No matter how much experience you have as a pilot. You should always use checklists for routine operations and emergencies.

Wear a good-fitting N95 mask from before you enter your departure airport until after you leave your destination airport. Covid sucks, flu sucks, rsv sucks - just wear a mask, ffs. And get vaccinated.

CubbyTustard has a good list. I’ll add the following:

• Don’t fly a budget airline
• Pop a dramamine before the flight (it makes you sleepy)
• Bring gum with you on the plane (chew a piece on accent and descent to help pop your ears)
• If in the US, use the Libby app alongside your local library and download audiobooks for free to pass the time during flights
• Wear a mask on the plane (or better yet, one of those buff scarf things). Not only to protect against germs, but because if anyone farts, you’re probably not going to smell it. Plus, people kinda get intimidated by people wearing masks these days, so they probably won’t chat with you too much.

I love flying and being in the airport. Yes it can be stressful, but it’s a miracle of modern dang science that ~300 people at the same time can take to the sky. Awe-inspiring, really.

While you’re in the security line, take all your shit out of your pockets and put it in your carry-on. Same for your belt.

1. do not check anything
2. do not put anything in the overhead storage unless it’s a suitcase
3. if you’re bringing a backpack, put it “upside down” under the seat in front of you. the floor is gross, don’t put your backpack down and then put that grossness against your back when you get off the plane
4. if you’re in the back half of the plane, be ready to volunteer to move to an exit row just in case the opportunity presents itself before the plane takes off
5. if you’re scared of flying, know that the plane is shaped physically to stay in the air. Why do paper planes fly? because of their shape. Real planes are shaped waaay better.
6. only get water, no ice
7. write down where you parked or take a picture and know how you’ll get back
8. have your first meal planned when you arrive at your destination

If you don’t like flying, then the best thing I can recommend to relieve the stress is that when you get where you’re going, you take off your socks and shoes and then, on the carpet, you make fists with your toes.

• When traveling to/from eastern Europe, always have your checked-in luggage wrapped. In those countries, especially in Hungary, there are many thieves among luggage handlers and there are many horror stories regarding in what conditions the passengers received their belongings at the end (if at all). While you cannot 100% eliminate risks, wrapped luggages are much less likely to be tampered with. It’s also worth wrapping it when you care about the outer texture of your luggage (sometimes the cargo area of the aircraft is really dirty).
• In the terminal building, find your gate first, so that you know exactly where to go when the time comes. Until then, go, find a comfortable seat somewhere else, far from the gates. At DXB I know a couple of cool locations where there aren’t many people waiting, so there are plenty of free space plus much cleaner toilets nearby due to less frequent usage. However, I’ll keep that information to myself, because I still wanna be able to enjoy those less crowded areas when I’m traveling.
• Pay attention to the safety briefing and really think it through. You have to remember it in panic situations. Pay attention to every single little detail, because everything is said for a very good reason. (Just as an example: when they say “pull the oxygen mask towards you when it appears in front of you”, you really have to yank on it (okay, maybe don’t rip it off; I have no idea how strong to pull it), because the oxygen flow starts only when a safety “pin” is released, which can be done by pulling on the oxygen line.)
• If your clothes are in your checked-in luggage, always have at least one set of extra clothes in your hand-carry.
• Pay attention to the airline’s guidelines when packing your luggage.
• During an emergency evacuation do not reach for your belongings. Just do as instructed and leave the aircraft as you’re told, ASAP. For this reason, keep your passport in your pocket and try to wear clothing that will be suitable outside as well to some extent. For example, wear your shoes and wear a sweater at least. (And pants as well, but I guess it doesn’t need to be mentioned.) You will get your belongings back at the end (if they’re salvageable, I guess).
• Others already mentioned it, but it’s so important, I need to reiterate: don’t be an asshole. It is common sense, yet there are so many people not following this rule.

Chug water before your flight, and do you best to board with a full bottle that you keep chugging during the flight. It keeps swelling down.

I used to be a window seat gal, but now I specifically get an aisle seat for any flight over three hours. That way I don’t have to bother waking anyone up if I have to pee.

