* Bag the best seat on the airplane
* Arrive at the airport only 1 hour before your flight
* Find free food & beer at the airport!
* Jump the queues
* Travel in comfort, style and ease

It’s December and having just returned from Helsinki I can safely say I am on terra firma until the New Year. Time to catch my thoughts and indulge in some productive reflection.

This year my travels took my 250,000 km (according to my Tripit calculator) which as far as I remember equates to 6 times round the world.

Business travel teaches you a few things. Firstly, preparation is absolutely essential - for example, never travel on a Friday afternoon, always use the Airport VIP lounges (most don’t know they exist), don’t bother with North American domestic First/Business class tickets and never arrive 3 hours before your international flight. It’s just a few things that not only turn the process from being potentially tortuous to enjoyable but can save you time & money.

So here’s a few highlights and lowlights from this year’s travel. Feel free to add you own to the list.

Highlights

1) Tripit for the Iphone is the best app so far for travellers. I had it for a year, never used it before I realized it wasn’t a “social network for travellers” but actually a damned good tool for organizing your travel info.

• You can email hotel reservations, e-tickets and itineraries to tripit and it will (mostly) convert them into a standardized and well organized format keeping all your vital info in one place.
• As a bonus you can also use it to check in online and view your flight’s status (e.g. terminal, delays, arrival terminals etc).

2) Singapore Airport I think I could live here. In fact you could as there is a transit hotel airside. Why Singapore Airport?

• The VIP lounges are great - plaza premium and SATs are good examples (see point 3 below). Don’t bother milling around the shopping concourses trying to keep yourself entertained for 6 hours.
• Free massage chairs
• Great selection of food concessions including the wonderful South Indian dosa joint at the back of Terminal 3 (name escapes me but it’s worth trekking up there for breakfast)
• The rest & relaxation area (which is free)
• Butterfly garden

In fact, Singapore Airport is more interesting than Singapore itself perhaps because at least the former knows it’s an airport where the City thinks it’s an airport. Next time your airline offers you a layover option say no thanks and spend the night at the transit hotel and discover the delights of Changi!

3) Priority Pass. Take the $400 annual fee on the chin and get one. You will thank yourself many times over. It gives you access to over 600 VIP lounges in most airports (Oslo being the only one so far that doesn’t participate).

• If you’re travelling, don’t waste hours sitting round in communal lounges starting at flight screens and other bored passengers - get yourself a comfortable and quiet room with free wifi access, a scotch and free food (okay the food isn’t often anything to shout about but it’s fuel for the short term).
• Yes, there are the bog-standard Servisair/Gateway lounges that you find most dull airports (offering bog-standard biscuits and coke etc etc etc) but then there are the real beauties like the SATS rainforest lounge at Singapore Changi and the DILMUN LOUNGE!! (Dubai).
• There are some real highlights available to the time-poor business traveller - e.g. access the American Airlines Admirals Club can save you the ordeal of an extended wait in the poorly equipped Sao Paulo airport and taking a shower after a red eye flight at JFK (the showers are near hotel-standard).
• Some lounges restrict you to 3-4 hours access and others (like the rubbish Kuwait airways lounges) seem to only open when they want. There are plenty of 24 hour lounges which are a godsend. Get one, you won’t regret it.

4) Seat Guru is a godsend. Always check in yourself online where possible. Always choose your own seat.  Never leave it to the airline to decide. If you’re in Coach, Seat Guru is even more essential as they’ll end up putting you in 43E, the middle of the row in front of the toilets with no pitch space at the back… Needless to say it varies by airplane type (so check Seatguru). Also remember a few other seating tips:

