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10. Try to strike up a conversation with the stranger you’ll be sitting next to for the next X hours. I’m not even an extrovert, but this is my favorite part of flying. I’ve sat next to some really interesting people. Some folks don’t want to chat but in my experience that’s pretty rare.

Some strangers I’ve previously sat next to: a retired nurse flying to take care of her mother in law who had dementia; a radiologist who had previously been a physicist at fermilab returning from an MRI conference; a bar tender/stripper; an evangelical who hosted asian exchange students; a heart surgeon who specialized in ablasions for treating a-fib; a 60’ish year-old man flying for his first time; a nanny/aupair; a Jewish grad student from Cape Town.

The flights pass so much more quickly when you’re engaged in conversation, and it’s pretty easy to get most people talking. Two of those passengers mentioned above I ended up in a car with. I gave the evangelical a ride to his hotel since it was on the way home from the airport for me. And with the radiologist we missed our connecting flight and rented a car together to drive the last 150 miles.

Hmm.

Strangers trying to talk to me for the next X hours is one of the worst things that can happen on a flight for me.

Even if they do respect my wishes and dont try and talk to me (doesn't always happen), you then have the remaining 10h 59m of the flight to sit awkwardly knowing that you've both managed to annoy each other for trying to instigate something for your own selfish reasons that the other person doesn't want (i.e. you want to talk and they dont, or you dont want to talk and they do - no one wins).

Or worse if you dont manage to stop the conversation attempt early, you end up talking to someone for the better part of 10 or 11 hours just out of politeness and all that work/reading/sleep/coding you wanted to get done are lost while someone drones on and on about their garden or their last trip to <destination>

Please - only start conversations if you're really sure the other person is interested in talking to you! Particularly on long-haul flights!

YMMV I guess - I suppose on short-haul (<1.5 hours) it would be ok, but please please please never do this on long flights! :-)

My Mileage definitely Varies.

The pretty girl who struck up a conversation with me on the leg from Minneapolis to Regina, SK was a large part of the reason I decided to move to Minnesota. Single, introverted me decided that if women in MN were as attractive and outgoing as her, it should be a nice place to live.

She turned out to be Canadian, but I moved to Minnesota anyway. Still loving it 20 years later!

> Try to strike up a conversation with the stranger you’ll be sitting next to for the next X hours.

I absolutely despise being spoken to when I'm on a plane (usually because I'm taking early morning flights and am utterly exhausted). Just keep in mind many people reallllly don't want to talk to anyone, so if they are curt or not very talkative don't take it personally. Some people just don't like talking to strangers.

I enjoy a little bit of chatting with the person next to me, though I've regretted starting conversations a few times, as some people seem to have to talk on a plane... the entire time.

So, just be aware that some people are just friendly and will keep talking to you because it's polite, but they will still show signs that they're done, like: looking out the window for a while, only responding with head-nods and "mhmm"s, pulling a laptop or tablet out, putting in noise-cancelling headphones, sleeping.

> Some folks don’t want to chat but in my experience that’s pretty rare.

My favorite part is the plethora of entertainment options these days, catching up on all the movies, which seems to be the more common thing people opt to do.

I've been on a lot of flights over the past several years and what you describe seems to be a serious outlier.

There are few things I fear more than being forced into a three hour conversation when I just want to work or browse reddit/hacker news

> 9. Don't drink the alcohol, even when it's free

For me it's the opposite. I always liked flying, but airport bars and in-flight drinks took the cake. A lot of these are personal preferences one has to figure out.

For example, to No. 8, I've learned I cannot do red eyes over land, particularly if I'm window. I get distracted by the speckles of passing cities, fantasizing about my 737 being a superluminal spacecraft, and refuse to fall asleep.

