Some travel tips for when you fly

Prepare for both tropical and freezing temperatures on the plane

I’ve often been surprised at the wide range of temperatures passengers can be subjected to on aeroplanes. Sometimes the cabin is far too hot, sometimes far too cold. If it’s too cold in the cabin most short-haul airlines no longer provide blankets and pillows. If it’s too hot, they won’t provide bikinis or budgie smugglers either.

There are reasons temperatures are reduced: cooler temperatures reduce the spread of germs and bacteria and the risk of illness. Cooler temperatures can also help prevent passengers from fainting, which can be caused by hypoxia, or low oxygen levels in the body. They can also help reduce motion sickness during turbulence, and help passengers stay alert, which can help them follow safety instructions. 

Conversely, aeroplane cabins can get hot because the engines are unable to power the air conditioning systems until the plane is airborne. There may be maintenance issues, with the external air conditioning units and auxiliary-powered cooling systems not working properly, causing the cabin to be hotter than what would normally be comfortable. Also, in an effort to save money, an airline may ask pilots to keep the auxiliary power unit off to save on fuel.

Take preventative measures for both of these scenarios by wearing and carrying several layers that you can add and remove as necessary to avoid frostbite/heatstroke.

Print out your boarding card

At an airport recently, a fellow traveller ridiculed me for being a dinosaur for printing out plane tickets whenever I can, saying I should join the 21st century, go paperless and just use a mobile app. While reducing paper usage is admirable, with plane tickets it’s good to make an exception whenever possible. Apps sometimes stop working, batteries give out, WiFi can be problematic. Indeed, on the return journey that fellow traveller got stuck at the gate when their mobile phone conked out, while I was able to sail through brandishing a piece of A4.

Also, at some destinations, like Morocco and some airports in Turkey, at the time of writing, mobile boarding passes are not accepted. The charge an airline like Ryanair makes to print out your boarding pass at Marrakesh Airport is more expensive than buying your own printer and doing it yourself.

Sometimes it’s worth paying for extra baggage

It’s great when you can slimline your luggage down to the extent where you don’t have to pay baggage charges, which on numerous airlines can be rather more than the actual fare.

But it’s also worth considering how paying £60 extra for that suitcase or bag can be fully worth it.

I’ve travelled for a couple of weeks where just a rucksack will do - you can wash clothes in your hotel room or go to a local laundrette or there’s a washing machine in your rental property.

However, there are a number of factors why this option isn’t such a good idea: if you’re in a hot climate your tee shirt hanging from the hotel balcony may dry in an hour or two but if you’re somewhere cold you could be waiting ages, and if you’re travelling from place to place with just a day or so at each hotel, you don’t want to end up transporting semi-dried laundry to the next place.

If there’s no washing machine on the premises, locating a laundrette may be time consuming: and I’ve found the hassle of finding one, getting washing powder, the right coins and then waiting for a machine to become free, and then hanging around for the wash and drying to complete can mean half a day can easily go by.

Although only having carry-on luggage is a great way to save time at the airport, hold luggage can be handier in other ways. You can pack liquids in it for a smoother time through security, and also for bringing back wine, spirits, olive oils and other liquid products you may want to buy at your destination.

Ways to reduce your luggage

Opt for compression packing cubes, which compress bulky items like coats and sweaters down to a fraction of their size. Also, by sticking to a neutral or monochrome colour scheme you are able to easily mix and match your outfits while away.

Always get fully insured for that rental vehicle

When you head for the car rental desk on landing be sure to be fully insured. Usually when you hire a car or van you aren’t fully covered for damage to the vehicle without obtaining extra insurance cover.

Damage costs can be extortionate: I recently collected a van from a rental firm, which had a minor dent on one side. It looked like a £400 repair job at the very most. However, the agent told me the customer was being charged several thousand pounds for the repair.

When you book a rental vehicle, always take out excess waiver cover with a third-party insurer, such as coverforrentals.com, icarinsurance.com or reducemyexcess.co.uk. Their policies are considerably cheaper than car rental firms’ own invariably inferior policies, and cover you for what can be outrageous damage charges.

Nab free activity packs at the airport to keep young kids from getting bored

A number of airports provide free colouring and puzzle books, crayons, coloured pencils, activity packs and similar to keep young children from getting bored while waiting for their flight. Usually you just need to head for the information desk and ask. An increasing number of airports have play areas too.