8 Really Dumb Flight Hacks That Actually Make Flying Better

Some of the things we do when we fly sound ridiculous.

We buy an empty middle seat. I wear a wool cap on the plane. We put a little bell on our luggage. Sometimes I give a flight attendant a Starbucks gift card. And when American Airlines starts making that credit-card announcement before landing, I actually listen.

At first glance, these sound like terrible travel tips. But after years of flying around the world, I’ve learned that some of the dumbest-sounding ideas can make air travel easier, more comfortable and occasionally less expensive.

These aren’t the usual air travel tips telling you to drink water, wear comfortable clothes and bring headphones. You already know all that. These are the flight hacks we actually use—and a few of them may make you wonder why you didn’t think of them first.

1. Buy the Middle Seat

Yes, I said it: buy the middle seat.

Normally, the middle seat is the place nobody wants. It’s the airline equivalent of being picked last for dodgeball.

But if two people are traveling together, there are times when buying all three economy seats in a row can be a very smart move. One person takes the window, the other takes the aisle, and the middle seat becomes gloriously empty.

Now you have room to spread out, nobody is fighting over the armrest, and you don’t have a stranger sitting six inches away from you for eight hours.

Depending on the fare, buying three economy seats can sometimes cost far less than purchasing two business-class or first-class seats. We’ve done it, and on a long flight that extra space can completely change the experience.

Before spending thousands more to move into a premium cabin, price the cost of buying that third economy seat.  This idea is almost as dumb as buying a whole row of seats. 

It sounds dumb right up until you’re sitting in your own row.

2. Give the Flight Attendant a Starbucks Gift Card

I occasionally carry small Starbucks gift cards when I travel and give one to a flight attendant.

No, I’m not trying to bribe my way into first class.

I’m not expecting a free drink, extra snacks or access to the cockpit. It’s simply a small way to say, “Thanks for taking care of us today.”

Flight attendants deal with hundreds of passengers, tight schedules, delays, complaints and people who sometimes seem to have left their manners back at the airport parking garage.

A small gift card is an easy gesture of appreciation.

And there’s a broader travel lesson here: being nice to the people who are helping you is rarely a bad idea.

Give it with no expectations. Then sit down, fasten your seat belt and behave yourself.

3. Wear a Wool Cap — Especially If You’re Bald

This is one of my personal favorites.

Airplanes can get cold. And for those of us who are, shall we say, follicly challenged, there isn’t a lot of natural insulation on top.

A lightweight wool or knit cap takes up almost no room in a carry-on and can make a surprisingly big difference on a chilly flight.

But the real trick comes when you want to sleep.

Pull the cap down over your eyes.

Instant eye mask.

No elastic band around your head. No separate sleep mask to pack. No searching between the seats when it falls on the floor.

The hat keeps my head warm and blocks the light.

Do I look fashionable?

Probably not.

Do I care when I’m asleep somewhere over the Atlantic?

Absolutely not.

4. Raise the Aisle Armrest

A lot of travelers don’t realize that the aisle armrest on some airplane seats can be raised.

There may be a small release button or mechanism underneath the armrest. Once released, the armrest can move upward, making it much easier to get in and out of the seat.

This can be particularly useful in today’s airplane cabins, where the space between seats sometimes feels as if it was designed by someone who has never actually had legs.

Not every seat works this way, and the armrest may need to remain down during taxi, takeoff and landing. Always follow the flight crew’s instructions.

But once you discover this little trick, you’ll probably start checking every aisle seat you sit in.  Another dumb idea that you are probably going to turn out liking. 

5. Pre-Order Your Airplane Meal

You know how this goes.

The flight attendant reaches your row and asks:

“Chicken or pasta?”

You say chicken.

Then come the words every hungry airline passenger loves to hear:

“Sorry. We’re out of the chicken.”

Of course they are.

On airlines and flights that allow you to select or reserve your meal before departure, do it.

Pre-ordering can greatly improve your chances of getting the meal you actually want instead of whatever happens to be left by the time the meal cart reaches you.