Or, to seating. I like watching the ailerons and gentle wobble of the wing and plane, as the plane rises, slows down from its fight with gravity, loses lift, falls, thereby gaining velocity before stabilizing and rising again. Or as the plane gently arcs, side to side, by enormous distances that you can't feel but will observe if you look carefully. Consequently, exit rows--from which the wing occludes one's view--bore me. (Which is a plus if I plan on getting work done.)

European economy class is worse than in the USA?

I have no experience flying in the USA, but it thought it would be the other way due to the seemingly massive amount of people complaining about seating.

Maybe it's because of the obesity rate.

Yeah, having flown quiet a bit in both the EU and the US I can say for sure that the major American airlines (Delta, United, Southwest) are far more comfortable than European budget airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet, etc.) in economy class. They usually offer a bit more leg room, complimentary drinks, and might even have wifi on shorter hops. LGA -> ROC (a quick 45m hop) on Delta has both!

That being said, perhaps a better comparison would be Ryanair vs Spirit, but American budget airlines are still pretty limited in routes and aren't nearly as entrenched as their European counterparts.

> I can say for sure that the major American airlines (Delta, United, Southwest) are far more comfortable than European budget airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet, etc.)

That's an unfair comparison.

If you want to compare major airlines, compare Delta, United, Southwest to AirFrance, Lufthansa, Virgin. For budget airlines, compare Ryanair & EasyJet to Spirit.

The differences are much less pronounced.

You can't compare European budget airlines with fares way below $50 (Ryanair average fare is 33 euros! [1] to American airlines which you will never find fares below $50 (one-way) even on the shortest flights.

[1] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4195350/P...

Actually, I regularly see $49 Southwest flights in california that are 2-400 miles. There are $49 flights from Cincinati to Baltimore and Chicago right now.

I don't love any of the airlines, but the euro-budget are the worst and subsidized Asia/Arabian are the most comfortable. Southwest is in the middle, but typical coach comfort for the US.

Drinks are not complementary on regional flights unless you're in first class or have high enough status with the carrier (Diamond Medallion in Delta's case). Also, leg room on those regionals can be BRUTAL, and don't even think about bringing your rollabord unless you're willing to check it gate-side

US economy flights are definitely worse than EU economy flights. At most US domestic flights you don't have free food or drinks, you don't have an in-flight entertainment system in front of you. People are much worse on US planes than on EU planes (i.e. don't know have to behave).

Of course, that's just my anecdotal experience and I guess it varies based on subjective preferences.

I am comparing Delta etc. to Lufthansa etc., and Spirit etc. to EasyJet etc.

I've only been on 4 European flights (all of them were the cheapest I could find) and the flights seemed extra cramped and the people on the flight just seemed grumpier than on the flights I've taken in the US. My perception may be skewed a bit by the anxiety that comes with not understanding the language and culture.

ehhh its a low bar I wouldn't even try to split hairs, only the flights between continents are good, unless you get unlucky with the wrong plane model.

> 9. Don't drink the alcohol, even when it's free.

Why? Air drinks are best drinks!

> Of course, if you are afraid of dying, heights, or falling I doubt any of these tips will help you.

But there is one thing that absolutely does: doing a discovery flight. In a disco flight, you'll fly with a pilot and be given permission to operate some very basic controls (taxiing on the runway, turns mid-air, the beginning of the landing approach). You'll learn how safe flying is. It's a great experience for those that are terrified of flying.

The next best thing is an air tour, since they are usually flown with the same small plane (Cessna 152).

Another thing that's helped me make flying extremely enjoyable is listening to ATC communications while on the ground (and during takeoff/landing if flying with Southwest). Taxiing up to the runway in a major airport is quite dramatic, and the bigger airports usually have small surprises that make it enjoyable (today, for example, I heard, then saw, that the President of Korea and probably Japan were in our same line).

SOURCE: flying every week for the last 1.5 years

You sound like you’ve never flown Lufthansa (economy). Plane food, I think, is illustrative of how far most airlines in the US have fallen.

