FLYING in 2024 | 10 FLIGHT TIPS to know BEFORE you fly

BEST airplane and flight tips for 2024 travel (THINGS HAVE CHANGED!)

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Here are 10 easy airplane hacks to have the BEST flight experience. These 10 travel tips are so important since flying in 2024 is DIFFERENT! For example, some things things that used to be free, like headphones and food, you might have to pay for now.

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It's important to pack properly and know what to bring before you board the plane and fly this year so you can have the BEST FLIGHT EVER.

*at 4:13 I confuse USB C with USB A - oops!

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0:00 10 airplane and flight tips
0:38 Tip 1
1:02 Tip 2
1:30 Tip 3
2:40 Tip 4
3:20 Tip 5
4:13 Tip 6
5:40 Tip 7
6:08 Tip 8
7:02 Tip 9
7:48 Tip 10

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// ABOUT

Hey there, I'm Megan and I've spent 5+ years living and working from over 50 countries around the world. I'm on a mission to prove that anyone (even you!) can do it too.

Portable Professional is a youtube channel full of actionable tips and guides to travel, live and work from anywhere in the world. Serving seasoned digital nomads and first-time travelers alike, it's the ultimate resource to hack the travel lifestyle.

[flapkatt]

I'm disabled and pretty much wheelchair dependent. So two things. first I always get to board before anyone else, even little babies. I'm grateful. And really slow. But on the flip side, I am always willing and ready to deplane last. It's courtesy in reverse. You gave me a pass, I return the favor. Works for me.

[johnlawler]

Thanks for the video. You got USB-C and USB-A confused -- though you kind of clear it up by showing examples of what you're talking about. The newer, smaller oval shaped one on many phones is USB-C, and the older larger rectangle is USB-A. See these wikipedia articles for confirmation:

[jerseynurse]

Great tips, one more to add is carrying a power bank, fully charged before leaving home.

[todmsn]

I have a lot of respect for flight crews having to put up with the jerks and their carry-on suitcases who also want to freeload into getting first class seats. It’s a tough job and flight attendants are not raking in the big bucks. The best advice I would give is to realize once you enter the air travel portal you are no longer the captain of your destiny. The best strategy is to be a nice person and roll with things.

[ccharles]

That tip to set an alarm 2.5 hours prior to landing is a great idea!

[jo-annr.]

Why do people drop off their carry on item not above their own seat? They drop it off early and then head to the back of the plane to their seat! I find this rude and lazy! Then I get on and my spot above my seat is taken .

[willchang]

USB A cables have the older rectangular plugs that are installed on most aircraft systems. USB-C are the newer plugs that that are smaller and and can be plugged in either direction. USB-C is not common on airplanes although they are becoming a more common for faster charging on newer Android phones.

[javierarranz]

I am currently booking my flight back home to the US from China in August. Those 39 hour flights are brutal. Your tips were really helpful, thank you! I swear by the little bag inside my big carry on. I normally use this bag to put everything that TSA specifically wants to see so I can just whip out the smaller bag, they dig through it, then I put it back in my big bag for quick access through security. Saved me lots of time, energy and stress. Great tip, it really does work!

[letterbox]

I like the mini bag inside your carry on bag tip and putting it in the cabin above you or in front of you. Your tips are very useful. Thank you.

[zzkeokizz]

I’ve got a tip for you. I went on vacation to Hawaii within the last 2 weeks to see my cousins. I brought along my Bose 45s but Sonys over ears works too. I put them around my neck and carried them on the plane. All the noise-canceling headphones have a jack where you can plug the headphones into the screens in front of you. So you don’t need to use the tinny buds type that the airlines gives you.

I carry usbc and usbA cords. I always get a color like pink cords so I don’t misplace them.✈️

[lesliefranklin]

The connector in the seatback you show at 4:39 is a USB-A connector. That little adapter you are adding to it turns it into a USB-C connector. It might have the USB-C protocol to charge your phone quicker. The cord you show at 4:45 is a USB-C to Apple Lightening cable, it is for Apple phones only. If you have a non-Apple phone, your phone probably requires a USB-C connector. The power adapter you show in 4:51 is a 110VAC outlet to USB-C connector. Many of these adapters will also work with the 220VAC electricity used outside the US, you should check before you travel. Yes, this is all very confusing.

If I had an Apple iPhone, I would bring the same three items you did.
If I had a USB-C non-Apple phone, the cable would be USB-C to USB-C. Otherwise, the same.

Note that the (EU) European Union is trying to force Apple to use the USB-C standard instead of their Lightening connector. I'm not sure what you'll find there these days.

[tammypearson]

🛩 I enjoy your videos very much and appreciate your tips. Having flown many times internationally from the US, your tips are 💯% spot on! Looking forward to more videos like this one.

[randomrachel]

✈️ Oh my goodness! I just love you. Great content. Helpful. So helpful. I, too, was in Cancun last week. And I totally watched your video about Cancun and scams to avoid. Extremely helpful. I was a pro at bee lining through that intense airport situation. Never seen anything like it. Ha!! Keep on keeping on! XOXO

[TheColiveira]

Thank you so much for your tips. Setting the alarm 2.5h before landing was my favorite one. ✈️✈️✈️

[janiekcarney]

I prefer a book on the plane. Low Tech. Then noise cancelling equipment. Or journaling if the plane isn’t too rough. I can journal between flights and read on the plane. I prefer watching movies in my hotel where it’s quiet and I’m showered and on my bed. I’m 74 and have been flying since I was two. My Dad was a commercial pilot after learning to fly a bomber during WWII.

[comics]

On long-haul flights, I always carry my BLuetooth noise cancelling headphones AND a GOOD pair of wired earbuds. (1) if in flight entertainment system has a good movie, I can watch it. (2) if my noise cancellation headphones run out of power, I can STILL listen to music or watch movies. GOOD Wired headphones are cheap now and weigh next to nothing. Plus, you can use them on a tourist bus or tour to listen to commentary instead of using the junk the tour gives you.

[Suzannes_Trip]

🛩 Always good to keep up on this stuff. Thank you!

[kathrynhelm]

✈️ I just found your channel a couple of days ago and have already benefitted from your tips. In an episode I watched earlier you mentioned Seat Guru. I went to sight to check out my long flight in September. I found that the agent had given me bulkhead seats which I avoid because at my age I come with a lot of “stuff” that I need close😂. I promptly changed my seat to a better location. So thanks so much.🥰

[emmalynpassaro]

Yay! Thank you so much for these tips! ✈️✈️

[juttajopke]

Love the Tipp with the Mini carry-on. I use noise canceling headphones only, you don’t need to put them above the low quality in-ear headphones you get from the airline. Mine (still?) have the wire so I can listen to the in-flight entertainment system.