• Back vs Front? It’s usually fuller at the front of the plane than at the back. If you’re flying a well-plied route (ie there are a number of carriers on this route) then chances are that if you’re in economy choose a seat at the back you could luck out at get a 4 row all to yourself… your own first class bed. (double check Seatguru though as you will find some aircraft don’t allow you to lift up the arm rests between seats which would spell disaster).
• Wing? Double check the wing’s location. E.g. on a 777-200 it’s rows 15-30 or thereabouts so the view’s going to be pretty boring if you’re stuck there for 7 hours. Some people also say that it’s a whole lot noisier behind the wing.
• Aisle vs Window? If you want to sleep, choose window; no one to wake you up wanting to go to toilet, a view plus something to rest your head against. If you’re on a short haul choose aisle; short haul passengers are always keener to get off fast so there’s a rush, the aircraft will be smaller so you’ll have more breathe space with the aisle next to you.
• ****+ Star Airlines Most airlines in the West are rubbish and thinking every Middle Eastern operator is up to Emirate’s standard sets you up for a lot of disappointment. Check out www.airlinequality.com to see how airlines are individually rated and the size of each airline’s seat. This stuff may seem a little obsessive but when you’re clocking 250k you’re committing a sizeable chunk of your life and sanity to their service levels. The first thing you’ll learn about booking flights is that price is not indicative of quality. For example, BA is often more expensive than Singapore Airlines but you should always choose a 5 star operator where possible (Singapore, Cathay, Malaysian, Qatar, Thai, Kingfisher, Asiana). If a toss up between 3 and 4 star choices for long haul - avoid 3 star.Fly in the States and you’ll realize why everyone raves about Jet Blue and South West airlines and the reason is that they are the only 4 star airlines flying domestically. All North American carriers are rubbish. Jet Blue and SW are exceptional by comparison. Given the choice between Delta/American First Class and Jet Blue coach - fly Jet Blue coach every time.A note on 2 star airlines. Yes, they exist so you must be really cash-strapped to fly with these guys. Avoid the temptation of booking business class on a 2 star outfit like Kuwait or Indian Airlines because it looks cheap. You’ll find the experience pretty nasty. Save your pennies and fly JetStar or Jet Airways and upgrade where possible to an extended seat.

5) Kayak (US/UK) is by far the best tool to find best flights because it’s fast and gives you immediate options. When it comes to booking flights here’s a few things to consider:

• Always choose an airline that offers online check in. Double check they can check in from the country you’ll be departing from e.g. TAM (Brazil) offer online check in but only from Brazil domestic. If the carrier doesn’t do online checkin - don’t fly them. You’ll end up wasting 1-2 hours in a queue and won’t be able to pick your seat.
• Discount hubs offer the best deals for travel e.g. LHR, Singapore, Hong Kong, BKK. Conversely, certain airports are expensive to fly to and even more expensive to get out of (CGK/Jakarta, Narita/Japan, any mainland China).
• Never choose the cheapest options. Kuwait and Air India offer dirt cheap business class tickets. You’ll find out why when you use them. It’s a false economy. Similarly many cheap economy offers mean flying with rubbish carriers (e.g. 3 stars), poor time slots and transfers (avoid at all costs)
• Single/Returns. Some carriers can charge you more for a single than a return or may not show up when searching only for a single even though a return is available. Only discount operators (e.g. Jet/JetStar/Ryanair/Jet Blue etc) seem to offer logical pricing structurers (i.e. 1-way is half price of 2-way).
• Transfer Loopholes. Have you noticed it’s sometimes cheaper to fly (for example) - A-B-C than A-B direct? There are complicated reasons for this to do with landing rites & more importantly plane inventory. However, if you’re only carrying hand luggage some fellow travellers have told me you can save money travelling to by booking a transfer A-B-C and skipping the C flight, alighting at B. Now I’m not sure how that works logistically with the airline and whether they’ll end up delaying the flight searching for the missing passenger but I know people who’ve done it.

6) One Bag: Never Check in Luggage! This is the golden rule of business travel - avoid check in at all costs. There are a few reasons for this:

• You add at least another 40 minutes to your time on both sides
• You risk having lost baggage which is no joke
• It’s just more things to worry about, more things that could go wrong
• On some domestic carriers they’ll charge you for check in
• You are much freer with just one carry on bagSo before you start freaking out about not being able to function with less than 5 pairs of shoes for an overnight trip consider the possibility of travelling 3 weeks with one bag (I did and it worked very well). This is tricky, requires a lot of discipline and a bloody good carry on bag. Here’s some advice on how to pack your stuff!

