Who better to give travel advice than a flight attendant? Kristie Koerbel spoke to The New York Times about her best travel hacks for passengers, including how to minimise the chance of journey disruption.
During peak Covid times, when air travel was pretty much grounded to a halt, many airline staff were laid off.
However, now that Covid restrictions have been pretty much scrapped globally, holidaying has become much easier.
The ease with which people can now travel – plus the immense desire to finally get away after such a long time – has meant a huge influx in flight bookings.
Going back to previous levels of staffing at airports and on planes is no small feat.
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Kristie advised travelling at a certain time of day to avoid Covid and non-Covid-related cancellations.
The flight attendant stated: “The first flights of the day rarely cancel. Thunderstorms build as the day gets warmer, flight crews reach their duty limits later in the day and traffic builds at busy airports.
“Yes, that might mean a 3 a.m. alarm, but if your early flight does happen to cancel, there will be more options to rebook a different flight.”
Flight delays have also become all the more common since air travel opened up again.
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Kristie advised flying direct where possible to avoid trouble on your connection flight should your first one be delayed.
If flying direct to your destination isn’t possible, she told flyers to avoid booking connections with the shortest layover.
She explained: “A one-hour layover is not enough anymore. Thirty minutes, not a chance. In most cases, three hours is safe.”
To keep on top of any delays, cancellations – or any other important info – Kristie advised flyers to download the airline’s app.
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She described airline apps as a “valuable” resource: “They will keep you from having to wait in impossibly long lines or to try and get someone on the phone if things go wrong.”
Apps will allow passengers to do things such as track their luggage, and their incoming plane, and even be warned about flight cancellations ahead of time.
This may save a wasted journey to the airport for some unlucky passengers.
If needed, passengers can also book a replacement flight on the app, and avoid long queues of fellow frustrated passengers in the meantime.
For passengers that do make it onto the plane, Kristie shared another top tip that will make their lives easier.
Kristie told passengers to bring a particular item of clothing with them on each flight, regardless of the destination they are heading to.
You may not be keen to bring a jumper to sunny Spain, but it will serve you well on the journey, according to the insider.
She revealed that flight attendants often keep the plane cold on purpose, as heat makes those with air sickness feel worse – “we don’t want anyone to use those sick sacks”.
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