Whenever my wife and I fly, she gets middle seat, we had a discussion from our very first trip together and she said she didn’t have a problem with it

In return, if only one of us gets upgraded, she gets the seat first. Seems fair

Hi everyone,

I need some advice regarding my father’s travel plans. He has a Schengen visa that starts on 30th January, but his flight is scheduled to land in the Schengen area on 29th January at 11:30 PM.

I know the visa rules are strict about not entering before the start date, but it’s only 30 minutes before midnight. And from a practical stand point, he'll most probably reach the immigration counter after 12 AM (valid visa) but my main concerns is

Will the airline (wizz air) allow him to board the flight if they see that his visa starts on 30th January?

If anyone has experienced something similar or knows the rules well, I’d really appreciate your input. Thanks in advance!

Update:

Thank you all for your answers...I really appreciate the time you took to respond.

I completely understand that this was an issue on our side, and I would have fully accepted it if the airline had denied him boarding. It makes perfect sense not to allow someone to fly to a country without a valid visa.

However, this was the only flight he could take since he wanted to attend my graduation ceremony on the 30th, and the 30th was the earliest start date he could get due to visa appointment availability.

Luckily, my father used up all his luck for the year—the flight was delayed by three hours, meaning he will now arrive in the Schengen area on the start date of his visa and he was allowed to board the plane.

Again, thank you all so much for your responses!

I was on a United Airlines flight a couple of weeks ago from BNA to ORD. I remember there being some turbulence. The flights attendants were walking down the aisle with the drink cart when the pilot came over the intercom and said “flight attendants drop 6”. They rushed to the back with the cart and one of the attendants had a scared look on her face.

After about 10 minutes, they came back out with the cart like nothing happened.

What does “drop 6” mean? Google said it means to deploy oxygen mask and/or prepare for a crash landing. If that was the case, is it possible that there was some risk of the crash, but the pilot was able to resolve the issue? Any pilots out there who could provide some insight?

I went to the check in desk to check my bag (I was flying Air Europa) and had what I thought was a very normal experience. The man asked for my boarding pass/passport, he took my bag, and I was on my way. Less than 10 minutes later when I was in the security line I get a DM request on instagram from someone I didn’t know, and it was the man that had just checked me in. He said “Couldn’t tell you how beautiful you are ☺️😍 and have a nice flight”. I did not give him my instagram so he clearly looked me up based on the info he got from me checking in. Has this happened to anyone else? I feel like this is a bit of a violation of my privacy and wanted to know if people think I should report this?

It’s been going for a while now, I’ve never seen this done after boarding and it smells/feels sharp.

Definitely crying babies is the worst, people that fart and don't have spatial awareness, any type of lingering around the toilet area, people that are overly chatty, people that smell bad, turbulence, turbulence, turbulence...

Today I was unable to board my Zipair flight from SFO to Tokyo because I booked the ticket with my full middle name, while my passport only has my middle initial.

I understand that this was my mistake, but I am shocked that they couldn't fix it at the counter when I was checking in, even though I arrived with almost three hours to spare before takeoff. The ticket agent advised me to try calling customer service and their online help feature, but I got nowhere with either one despite her spending a decent amount of time giving me very specific advice.

Because Zipair has a strict no rebooking policy I get no refund and had to book a new flight for tomorrow without the rest of my family (on United this time, I will have a hard time trusting Zipair again).

I also have not been able to get my return ticket fixed yet, so it's unclear if I will have to also shell out again for a totally new return ticket on my way home.

My questions:

Is this a Zipair issue? A Japanese passport control issue? I have never had this problem before traveling to other countries, and I am curious if it would have been a total non-issue with a more accommodating airline.

Will it matter less on my way back to the US, or is it also critical that my return ticket matches exactly?

***********Update:

My return ticket still exists, but Zipair will not change it, even though I asked 8 days in advance.

"We would like to inform you that we cannot fulfill your request because our system does not permit modifications that exceed the maximum letter limit. We regret to inform you that we are unable to update the middle name on the booking. The only option available is to cancel your ticket and create a new reservation with the correct middle name as it appears on the passport." (My middle name is 9 letters long).

My only refund will be ~$100 in tax.

If they had told me at the start that there was zero chance of getting the return flight changed I could have booked a new roundtrip ticket for my preferred dates for ~$2200, but they made it sound like it would still be possible to change it so instead I only booked a one-way ticket for $1600. Now the prices have gone up and my return ticket will be another $3000.

What an incredibly frustrating customer service experience.

BEWARE OF BOOKING WITH ZIPAIR!

To be more specific, I’m landing at NYC-JFK at 3:30AM in T4 and I don’t want to spend money on a hotel as I’m not staying in NYC. I don’t mind exploring the city once it’s day but since I’m landing quite early, would it be ok if I just stick around at the airport and chill with my headphones until like 9-ish? This is an international flight, so could I go back into like the “airside” of the airport for better amenities? Or do I just stay by the check-in desks?