If you hit some scary turbulence, just remember that planes withstand them. It feels scary, but the danger is due to bags or people that weren’t strapped in flying about. So, grip your armrest, imagine you’re on a rollercoaster and enjoy the ride.

You will be in close quarters with a lot of people. People suck and will be inconsiderate fucks. Airlines are shit and have you by the balls in terms of delays and shitty service.

Go in with low expectations and don’t make yourself more miserable by getting upset about it

Don’t fucking fly.

Not bc climate change, but bc no human has ever gotten off a commercial flight. and been in the best possible condition to face whatever they were flying to.

People are miserable, and concentrated in a small space they’re doubly so. Add to that convincing security theatre puppets that my CPAP is actually medical equipment, and that no, the meds that make sleep possible are not prohibited (liquid max be damned)… Hell with that.

I can get from my driveway to Chicago Union Station in two hours or less from my driveway. The LSL can have me in Albany ~12h later. Given that I was forced to make that trip quarterly in a past life, trying to fly WN would have forced me to go via BWI or ATL and taken the same damn amount of time all considered, with lots more stress.

Train gave me a decent sleeper car for less than plane fare for the two of us, even on WN. I arrived ready to get to work, versus a lil jet lagged and angry at people in general. Yeah, train was a no brainer.

Obviously not an option on all routes, but worked well for me.

Listen to the safety briefing. They wouldn’t bother telling you if it wasn’t important.

Keep your seatbelt on for the entire flight. The pilots can’t always predict turbulence, and hitting the ceiling hurts.

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Noise cancelling headphones.

Many dumb takes here, but also some good ones. Here are mine roughly sorted by importance:

• (Don’t be a dick - obviously)
• Choose a direct flight whenever possible. I usually would pick a shitty, more expensive airline over having a connecting flight.
• If you are planning a connecting flight, try to allocate at least 1-1.5 hours for the connection. Planes are delayed all the time and the shorter the connection time, the higher chance you’ll miss your flight. Your checked luggage can also miss your connection, pack some necessities in your carry-on. (anything more than 3 hrs is overkill though)
• Noise cancelling headphones/earphones: this is where they work best, blocking out the fatiguing drone of the plane. Highly recommended. Headphones are more comfortable over longer periods than earbuds.
• Window seats are better for sleeping asile is better if you tend to move around (but people passing by will disturb you by brushing up against you and you feel the floor flexing more as they walk)
• Cheap airlines: you get what you pay for. You will be treated like cattle but they do get you from point A to B for less money. Be aware they will nickle and dime you every step of the way, bring water (bottle you can fill after security) and some snacks.
• Luggage: carry-on is better than checked if you can avoid it but sometimes you can’t. For cheap airlines double check the size limits for carry on. The sizes are not standard and cheap airlines try to trick you into paying fees. Sometimes they’ll also take your carryon during boarding to check it in the hold when the plane is very full. You can try to avoid this by queueing and boarding sooner than others, or by bringing a smaller bag that fits under the seat.
• If you do end up checking a bag you’ll have to show up a bit sooner and usually wait a bit longer after the plane has landed. Place anything fragile in your carry-on! The luggage handlers throw your bag around like they are trying to break something on purpose. If you can’t avaid checking fragile things, surround them with clothes and other soft materials. Also put a luggage tag on your bag, sometimes multiple people have the same bag.
• Flights during the evening and afternoon tend to have a higher chance of being late/geting cancelled. The effect is slight and there isn’t much you can do about it though. Just keep it in mind if you have a critical time/place to be somewhere.
• On a long flight wearing your seat belt (even loosely) while sleeping means the flight attendant doesn’t have to wake you if there is turbulance.
• Wearing a mask is not a bad idea

A towel, [The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

Traveling with a towel in my carryon bag has saved my ass more than a couple of times. It’s a towel, it’s a pillow, it’s a small blanket, it’s a privacy shield, it’s a surface to sling your fake watches to passerbys and earn enough for your return flight home.

Want to freshen up prior to landing or during a connection at an airport? That towel will get you dry after washing up, brushing your teeth, etc. No silly paper towel, or Dyson hand dryer nonsense.