Interview with a flight attendant 

Are you planning a trip?

If so, then you need to read this blog post! In this article, I'll be sharing some tips from a flight attendant on how to book the best flights and hotels using Expedia!

So what are you waiting for? Keep reading to learn more! Here are some tips from a flight attendant 

HI, I am a Former flight attendant for a major US airline I'm going to be sharing with you 10 travel tips that you probably did not know about that are going to make your travel experience much better, so without further ado let's dive in. 

Tip #1

Okay, so tip number one Is to buy and bring a J-hook. So a J-hook can actually clip onto your luggage or can be wrapped around your handle and then Clip around it, and what a J-hook essentially does is carry your smaller carry-on item so instead of using a trolley sleeve to put your smaller carry-on item on top of your suitcase or you roll-aboard you actually can set the smaller item onto your j-hook and that is going to take a tremendous amount of the weight off of your arm so. 

I know many of you are probably thinking how did flight attendants carry so much stuff in so many bags and then they're not getting like tennis elbow or something from dragging all this stuff around? The answer is J hook so you may have seen your flight crew use J hooks quite a bit because of the weight and balance not going to get into all the physics of it. 

However, when you put a heavier smaller bag on end it still essentially balances out and feels tremendously light compared to if you took that smaller bag and put it on top of the suitcase. 

Tip #2

A lot of people will tell you to download the airline's app so whatever airline you're flying with you should download their app but that's a fairly common tip so a noncommon tip from your flight attendant friend is to actually use the app or the website FlightAware. 

So FlightAware can actually show you where your plane has been, so for example if I am on a flight and maybe it has a small delay and I want to see if the plane is actually on its way to the airport you can put in your flight information with your airline and then you can press the button where is my plane now this will take you over and show you where your plane is so you can know if your plane is coming from the hangar if it's at the airport that you're at, if it's completely at a different Airport, if it hasn't even left or if it's on its way. 

This is a tremendous app especially if you're not sure what is going on and you're not getting a lot of information now bear in mind sometimes your flight crew and sometimes your gate agents and stuff they're doing their best and they might not have all the information either, so this is a way for you to get just a little bit more information than you probably previously had. 

Ok, so tip # 3

Use a tile or a luggage tracker so essentially what this is going to do is you can put one of those little tiles squares into your luggage and they do use Bluetooth so verify with your airline that you are traveling with that Bluetooth is okay most airlines do accept Bluetooth so you can go ahead and put your phone into airplane mode and still keep your Bluetooth on, and a lot of times your tile will actually work when your check bag is below you on the airplane so you can essentially check and make sure that it is below you, but also there's a lot of luggage trackers out there that can do a lot of the same thing but once again just verify with your airline that that is something acceptable that you are allowed to use and that way you do not have to worry about if your bag is in Timbuktu and you have no idea where it's at you can easily try and track it.

I do know that airlines are getting a lot better with the barcode system and being able to track your luggage through the app so that's also a great one as well just make sure you have that bar because that way you can track it through their app.

Okay, so tip # 4

Check the airport maps ahead of time so, for example, you can actually usually Google what the Airport map looks like and especially I have to tell you do not book tight connections but if for some awful reason, you had to you can use this to actually find out where the gates and the terminals and stuff are at, so that is going to make your travel experience a lot easier once you're in the airport.

 I know for somebody who does not travel as frequently as somebody like myself does airports can be very very very overwhelming so this is a way to kind of minimize the craziness and the hecticness because you're trying to read signs as people are running around and there's luggage tripping you all over the place so this is basically a way to avoid that. 

So go ahead and look at the airport map and take a picture if you need to and that way when you get there you can kind of direct yourself and know exactly where you're going without all the overwhelming stuff around you,

So my tip # 5 

Is book flights earlier in the day now the reason I say this is actually because in case you have a delay or a cancellation you have a much better chance of being able to be rebooked on something whether that's a direct flight or a connecting flight, compared to if you had like the last flight of the day so let's say that you have a flight and it's the last one of the day and for some reason, it cancels due to weather well the airline has no control over the weather so a lot of times you cannot actually be compensated for something like a hotel or food so they won't give you a voucher for something. 