This can be especially useful in business class and first class, where there may be several entrée choices but only a limited number of each meal loaded onto the aircraft.

If the airline gives you a choice before the flight, make the choice.

Otherwise, row 17 may be eating pasta.

6. Put a Small Lock on Your Suitcase

A little luggage lock isn’t going to stop an international criminal mastermind.

That’s not the idea.

A lock simply makes your suitcase slightly more difficult to open than the unlocked suitcase sitting next to it. Sometimes that little bit of inconvenience is enough to make someone move on.

For checked baggage in the United States, use a TSA-recognized luggage lock so authorized security personnel can open the bag for inspection when necessary.

And don’t misunderstand what a luggage lock can do. I still wouldn’t put passports, cash, important medications or anything truly irreplaceable in checked luggage.

The lock is simply another layer of protection.

Think of it as the luggage version of locking your car door. It won’t stop everyone, but leaving the door wide open probably isn’t the better option.

7. Put a Little Bell on Your Luggage

This may sound like the dumbest idea in the entire article.

We put a small bell on our luggage.

Yes. An actual bell. It's better than an Apple Air Tag if you ask me. 

Picture the baggage carousel. There are 150 travelers staring at 75 nearly identical black suitcases going around in circles.

Then you hear:

Jingle, jingle.

There’s your suitcase.

Sometimes you can hear your bag coming before you even see it.

But there’s another reason I really like the bell. Suppose someone grabs your suitcase by mistake. Maybe they own another black roller bag that looks almost exactly like yours.

The moment they pick yours up and hear the bell, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll think:

“Wait a minute. My suitcase doesn’t jingle.”

That little noise gives them one more reason to realize they have the wrong bag before they walk halfway across the airport with it.

And if somebody does start walking away with your suitcase, you have a much better chance of hearing it.

A bell doesn’t replace a luggage tag, a tracker or common sense. It simply makes your bag a little easier to identify.

It weighs almost nothing, costs almost nothing and works surprisingly well.

Laugh if you want.

I can hear my suitcase coming.

8. Pay Attention to That Airline Credit Card Pitch

You know the announcement.

You’re about 45 minutes from landing. You’re trying to finish a movie. Suddenly the flight attendant gets on the speaker and starts talking about an airline credit card.

Most passengers immediately tune it out.

I don’t.

In fact, especially on American Airlines, those onboard credit-card offers can sometimes be pretty attractive.

I’m not saying you should automatically apply for every credit card someone waves at you while you’re cruising at 35,000 feet. That would actually qualify as a dumb travel hack.

But listen to the offer.

Sometimes the signup bonus, mileage offer or airline-related benefits can be worth considering, particularly if you already fly that airline regularly.

The key is to look at the whole deal. What is the annual fee? How many bonus miles are being offered? Will you actually use the card benefits? Is the onboard offer better than the normal public offer?

And there is one rule I would never ignore: if you’re going to carry a large balance and pay high credit-card interest, those “free” airline miles probably aren’t free anymore.

But here’s the irony.

Travelers will spend an entire weekend trying to figure out how to earn another 5,000 airline miles, then put on their headphones when the flight attendant announces an offer worth far more than that.

So when the credit-card pitch starts, at least listen.

You can always go back to the movie.

Sometimes the Dumb Idea Is the Smart Idea

Most travelers do what everybody else does. They book two seats for two people, ignore the cabin announcements, put the same luggage tag on the same black suitcase and accept whatever meal happens to be left.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

But the more you travel, the more you discover that some of the best air travel tips and flight hacks aren’t necessarily the obvious ones.

So yes, I buy the middle seat. I wear a wool cap on airplanes. I give flight attendants Starbucks gift cards. I put a bell on my suitcase. And I pay attention when American Airlines starts talking about a credit card.

Some people may think those things sound dumb.

That’s fine.

They work for us.

And sometimes the smartest travel trick is the one that sounds completely ridiculous until you try it.

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