Unless you're flying overseas having in-flight meals doesn't really make sense. There are far more food options in both airports you will be in and it will be a lot more comfortable. In-flight food should be reserved for when it's required by length of flight. (This is already pretty much the case. I never see meals on planes during domestic travel really.)

> There are far more food options in both airports you will be in and it will be a lot more comfortable.

Counter-argument: If I eat at the airport, I'm cutting into useful time either at home or at my destination. On the plane, I've got nothing to do but kill time anyway.

In practice, I pad time before my flight to deal with traffic and security hiccups. When things go smoothly, that usually leaves me enough time to eat before the flight, so I do that. Sometimes I'll buy food at the airport and carry it on, though I try to avoid that since my fellow passengers might not appreciate the aroma.

Once I reach my destination, the last thing in the world I want to do is hang out in the airport longer. I'd much rather stop at a restaurant on the drive to wherever I'm going.

Idk, if given the choice between eating in the airport and eating in first, I always take eating in first, even though there are better options on the ground. It's part of the experience of being in first.

Re: "I never see meals on planes during domestic travel really": You'll get food (complementary in first, for purchase in main) if your flight is over 2 hour long AND you're not flying a regional jet (which you don't want to do for more than an hour anyway).

I'm probably unusual but I actually prefer the elimination of a lot of in-flight food service. The food was a bad joke in economy for as long as I remember (which is a long time), it's disruptive if you're trying to sleep or use the aisle, and it stinks up the cabin. Yes, you get over 7 hours or so and it's necessary but, if eating on a flight is important to you, there are lots of options to bring on sandwiches/snacks.

I'm with you. I always book window seats now so I don't get bothered by the person next to me who has to partake in every single item offered by the flight attendants and/or has to get up to go to the bathroom multiple times on a three hour flight. As an added bonus I don't feel pressured by the person next to me to immediately standup when the plane gets to the gate.

I choose between aisles and windows based on a lot of things. If I just want to sleep, I prefer window (early morning flights and, if I can't avoid, red-eyes). For daytime flights, I'm more inclined to sit on the aisle so I can get up and stretch, etc. when I want to.

I second that - flying across Europe almost every week I can recommend that economy class is decent and comfortable in all LH Group airlines (Austrian, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines etc); if you're regularly getting up at 6am to travel to a business meeting in another country, having someone bring coffee and a sandwich to your seat actually makes it slightly more bearable. Even some of the budget carriers (Vueling, EasyJet, Norwegian) can be bearable over short distances but avoid Ryanair unless you're absolutely desperate to save every last penny and personally I find BA to be almost as bad these days for short haul.

I too enjoy flying! I don't have any rules other than show up and relax. Regular economy on United and Delta seem to have added a tiny bit more leg room in the last 1-2 years, which has helped a lot.

Most of my flights are longer duration, US->EU and back.

Why number 9? I actually look forward to a drink on the plane. However I usually don't have more than one.

I fly frequently and enjoy a drink but the two definitely do not work well together for me. Even a single glass of wine, when airborne, has the potential to cause an intense sinus headache. Two to three drinks will guarantee it. On the ground, only air pressure brings on occasional sinus headaches but nothing like the intensity of air travel that combined with alcohol has on me.

Personally, alcohol makes me a happier person and just overly excited, which is a bit difficult to contain on an airplane.

I do think for some people who can use alcohol to be more relaxed it could be a good thing. Though I'd be cautious about drinking if I were already anxious about flying, since the cognitive effects of alcohol + low oxygen might not be what'd be expected... not to mention the turbulence, babies, and smelly feet I'd already have to deal with.

Presumably because it has health effects that make flying less fun (drowsyness, worse motion sickness, higher risk of blood clots, etc).

I also often have a single drink near the start of a flight.

For long distance flights, I'm doing the opposite of 2), where I'll stay awake on purpose the day before the flight, so that I can sleep through most of it. However, this only works if you're able to sleep in a plane.