In that instance when it is not directly their fault so then you're now stranded and hungry and in need of a place to sleep but if you had booked the flight earlier in the day you would have much better options to try and get reconnected to exactly where you're trying to end up. 

Ok so tip # 6

This is a little bit of a funny one but bear with me. This one makes a lot of sense, you need to pack an extra pair of underwear in your carry-on, the reason I say this is because you just never know what's gonna happen with Airlines.

It is such a crazy business where anything can change at a moment's notice and you do not want to end up stranded without your stuff and only have the clothes that you are wearing so just trust me on this one pack some extra panties

Ok so my # 7

Is to set an alarm near your boarding time so a lot of times we get to the airport and we might be roaming around looking for food or coffee or whatever it is and it is very easy to lose track of time so when you find out when you're boarding time is try and set an alarm close to that time that will give you enough time to say hey you're about to board and you need to get over to your gate. 

This is just gonna be a little extra reminder so you don't get overwhelmed if you're in the bathroom line or something like that you'll know exactly when boarding is gonna be.

I have seen it time and time again people running to their gate and the door is already closed and they cannot get on to the plane anymore just set an alarm near their boarding time.

Tip # 8

Now this one is probably a bit more common but I still feel like I have to reiterate it keeps your most important stuff in your smaller carry-on item so as long as it's acceptable to be in your carry-on bag. which you can go to TSA.com to figure out if it is or is not.

If it is acceptable to bring in your carry-on bag keep the important stuff in this smaller bag so stuff that you want to keep might be a phone charger it might be your medicines your laptop, just assume that your larger carry-on item is going to be checked and that your smaller personal item is going to stay with you that way you're not running around stressed out as you're trying to exchange stuff and switch stuff between bags because you suddenly found out your larger bag has to be checked I've seen this a lot 

Okay so a tip # 9

Bring your own pair of headphones a lot of times the headphones that we give out for free are not the best quality which actually cracks me up when people have like really good headphones on but they still want the free pair of headphones because trust me whatever you're wearing is the most likely better than what we are giving you for free or sometimes airlines will actually charge you for headphones so that way if you bring your own headphones you're gonna be able to watch your movies or listen to music or do whatever and not have to worry if you have like a headphone with like a missing ear out of it that you can't hear or sometimes like the poor on the seat is weird so that way you can use your headphones to your phone or your tablet or whatever you're bringing just bring your own pair of headphones even if it's going to be your backup just bring them.

Okay, and last but not least my tip number 10:

Wear sunscreen please wear your sunscreen on the plane there are UVA rays and radiation coming through the plane just do me the favor and put on your sunscreen 30 minutes prior to flying and bring a little bitty tube travel size that you can put on every two hours you can thank me later I really hope that these help you and make your travel experience much more easy and much more enjoyable.

Are you planning a trip?

If so, then you need to read this blog post! In this article, I'll be sharing some tips from a flight attendant on how to book the best flights and hotels. I'll also be giving away a free Expedia gift card to one lucky reader!

So what are you waiting for? Keep reading to learn more!

Here are some tips from a flight attendant on how to book the best flights and hotels:

• Book your flights in advance. The earlier you book your flights, the more likely you are to get a good deal.

• Be flexible with your travel dates. If you can, try to be flexible with your travel dates. This will give you more options and help you find the best deals.

• Consider flying during the off-season. If you can, try to fly during the off-season. This is when flights and hotels are typically cheaper.

• Sign up for email alerts from airlines and hotels. This is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest deals and discounts.

• Use a travel search engine. A travel search engine can help you compare prices from different airlines and hotels.

• Consider using a travel agent. A travel agent can help you book your flights and hotels, and they can also help you find the best deals.

I hope these tips help you book the best flights and hotels for your next trip!

And don't forget to enter to win a free Expedia gift card! To enter, simply leave a comment below this blog post. The winner will be announced on [date].

Good luck!