Be it business, studies, or leisure, people travel by air for a multitude of reasons. It is faster and more comfortable than other means of transportation. Along with working on your travel bucket list, you should also adequately prepare yourself for your upcoming journey by making necessary arrangements before boarding a flight — if you don’t want to face any inconveniences that could possibly make your air traveling experience unpleasant and stressful.
So, let’s get you prepared for your next flight. Here are seven of the most important things you should do before boarding a plane.
Download Your Concerned Airline’s App (If Available)
Download the mobile application of your airline. It will help you avoid queues at check-in points. Enter your reservation details and get real-time updates. There are some airline apps that even allow you to check in almost a day before your flight schedule. This is how you can head straight to the security counter after arriving at the airport. Passengers may also get to enjoy in-app entertainment features, so it is better to install them on your mobile devices including your cellphones and tablets.
Keep Yourself Organized
Handling information becomes tricky if you haven’t kept it in one place. Staying organized is one of the most important things you should do before boarding a plane. You can also install apps like TripIt or App In the Air that are designed to consolidate all your traveling information like check-in times, gate numbers, details about lounges nearby you, and flight statuses.
Another way to stay organized is by packing the right items that you or people traveling with you may need during the flight. Keep all the important stuff with you in a carry-on bag, backpack, or any other type of easy-to-carry baggage.
Check the Weight and Size of Your Baggage
Many commercial airlines these days have very strict rules regarding baggage size. Their limitations would only allow you to take luggage of a certain weight and size with you. This also includes your carry-on bag and backpacks. Make sure the dimensions of your luggage are in line with the baggage limitations of your chosen airline. You can find more info about the luggage limitations of many famous airlines from around the world on Wikitravel.
Learn About Your Desired Airport’s Parking and Reservations
This is another very important thing you need to do before boarding a plane if you are planning to leave your car at the airport. Get all the information about their parking facility. Airport car parks may have the capacity of thousands of vehicles but you should check their availability and reserve your spot beforehand. You’ll also have to pay charges to use the car parking facility for as long as your vehicle needs to be parked at the airport.
Pro Tip: Generally, using parking lots at airports probably cost you a lot — more than many other similar facilities available in the city. So, if you want to save some extra bucks, you can consider using any other off-airport parking space, where your vehicle is safe.
Don’t Forget Your Gadgets
In today’s world, technology touches our lives in many different ways. It is making our day-to-day lives easier and more comfortable than ever before. This is why not forgetting about your gadgets and keeping them with you all the time is one of the most important things you should do before boarding a plane. Gadgets may also be your very own source of entertainment, which could be a significant thing you might need to survive long flights in the economy class.
There are many travel and hotel booking websites that you can use these days to avail incredible deals, price cuts, and discounts. This would only be possible if you have your smartphone, tablet, or laptop with you so you can make all necessary reservations beforehand and get your hands on some of the best offers for travelers. Carry power banks and portable laptop chargers with you to keep your devices’ batteries juiced up.
Check for Free Wi-Fi
Sometimes layovers between the two connecting flights could be hours long. This means you may have to stay at the airport for quite some time. It would be expensive to use your cellular data services to video chat with your friends and/or family, use social media or simply browse the internet. This makes it really important for you to check for free Wi-Fi and get it connected if it is not password protected or if the airport management has given you the passcode. Along with checking for free internet services, there are also many other tips to save money while traveling that you need to know about.
Double Check Your Travel Documents
Depending on your travel destination, you need to make sure that you are carrying all the important travel documents, such as your identity card, passport with visa stamp of your travel destination, and many other related documents if you want to avoid facing any type of hindrance or inconvenience in your travel experience
These were the 7 most important things while traveling by air.
We hope the information we have shared above will help you get fully prepared for your next flight, making you have a satisfactory and hassle-free air traveling experience.
Have a safe flight!
