Air Travel

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:06:02 +0100

Booking the flight

There are great sources on the internet to help you find the best flight deals. I personally use two websites that I find the most reliable:

Google Flights - Book for a specific day - the cheapest flight on a specific day.
Skyscanner - Book for a time range - the cheapest flight in a mo nth.
Flightlist - Reverse flight search - interesting and unexpected connection flights.

What is a great feature of these websites it that they allow you to browse flights to multiple destinations at once. I tend not to pick one destination and try my luck with the prices, but rather start with the cheap plane tickets and build my itinerary around them.

Remember to set up a price alert for a flight you are interested in. The price months before the flight can change significantly, and you might just be able to save tens of euros.

What is reverse flight search?

Suppose you don’t have a specific destination in mind, but you want to travel europe. Trying to reverse search for your domestic airport may show you the cheapest way to get back home. This is a great way to find a cheap flight when returing from a trip. Europe offers many transportation opportunities, maybe the bus is cheaper one way, and the plane the other way. You can never be sure until you check.

Cheap flights model of operation

Even though a 20€ ticket may sound like a great deal, remember that for the most part you are flying to a secondary airport, far away from the city you are visiting. Most times this means one to two extra hours of travel for an additional 10-20€ for the train or the airport shuttle. Especially risky are the airports without any city close by whatsoever, such as Aeroporto di Girona, which is a 1.5h bus ride from Barcelona, and a 40 minute bus ride from Girona. However if you are aware of the extra time spent on the road, booking a cheap flight is always a great deal.

A nightmare situation at Luton airport. The airport is known for its long queues, the lack of sitting space, late gate announcements and terrible checkpoints. You have been warned.

Extra luggage

If you travel for up to 3 days you can easily pack everything in a cabin-size ryanair handbag
(size 400x250x200 mm). I strongly recommend buying a backpack that is compliant with the airline requirements, as it will save you a lot of burden in case somebody wants to squeeze it into the measuring device. However for the most part nobody cares, as long as you don’t have a giant suitcase.

(Fast track in Ryanair) I once asked my friend. Why should we pay for fast-track or priority boarding when we still end up at in the same plane?

In many cheap airlines fasttrack grants overhead luggage space, which is a great deal for the price.

I generally don’t recommend buying anything extra, apart from the seat reservations if you are travelling with a friend. There are rows in the Airbus A320 that have great leg space, and you can pick them up for cheap.

Airport security

Laptops, powerbanks and other electronic devices often times must be taken out of the bag and placed in a separate tray. All of them are made so that they can be taken on a plane, so don’t worry about them rejecting your personal devices.

Entertainment during the flight

If you never flew before, you might be surprised how the monotonic sound of the engines can make you annoyed. I recommend bringing a pair of headphones or a book. Any mid-range headphones will do, as the sound quality is not that important as the noise cancellation. It is always nice to have a friend to talk to during the flight, but for the most part you will want to lean on their shoulder and sleep. I don’t recommend looking at the clouds as that can temporarily worsen your eyesight.

Packing List

I have a packing list for a 3 day trip, that I haven’t changed for years. It is a great way to make sure you don’t forget anything. In any case - you still travel to civilization, and you can buy most of the things you forget.

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Carry-on luggage contents:
 x1 Passport (a must have)
 x1 Student ID
 x1 Wallet
 x2 Tshirt
 x2 Socks
 x2 Underwear
 x1 Towel
 x1 Sunglases (even in the winter)
 x1 Phone Charger with USB C cable
 x1 AC Plug Adapter UK / EU
 x1 Powerbank 10000 mAh
 x1 Hairbrush

20cm x 20cm transparent ziplock bag:
 x1 Toothbrush
 x1 Lipbalm
 x1 Toothpaste 50ml
 x1 Shower soap 50ml

Sunglasses in the winter are just as important as in the summer. The sun is low and both the snow and the bricks reflects the light.

You can discard a few items if you think they will be available in the hotel:

Wall plug adapters are usually available in the hotel or at the airport.
Good hotels have shower soap and toothpaste, may have a toothbrush, hairbrush and towels.

If you don’t forget your wallet and passport (or ID), you can really manage without anything else.

Tips on Travel Blog by Rafał Włodarczyk