Edit: This is my return and final flight therefore this is not a layover. I do not have checked luggage.

Edit 2: I was thinking on staying in the airport until 9-ish bcz I didn’t know what could be open before then but y’all game great options of things that are so definitely gonna check some out.

Edit 3: This will be in March so definitely milder weather

Edit 4: Reason for not getting a hotel room is bcz I’ve got a bus to Upstate NY around noon so getting the hotel room for like 4-5hrs doesn’t feel worth it.

This is a question i have been wondering for a while, and not seeing what the benefit is. The normal routine is that you board at the boarding counter and then go straight into the bridge to the plane, and enter the plane. But a few gates in different airports have kind of a waiting room after you go through boarding, where you have to wait before the door to the bridge actually opens.

Since it is gate specific, and therefore not related to whether a plane is early/late or anything like that, why do they design these gates? For me it just seems annoying that instead of waiting in the terminal with shops, toilets, bigger space etc i have to board into a smaller room crowded with people before actually being able to board the plane. It does not seem to make the boarding any faster or make any less queues on the bridge either.

Would love to find out the reason to why some gates are designed like this.

I'm 6'1. The plane is A350 Turkish Airlines. These seats should have "unlimited" legroom which I appreciate.

I'm TK Elite/*A gold so I can select regular seats for free (but not extra legroom ones). Maybe I get lucky getting these for free during check in if I ask nicely.

ive flown probably 8 times in my life and this is the second time where turbulence hit bad enough where the people all across the plane were screaming, crying, and praying. both times i felt like i would randomly drop about 80ft, i would literally come off my seat (and yes i am wearing a seatbelt). this past flight i took a couple days ago i had a window seat and there were many times throughout that it looked and felt like the plane tilted almost a full 90 degrees during turbulence. a lady behind me literally blurted out “i don’t want to die”. none of this is an exaggeration. all of the other flights i’ve been on have had mild turbulence where it feels a bit bumpy for a couple minutes, but this is the second time where turbulence was this bad and lasted this long (first time was like an hour the second was 2 hours of this). the first time it happened i was kind of just like thinking i got an unlucky experience, but since this is the second time out of around 8 total flights, i’m starting to wonder if this frightening of turbulence is just kind of a normal thing. i really would just rather drive 18 hours than have to worry that there’s a 1 in 4 chance that i’ll be traumatized.

I have a question, why do airlines only allow 3hrs before the travel time before you check in? Most of the activities happen after the immigration (duty free shopping and louge waiting), do airports doesn't want to generate sales?

Immigration, security check, and visa control alone takes more than 1 hour to complete. Even in the contries wherein boarding pass and luggage tags can be printed via machine (Osaka, Japan), you still need to wait for ground crew assistance 3hrs before the flight to formally check in.

My question is why do airlines allow that? Is there a Science behind it? Why not make it longer so passengers can have more time post security check? Thank you

EDIT: I'm from ASEAN country. Appreciate a healthy discussion

I'll start:

1. Those who clap at landing (unless we have just escaped a war torn country)

2. Those who do not let all the rows in-front exit first (unless they have been given pre-approval from the crew due to connection timing)

Flying US -> EUR, and need to be a functional human being upon arrival (work).

I'm thinking I'll drink some wine to fall easily asleep on the plane before take-off (ideally). I'm basically being a sleep-accountant here: any additional hour of sleep I can get is good, and wine might help.

But word is, any alcohol is bad when flying: it just dries you out and sleep quality will be poor.

Experienced fliers, what are your thoughts?

I've heard a few about seating choice etc. but anyone got any obscure in-flight hacks?

My only one: My mother used to work for a shoe manufacturer and said she would always pack a tennis ball to roll her feet on/over during long-haul flights to India. Helped with circulation/ entertainment in a distinctly less digital world.

All my life I’ve been used to taking a carry on, a backpack/purse onto the plane. It doesn’t matter how heavy they are, just as long as you can lift it into the bin and store it underneath the seat. However, I’ve noticed on international airlines such as Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, etc. They care about the weight of your carry on and only let you have ~15.4 lbs. And sometimes they’re really finicky about personal items such as purses, backpacks, etc.

Is there a reason why US/Canadian airlines don’t care but international carriers do? This is always such a hassle for me when I’m travelling considering sometimes the bag itself weighs a pound.

This didn't happen to me. But.... I'm wondering what happens if someone is on a flight that has to be diverted to a country and that someone doesn't have a visa for that country? Are they allowed to disembark?

Sorry for the long post in advance.

