if I end up needing to. ^

What airline are you flying?
^ Delta. I didn't pick it, just went with the cheapest one. They're all the same to me. ^

Don't forget your chewing gum.
^ For chewing and blowing bubbles! ^

make sure you're not sitting next to a bathroom.
^ Thanksss :) ^
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: bagofeyes on July 19, 2007, 02:37:38 AM: window seats suck on a long flight. in an aisle seat you can stretch your legs into the aisle and not have to pass people to go to the can
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Mr. Gundam on July 19, 2007, 02:48:57 AM: Quote from: xnikki118x on July 19, 2007, 02:35:12 AM

* Take chips or some snack with you, don't get swindled into buying their plane food, they usually offer peanuts or crackers and a small glass of soda anyway
^ Someone told me they have free soda/water/juice, and you only have to pay for an alcoholic beverage. I don't plan on drinking alcohol. Is everything else free in your experience? ^

You might get a bag of pretzels if you're lucky. But yes, non-alcoholic beverages are free.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: The Sceneman on July 19, 2007, 02:49:27 AM: I catch planes from Auckland to Wellington all the time, the flights only an hour, so I just gotta make sure Im packing my DS
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: demi on July 19, 2007, 02:51:49 AM: You can ask for a pillow and blanket, you won't get charged for it

And the whole stomach sinking inside of you isn't because of puke, it's because of the force obviously, you know usual physics stuff, objects in motion stay in motion

You'll know the feeling when it hits, but once you're evened out it goes away

You won't get your stuff checked unless you make the detector go off, the only time I got scanned was because my ID was expired and they caught it. You just put all your stuff (belt and shoes included!) in a bin, and slide your backpack along with it
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: max_cool on July 19, 2007, 05:03:58 AM: Quote from: xnikki118x on July 19, 2007, 02:35:12 AM
How long is the flight?
^ 1 hour 32 minutes, then 1 hour 10 minutes, then 1 hour 51 minutes going.
Coming home it's 1 hour 8 minutes, 1 hour 55 minutes, 1 hour 31 minutes. So the longest I'd be sitting is two hours, but I will stand up and move my legs a bit at least once during every flight. :) ^

none of those are all that long of flight times. I think you underestimate the trouble of getting into and out of window seats in coach, you know how much of a pain it is at a movie or in a lecture hall? multiply by at least 2 and then add one more for the fact that airports are some of the most depressing places on earth and most people will be in a bad mood. Also, you will have a fasten seatbelt sign on during take-off and landing so that's about 1/2 hour right there that you can't get up. then you'll have the flight crew jamming up the aisle with they drink/food tray for most of the remainder of the flight. You might have a good 40 minute window without fasten seatbelt signs and where the flight crew isn't blocking your way. I've found it's just not worth it.

Note I'm not the most experienced traveler, to and from Minneapolis and Phoenix about 6 times, then some short flights from Phoenix to Denver or Vegas about 6 more times.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Human Snorenado on July 19, 2007, 07:44:20 AM: You might want to look into some kind of motion sickness pill, Nikki. My mother needs to take them when she flies.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Tauntaun on July 19, 2007, 11:27:34 AM: Buy a parachute and halfway through the flight start screaming and then go to the door and jump out, it'll be awesome! :hyper Have fun, it's cool to look at the landscape from the plane. :)
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Saint Cornelius on July 19, 2007, 11:32:15 AM: Quote from: xnikki118x on July 19, 2007, 02:35:12 AM
^ Someone told me they have free soda/water/juice, and you only have to pay for an alcoholic beverage. I don't plan on drinking alcohol. Is everything else free in your experience? ^

You might want to rethink that drink. Flying slightly buzzed is the only way to fly.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: MrAngryFace on July 19, 2007, 11:34:08 AM: I dont normally agree with Corney, but if you arent drinking booze ...I mean all the time...real talk

no homo
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Saint Cornelius on July 19, 2007, 11:38:39 AM: I'm glad that our love of the booze can bring us together, MAF. Let's never argue again! :-*
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: MrAngryFace on July 19, 2007, 11:39:51 AM: We can stretch this truce to 24 hours if we BELIEVE!
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Tauntaun on July 19, 2007, 11:41:04 AM: Quote from: Lil' Slugger on July 19, 2007, 11:39:51 AM
We can stretch this truce to 24 hours if we BELIEVE!

