Improvise your own Sky Couch on take-off. Photo / Getty Images
Michael Lamb reveals some tips of the trade to make your next longhaul journey more enjoyable.
Travel writers are always squirrelling away little hacks in the back of their minds. Here are 10 good tips that walk the line from the clever to the borderline unethical.
1. Think seriously about Premium Economy
Doing back-to-back long-haul flights to Europe is a path well-trodden by lagged NZers. Shop around
and you might be surprised how low Premium Economy tickets can be nabbed for. On my last trip to Europe, I paid just $750 each way for Premium Economy - or $375 per long-haul sector on an Air France/Air New Zealand codeshare from House of Travel (not a plug, I paid list price). For that, I got priority boarding, Business Class meals, in-flight kit and service, a generously proportioned seat and double - yes double - baggage allowance. Some Premium Economy fares might get you lounge access too. But most of all, I got time; anything that helps you arrive fresher and fitter so you hit the ground running has got to be factored in. Especially if you're only away for a relatively short time, those few days not spent in a jet lag fug can mean much more upside on the ground at your destination.
2. Slip-on shoes
The benefits are clear: breeze through the security check without fumbling around on the floor yanking off your Converses or fiddling with your laces. The hard bit is finding slip-ons that look good - but they're out there.
3. Build the ultimate bubble kit
Everyone knows the benefits of noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs, neck supports, eyemasks and sedatives. Time to go next level - a bit of research and you'll find there are state-of-the-art solutions for these items now, which mean you could be seated next to a howling child in a thunderstorm and still be blissful. You'll be wanting something more along the lines of Alpine Flyfits for around $35 a pair (and yes, that is a plug, literally).
4. Select early, board last
Obviously, you choose your seat online, using a site like seatguru.com to pinpoint the best choices. For shorthaul flights (and I'm talking Europe here), boarding last - and I mean absolutely dead last - will give you the pick of the seat crop, often a whole row to yourself. Boarding last takes a bit of patience and holding your nerve as they start closing the gate but the rewards can be spectacular. Top tip: if you blag a row, sit in the aisle seat to "claim" the whole row - it will feel weird, but just go with it - and spread your stuff out on the other two. That way, if someone else wants to move to make space for their travelling companion, they won't grab the aisle and kill your three-seat quick-kip buzz. For international, where crew must have you in your allocated seat for take off, you'll need a different strategy.
5. Move like a cat
Long-haul Economy (taken only if you have ignored Hack #1) is so much nicer with your own improvised sky couch. Seatjumping is an art that takes vigilance, agility and dedication. As you're taking off, you have already identified your target seats. You have not unpacked all your stuff in your allocated seat, you have it in hand and you're ready. As soon as the flight levels off, move. Don't necessarily wait for the "seatbelts on" light to click off - judge each situation on its merits, depending where cabin crew are sitting and so on. Don't ask, take. Your reward is a bank of three or four seats all the way to flight nirvana. Deploy seat-blocking gear and firmly tell anyone who tries to seatjump into your space to go away.
6. Charm offensive
This one does cross the line into dastardly connivance but if it suits your mojo, hey, why not. I once bought a snack just before I boarded and was idly eating it as I wandered down the airbridge - and then got to the plane door with the packaging in hand. I knew littering in airbridges is punishable by a large fine, so as I boarded I made a joke of it with cabin crew, apologising for our relationship getting off to a "rubbish start" with me handing them trash. They laughed, we laughed - and I got the first-class treatment for the rest of the flight. I'm not suggesting you use this actual routine but finding some little unexpected thing to chat and laugh to the cabin crew as you get on board, can't hurt. Note: I don't recommend this as some lame excuse to try and flirt with cute hosties - they're professionals, they're not looking for friends. Whatever ruse you use has to be your own original gambit.
7. Know your route
There can be a noticeable rise in the collective cabin stress when the doors are shut and the captain announces a flight delay. Research is the answer - a site like flightaware.com will tell you the likelihood of a delay. Leaving Shanghai recently, I knew that historically, the flight I was on had a statistical delay time of 45 minutes. Sure enough, as soon as we were loaded the captain announced a delay. As everyone groaned I smiled to myself and enjoyed the fact that knowledge is power.
8. Be a travel blogger
Another of those cheeky ones, but if you travel a bit and can knock out a hundred-word flight review, build yourself a 10-minute website and next time you fly, contact the airline's PR people to discuss a freebie or wholesale fare. As an "official" travel blogger you might just get a warm reception. Or even a lovely upgrade.
9. Travel light, lose the fluids
For travel hacks, travelling light is the oldest one in the book. But with the ever-growing size of cabin bags - some of them expanding to be small suitcases - it's easy to get lulled back into a false sense of needing to take too much onboard. For my last trip, I bought the new MacBook, weighing just 920 grams, for full work and entertainment options, plus a top-quality multicompartment shoulder bag. And remember, you don't really need those fluids - especially when you've deployed Hack #6 and you sweetly tell the hostie you packed all your toiletries in your suitcase by mistake and would they possibly have a spare Business Class toiletry kit you could have? Course they do!
10. Know your airports
Preflight or stopover, knowing the latest facilities on hand at airports on your itinerary can be a big bonus. There could be a day pass for lounge access, or new R&R areas on offer. Or a restaurant tucked away on another level, which is free of the crowds. Pre-checking free wi-fi options is useful too. Fact is, the big hubs especially are always adding and upgrading facilities so bookmark their websites, do a bit of extra research, and every airport along the way could become your own private health retreat/business centre/refreshment nook.
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