Pros

An airplane is likely to be the fastest and most convenient way to travel, particularly long distance.

Airports offer a lot of amenities, including hotels where you can rest if necessary, and lounges where you can relax. There are also a range of coffee shops and restaurants.

Flights themselves are generally quiet and not altogether uncomfortable. You can relax and get some sleep, so you’re refreshed when you arrive at your destination.

Airlines make accommodations for seniors and for people who are handicapped.

Cons

Plane tickets are relatively expensive.

The lines at check-in and longer lines at security can add hours to even a short flight.

Weather often causes delays and cancellations which can be highly inconvenient, especially when you must make other travel connections.

Restrictions concerning the amount of liquid you can carry with you onto the plane can be problematic. In Canada, for example, each passenger is allowed a single 1 L bag containing non-solid foods and liquids, aerosols, or gels. This includes liquid-based cosmetics such as mascara and liquid eyeliner! That’s what you call erring on the side of caution… to put it kindly. Moreover, no individual containers can be over 100 ml/100 g (3.4 oz).

Unless you can cram everything you need and are allowed into your carry-on luggage you will need to pay extra for checked baggage. You must then wait to collect it when you reach your destination… assuming your baggage arrives with you.

Book in advance

Fares vary widely, so do some research to determine how to secure your desired route, time frame, and seat at the best possible cost. Analysis of millions of fares reveals trends of which you should make yourself aware. Current examples include the following:

1. If you can fly on days when there are traditionally fewer people travelling from airports then you could be rewarded with a cheaper airline ticket. Consider searching for flights departing on a Tuesday or Wednesday rather than on a Friday or Saturday, which are considered some of the busiest days.

2. The best time to book your flights is also on a Tuesday. Data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation narrows that time frame down to Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST, no matter when or where you’re flying.

3. The prime booking window is from four months to three weeks (121 to 21 days) prior to your departure date. Some research suggests that passengers pay the lowest price – nearly 10 percent below the average fare – if they buy 50 days before their flight. Another source found that the cheapest airfare can be found exactly 54 days before departure.

Use the internet

When selecting your seat, check multiple airline seating-chart websites. When mergers happen, airlines sometimes change their seat configuration and numbering systems. If your airline has undergone any recent changes, it can’t hurt to check more than one seat review site. Be sure you’re getting the most current information.

Despite changing seat maps, there is a system to seat numbering on ALL planes regardless of airline. This saves time in finding and taking your seat. Letters run from right to left as you face the back of the plane, where higher numbers are found. A is the window seat on your right.

Check in online so you don’t have to stand in line at the airport. Instead, you can simply arrive and drop off any luggage you will not be carrying on board the airplane.

Download the airline’s app so you get status updates on your flights as they happen. 

Make sure your electronics are charged, as you may be asked to turn on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. If you can’t turn it on, it’s not coming with you!

Load videos, books or music onto your phone or tablet. It passes time spent in the airport, and you can never count on the entertainment system to work on the flight. The airline may offer a coupon to redeem miles for the inconvenience, but that rarely works either.

Pack and park thoughtfully

Know what might be confiscated. If you have a pointy object in your carry-on luggage, or anything containing more than 100 ml of liquid, aerosols, or gels, it will be taken away at security.

Consider purchasing a traceable luggage tag and registering it. Airlines who have lost your luggage aren’t particularly helpful in finding it. Knowing that approximately 25 million bags go missing each year, you may want to increase the odds of yours being recovered.

Arrive at the airport early. There are so many variables that can cause delays, including lengthy waits for shuttles from the parking lot to the airport.

Explore the use of valet parking service. It can often be ordered online for not a lot more than the cost of other long-term parking. Valet parking gets priority and there are more shuttles for this. You never have to wait very long and you are waiting indoors to be transported door to door in a heated shuttle. That means you don’t have to dress for the weather where you are if it does not match the weather where you’re headed. When you fly home, give them a call from the airport and they’ll have your car warmed up, scraped off and waiting for you when you get back. You may even be able to get your car detailed while you’re away.

Be organized

Carry small bills for tipping purposes. When you arrive at your destination you can go to the ATM in the airport and get out a couple hundred dollars in local currency. With chip cards, you can use credit all over the world.

Obtain access to a lounge. Your credit card may be part of the Priority Pass program that allows cardholders to get into lounges all over the world regardless of what airline they’re flying. But there’s almost always one lounge that offers entry to non-cardholders for a reasonable fee. Lounge access gives you a peaceful place to rest and provides food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages.

When you get to security have everything put away except your passport and boarding pass. Pull out and display your one-liter plastic bag. Consider carrying your computer in a separate canvas shopping bag so it is easily accessible. Wear slip-on shoes with clean socks that don’t have holes in them. Don’t wear a belt or carry anything in your pockets. Make it simple.

Carry a stash of food, together with water purchased after passing through security. To decrease waste (and perhaps weight), airlines are under-stocking food. At mealtime they always seem to run out of the best menu items halfway down the aisle. The simplest approach would be to eat before your flight or bring your own food. A more hardcore approach is to order a special meal when you book your flight — it could be vegetarian, or kosher, or anything that gets your meal off the main food cart coming down the aisle. Two things happen when you do this: your meal is served first, before the full cabin service starts, and the food tends to be fresher.

Have low expectations

Anticipate and plan for missed and canceled flights. Regulations vary from country to country. For domestic flights in the US there are no federal requirements for airlines to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled. Every airline has its own set of policies, but they’re vague and noncommittal. Airline personnel have a lot of discretion for handling each situation. If you do not behave rudely, they may help you. Or you may be on your own. Carriers do spell out what is and isn’t guaranteed when you purchase a flight, so make yourself aware. 

A different, more generous set of rules applies to all flights within Europe, plus all flights from Europe to the U.S. (even on American carriers), and on all transatlantic flights flown by European carriers (but not Europe-bound flights operated by American airlines).

According to European Union regulations, if your flight has been canceled and it’s the airline’s fault, the airline is required to provide meals, refreshments, and (assuming you’re delayed overnight) free hotel accommodations. An airline responsible for a canceled flight must refund passengers’ money within seven days of the cancellation.

What’s more, European airlines must pay for your delays to the tune of 250 to 600 euros if you reach your destination more than four hours after the estimated arrival time.

Again, the airline is only on the hook for this compensation if it is responsible for the delay. But travelers in Europe are assured by law that airlines must do right by their customers.

Canada’s Passenger Bill of Rights can be found at https://rppa-appr.ca/eng/know-your-rights. All commercial flights within, to and from Canada are required to adhere to a set of standards regarding passenger treatment, compensation and communication.