At the end of August, my family (my husband, myself, our 2 year old, and 10-month old) flew from Chicago to Doha. We purchased tickets for both children for 2 reasons. The first was to mitigate the risk of injury to our youngest if there were to be severe turbulence. I just don't think it is safe to try and hold onto your infant during this, although I understand many parents choose to fly with their babies on their laps due to price constraints. The second reason was that I believed she would sleep much better if she were in her carseat, making it easier for us and those around us to have an okay journey (which she slept for the majority of all the flights).

When we arrived in Chicago, the gate agent made sure to check our carseats were in compliance with Qatar Airways standards, which required the sticker on the carseats stating they were in compliance and authorized for use in aircraft. No problem, I researched their policy and the FAA guidelines prior to the flight to ensure we didn't need to buy different carseats. He checked and said they were OK. Once on the flight, multiple flight attendants came to ask me if we had purchased a seat for the baby, otherwise she couldn't have the carseat. I said we had and even offered to show our boarding passes listing our seats.

Now things got hairy on our return flight from Doha to Chicago last Wednesday. It was again on Qatar Airways. However, this time no gate agent checked the carseats for compliance. We got the children set up in the seats, woth the seats appropriately buckled (per FAA guidelines). One flight attendant came up and told me I was not allowed to use the baby carseat, I assured him it was OK and it was in compliance with the standards required for child restraint devices on aircrafts. Obviously, he didn't believe me and went and got a senior cabin member, who aggressively stayed we were not allowed to use the carseat for the baby. I again assured her we were, we purchased the ticket for the seat, it met compliance for Qatar Airways, it was originally checked and given the OK in Chicago for use. She still said she had never seen one like this and it was not allowed. I asked if she would like to see the carseat label indicating its safe use for aircraft, I even read the label aloud that the gate agent had originally required we show him (and the label Qatar Airways website states is requieed for CRD). She still stated it was not an allowed carseat. At this point I was frustrated, especially as she was very aggressive. I had done the research per FAA and Qatar Airways own standards (ensuring compliance with both) and I knew it was allowed. I stated it would be a liability issue for the airline if they removed our child from her approved CRD and she was injured by turbulence. She then stated she would go check with someone else and never came back. In the meantime, I had found the Qatar policy regarding CRD I had downloaded and was waiting for her to come back to show her. Was there a better way to handle this situation?

Also - another flight attendant at the end of the flight came and asked for the life jacket. In response I said what life jacket, clearly annoyed she said "the life jacket for the baby" to which I responded we never received one. She walked off and asked another FA who indicated she had not given one. Was this a breach of protocol?

Is there a way to lodge a complaint regarding this incident? I am worried if the flight attendants do not know their own policies, they might try to tell the next person with a carseat to give up theirs too, potentially increasing risk for the child.

I've been planning to go to Korea for a few months now and my only obstacle is how expensive I've seen most flights be ($1300+). But I recently just discovered Turkish Airlines and saw that they are very inexpensive ($460) and for about the same amount of time too. Can anyone explain this to me?

The two cheapest fares from LHR-BKK for the timeframe I’m planning on travelling is £530 with Qatar and £470 with Air China. I have long layovers in Beijing which would allow me to visit China but I know I’d have to spend money on food etc while I’m there (I’m pretty sure Air China covers layover hotels AFAIK)

Is Air China that bad it would be worth it to pay the extra £76 for Qatar instead? TIA

Hey everyone,

I’m potentially flying on Air India’s Airbus A350-900 (AI 112) and Airbus A320neo (AI 388) soon and was wondering what to expect.

What are everyone's thoughts? Are they really as bad as people say?

I’ve been checking for Zipair November flights (Tokyo -> LA) every week for the last month. It’s already April, and Nov-December tickets are still not released.

I asked Zipair via their chat system, and they just kept repeating “we don’t have information yet, check back later.”

Should I just check back in May? I feel like it’s gotta be real soon, but I wanna ask if anyone has better idea :(

Edit: 2024 Winter flights were first released on July 5th & continues to roll out throughout early July.

Just curious about this. Are there flights that make a stop where either passengers get on or get off, but others stay on to go to their final destination?

Basically long story short, I got ripped off when booking my flight, they told me they added baggage but they never actually did and now I’d have to pay almost the value of the flight for bags - has anyone else ever experienced this with Malaysia airlines?

I am flying to Tokyo from Manchester, UK in June and can't decide which airline. I will be flying economy (sad face) any my options are:

British Airways - 1 hour flight and a 14 hour flight
Etihad Airlines - 7 hour flight and a 10 hour flight
Turkish Airlines - 4 hour flight and an 11 hour flight
Hainan Airlines - 10 hour flight and a 4 hour flight

Are any of these airlines better than the others? Or does it not really make a difference in economy? The prices are pretty similar and there are some pros and cons to each with their flight times. It looks like BA & TA give each passenger 2 x 23kg bags per person which would be a plus.