Travelling Lighter

Ask for an aisle seat at the front of the plane so that you can to stand up with greater ease, stroll in the aisles, or simply stretch. It's easier to get the attention of flight attendants for extra blankets, pillows, or other in-flight amenities from the front. Aisle seats are best for shorter flights, where you don't anticipate going to sleep.

Arrive light and rested; don't travel with heavy packages. Mail them to your destination via UPS 2nd-day air or, if you have a week, UPS ground tracking. This is an economical and reliable way to know your packages await you. Mark your packages profusely with your name and the words, "Hold for arrival of guest YOUR NAME arriving on DATE." Wrap your packages as if an orangutan will be handling them.

Travel with carry on bags only. Buy the roll-on carts to avoid toting your bags from the airport parking lot to the plane. Most tote systems are made to fit the airline aisles, the overhead seat com-partments, or under the seats.

The Stress of Airline Travel

It's all too obvious: Airline travel has become increasingly stressful in the last few years. Consider the following: Once you arrive at the airport grounds, there's the issue of parking the car, making your way to the shuttle, and so forth. The delays you can experience once you're actually at the airport can exceed the time it took you to get to the airport.

Inside the airport, you have to either check your bags, or, if you're wiser, use rolling luggage or all carry-ons and make your way directly through TSA "the system." You have to clear the line that already forming and ensure that you have the right ticket, and the right identification. Finally, it's time to get on the plane.

Once you board the plane, you have to sit in a chair that was designed to seat the greatest number of people possible in the plane's cabin, not for your comfort. The shoulder width of most seat backs is two to three inches fewer than the typical adult male's shoulder span. The leg room is nonexistent. Unless you choose the bulkhead row or emergency exit row, or happen to be in first-class, forget about having an enjoyable flight.

Then there's the forced air within the plane. The air is actually drier than most of the world's deserts. You get a tiny beverage served every 30 to 60 minutes.

If you're on a single aisle plane, making your way to the bathroom can be a hassle. The thought of stretching or getting any kind of exercise is nearly out of the question unless you're very adept at seated exercises. When you're about to begin eating, the pilot will announce, "We're heading into turbulence."

Stress of Getting to the Airport

Simply getting to the airport has become increasingly stressful in the last few years. (Nevermind TSA), consider the following:

1. You have to pack the night before or very early that morning, and that in itself is an unusual burden. Then, largely because people are going to bed later and sleeping fewer hours per night you need to get to bed at a reasonable hour and get up on time.

2. Unless you've allowed plenty of time to get ready in the morning, you have to dress and groom yourself more quickly, and get out the door at a specific time.

3. Then there's the trip to the airport. If you're driving, you have to make sure your car is in tune, hope that the traffic won't be too bad, and that there will be no other circumstances that prevent your timely arrival. If you're taking a taxi or shuttle, you still have to hope that it comes on time, and that it doesn't experience the same problems on the road that you might have.

Sane Airplane Travel

Wear loose and comfortable clothing while on board. Sitting in an airplane seat is confining--you don't need to add to it by wearing heavy clothing, restrictive belts, or tight shoes--unless you're meeting a client immediately.

If you do want to sleep--regardless of where you're sitting--as Gerry Tausch would say, don a baseball cap with a sign on the rim saying, "Sleeping, do not disturb," or simply, "Do not disturb." When you want to work, wear a cap with the words "On deadline, please do not disturb." Both messages work well.

Trashing the Plane

Even on flights of three hours or less, upon departure it's hard not to notice how badly passengers have trashed the plane.
As you proceed down that long, narrow aisle, you can see quite clearly that people have left food wrappers, crumbs, empty cups and cans, magazines, newspapers, and personal belongings.
Sure, flight attendants are supposed to pick things up before the plane lands, and
ground crews come in and clean the cabin after the plane lands. Still, is that any reason for 100 to 300 passengers to leave the place a total mess?
What does it say about our ability to control our environment when we can't keep a plane interior clean for a couple hours' ride? What have we become?