I love trains, and ferries, and buses. Intra city, inter city, between islands, they are amazing. However, they are never going to be the fastest way to cover a long distance. As much as I enjoy short rides, I am not ready to dive in to the Trans Canada, or Siberian, railways as a mode of long distance transport. I am an ‘outside dog’, living on my feet, and have not evolved enough to stay in a small space for more than twenty four hours. Darn airplanes do a great job of conveying us from distant place to even more distant place. I fly about once a week. If you are a full time traveler you cannot avoid flying, regardless of how you feel about random strangers flight shaming you.
The good news about flying is that everything, from price, safety, and destination choice, is better than it was ten years ago. And everything will be better next year (well, price may spike occasionally).
Without a doubt the ‘flying experience’, when the departure airport is in the United States, has become dramatically less fun as airlines maximize ‘loads’ and chisel extra fees for actually having luggage or being thirsty. On a flight which was 95% empty because the world was on fire the check in agent was very clear that if I bought anything after security that arrived at the gate in a bag of any size (other than, of course, the insanely profitable duty free), I would be assessed a $50 fee. The ‘it’s a full flight’ (often a blatant lie). The ‘if you do not pay extra for a seat assignment check in at the airport’. The (twelve?) different boarding groups involving so much noise and shuffling and tension. The pure, capricious scolding from what used to be a ‘we are here to make you happy’ service has been a seismic shift in this retail business in my lifetime.
A huge and pleasant surprise for me was that most of the rest of the world does not approach the provider/client relationship as a combat sport. Most airlines large and small profess to be happy to see you. There is still grace to be found. I have always got a seat, and my backpack has always gone with me.
I have nothing but free time, so roll up to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Roughly half of the airports have a lounge that will wine and feed me preflight (though post peak COVID has permitted most to scale back provisions). My light backpack has never been rejected as a carryon by any actual or pseudo-airline (Stop press. I bought a budget ticket on United in the US that gave me ’no cabin baggage’ allowance. But see my current credit card selection to solve this).
God forbid the repeated admonishments of “limited overhead space” come true, my bag just makes it under the seat ahead of me. I have a basic set: Bose headphones to quieten the cacophony of seemingly endless (and relentlessly expanding) overhead announcements, harangues and loyalty program pitches, gifted silky eye shades for desired darkness, a great analogue book, a digital goldmine of podcasts, a happy range of music (though see digital media page for caveat), and a silly number of episodes of ‘Fleabag’, ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Patrick Melrose’ to rewatch.
The web is jam packed with teaser articles about the ‘stress’ of flying, and all the things you should do (buy) to pack and carry to help out with potential health problems and jet lag and whatever else seems trendy. I get on an aeroplane fifty times a year and have needed none of that.
But, everyone has flight rituals that they swear by, and I respect those choices. My first one was the insanely expensive neck pillow – that you will discard after strapping it to the back of your pack for three months (the inflatable ones are laughable). Think those specialized pressure socks will prevent you from dying from deep vein thrombosis? Bring them on. Believe in some magical concoction to ward off the bad juju in the air inflight? Swig it. Have a guru approved set of exercises guaranteed to keep your chakra aligned? Go for it. Read travel blogs that advise on how to survive time zone changes? Try that. Better flying through chemistry? Ambien, Melatonin. If you are a believer, choose that church. My experience is that, broadly, I am well rested and do not have to make a major presentation when I land, so it does not really matter what I choose. And as you progressively click through milestones of flight numbers, my guess is that you will find that flying is not stressful, and you do not need much at all
My simple strategy is – get a cheap flight that a saves me two night’s hotel cost; carry on some entertainment; and wear a big grin on my face because I am off on another leg of the adventure. If it turns out that my airline code share lands me on Singapore or South African Airlines, and they sprinkle me with rose water instead of whipping me like a galley slave, so much the better.