sorry that only works in gaf land, here in EB we require teh buttsecks! :hump :hump

:-* seriously
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Saint Cornelius on July 19, 2007, 11:41:27 AM: Just don't beat me like you do when you get liquored up and we'll be fine. Angry drunk!
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: tiesto on July 19, 2007, 11:42:56 AM: Ahhh... Delta... another thing, make sure you at check-in before they start boarding (30 min before the flight)! The one time I had to fly Delta, I went out of JFK and that terminal is an absolute disorganized mess... and I ended up unable to check in my bags and pick up a boarding pass because I was too late (the fault of the limo driver and the disorganized Delta terminal). Had to get on the next available flight, which meant waiting for 3 hours in JFK and a 6 hour layover in Atlanta... which wasn't so bad thanks to Fire Emblem GBA.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Saint Cornelius on July 19, 2007, 11:44:31 AM: Quote from: tiesto on July 19, 2007, 11:42:56 AM
Ahhh... Delta... another thing, make sure you at check-in before they start boarding (30 min before the flight)! The one time I had to fly Delta, I went out of JFK and that terminal is an absolute disorganized mess... and I ended up unable to check in my bags and pick up a boarding pass because I was too late (the fault of the limo driver and the disorganized Delta terminal). Had to get on the next available flight, which meant waiting for 3 hours in JFK and a 6 hour layover in Atlanta... which wasn't so bad thanks to Fire Emblem GBA.

You know what Delta stands for, rite?

spoiler (click to show/hide)
Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport
[close]
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Van Cruncheon on July 19, 2007, 12:38:35 PM: yeah, flights are hideously obnoxious if you aren't tanked. i would amend corny's "slightly buzzed" to "barely conscious, just enough to get through security and find your gate"
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: xnikki118x on July 20, 2007, 06:11:12 AM: I know I can't bring liquids or anything, but will I be able to bring my own food? Like, a bag of chips or candy bar something? Will they let me through security with that?

Also, do they search everyone? I'm not bringing anything illegal, I'm just concerned that if they go through my bag it'll take a very long time for me to pack it all in again.

You guys are all awesome for offering your information. :)
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: cloudwalking on July 20, 2007, 06:39:39 AM: Quote from: xnikki118x on July 20, 2007, 06:11:12 AM
I know I can't bring liquids or anything, but will I be able to bring my own food? Like, a bag of chips or candy bar something? Will they let me through security with that?

Also, do they search everyone? I'm not bringing anything illegal, I'm just concerned that if they go through my bag it'll take a very long time for me to pack it all in again.

You guys are all awesome for offering your information. :)

yes you can bring your own food. i always do that now, ever since i got food poisoning from a shitty vegetarian airline meal on a 12-hour flight to tokyo. just remember, no liquids, so you can't bring a drink. but yeah like others said, drinks are free. and they usually give you a LOT of drinks, i ended up refusing a few because i didn't want to piss myself or something.

they won't search your luggage if you are only bringing carry ons, since they x-ray it anyway. they can do random checked luggage searches, though.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Ichirou on July 20, 2007, 06:54:12 AM: It's like a two hour flight, don't worry about it, you will be OK! :)

Next time come visit me in Japan! Bring Ecro along!
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: Wobedraggled on July 20, 2007, 07:46:08 AM: Flying is fun, you'll be fine

and window seat FTW

Last time i went to go see my old man, the plane was pretty empty save for a bunch of drunk business dudes in the back, they bought me drinks :) I was smashed getting off that flight

Edit: and no they didn't try to fuck me demi...
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: demi on July 20, 2007, 01:29:56 PM: I would have tried to give you a quick wank or something
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: AdmiralViscen on July 20, 2007, 01:41:22 PM: You want to know the secret to surviving air travel? After you get where you're going, take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes.
Title: Re: airline flight tips and tricks
Post by: brawndolicious on July 21, 2007, 03:51:24 AM: Quote from: AdmiralViscen on July 20, 2007, 01:41:22 PM
You want to know the secret to surviving air travel? After you get where you're going, take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes.
couldn't you just go on the airplane with sandals? I always slip off my shoes if on a plane cause of the whole feet swelling thing so I never really felt a need to stretch my toes after a flight.