Here are some contenders that give you maximum allowable carry on capacity and perfomance:

• The AirBoss by RedOxx (34 litres I believe) - but only avail in US
• Caribee Fusion 21 (claims 65 litres but the space is not as practical as one would assume due to the roller bar/wheels and most is in side pockets which when full would not get you through customs)
• And this one by “Cabin” which claims 44 litres and doesn’t compromize space with wheels/handle etc. An interesting contender for 2010

The art of one-bagging requires organization. Check out ONE BAG (yes it exists!) for more info. Here’s a few hacks of my own: Get yourself bag organizers (small packing organizers you can segment up your bag contents e.g. clothes/wires/socks etc.) Not only does it make it easier to access/store/find your stuff it’s far more efficient with the limited space you have. For some time I experimented with the vacuum sealed roller bags that compressed your clothes in a fraction of the space but the zipper tags kept falling off and the bags became useless. Great idea, poor execution.

7) Offloading tricks If you’re flying short haul / domestic ask your crew if you’re landing at a hard or a soft stand (i.e. the bridge or the steps/bus route). If you’re doing the steps/bus route at a large terminal like Heathrow then wait until everyone gets off the plane first. Avoid the stress and the mad rush. Then you can be the last in the queue to board the bus (they’ve all been waiting squashed like sardines for 10 minutes). The benefit of not being the early worm is that you squeeze on as last on the bus steps and are first to hop off, first in line at immigration. Cheeky but has worked a treat a number of times!

Yotel is pretty cool. Catching an impossibly early morning flight? Don’t sweat yourself thinking about whether you’re going to wake up a 3am after a late night drinking with your clients, book yourself into a Yotel or a similar transit hotel (e.g. there are similar less cool outfits at Changi and KUL). You can book them on hourly rather than daily basis. Sleep refreshed and wake up on time your flight!

9) Your Essential Travel Equipment Apart from the bag as above, your pass and Iphone apps you’ll also need the following:

• An eye mask as on Amazon (get used to them, you’ll sleep better)
• Decent noise-cancelling headphones such as the Sony MDRNC22W. Some airlines don’t permit these kind of headphones so check in advance. Anyway, if you’re not bothered by the discomfort (some people say they can’t wear them) these headphones can effectively leave you to rest in peace as the rest of the cabin are entertained with the Captain’s monologue on how he’ll take you 37,000 feet and hang a left at Chicago or the screaming twins in the bassinet.
• Neck cushion is essentially if you’re travelling in economy long haul.
• A travel clock (don’t rely on hotels or phones to wake you up). You can buy an Atomic world clock that knows (via the radio airwaves) or something which timezone it’s in and adjust the time accordingly for about $20.
• Power! There are numerous power solutions. Get yourself 1 international adapter and that’s all you’ll need. Check out your airlines power situation on Seat Guru (not all offer power). Avoid these mat powered systems as they require you adapt your devices with a jacket so rather self-defeating. Now I’m using Iphone & Mac I only need the USB plug to power the phone which has reduced the number of cables/plugs needed substantially. Also check out Jeff Sandquist’s useful guide to finding power at world airports.

Lowlights

1) Short haul/domestic first class Waste of money. If you are armed with your Priority Pass (see above) and plan your airport experience well there are absolutely no tangible benefits from flying first over coach. Long haul is a completely different story (i.e. you need to work & sleep).

2) Business hotel breakfasts. With few exceptions, staying in a 4 star business hotel means boring breakfast buffets. Enough said on this subject.

3) Hell-hole airports. Not every airport you visit is like Changi, KL or Jet Blue’s Terminal 5. You have to rough it sometimes, so it’s good to know what you’re in for. If you’re in for Sao Paulo, Kolkata, Jakarta and even Narita (!) then you better make sure you know which lounge you’re going to use and wait times. In fact, airport choice can sway travel planning. Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid an airport but where it’s a difficult airport you may want to consider alternatives.

4) Most airline loyalty schemes are a waste of time unless you know exactly why you’re joining. For example, BA & Virgin’s schemes are worth joining if you’re working towards a gold account. Even with the silver accounts you can use premium check in lines so that’s a bonus. I believe Virgin gold club members also get a year’s free access to Regus meeting rooms as well (or similar - details to be confirmed). However, most long haul flyers derive little benefit apart from the occasional bump up due to full flights.

5) Friday afternoon I’ve made the mistake plenty of times and then only started correcting it when I made a mental note not to repeat my mistakes. Friday afternoon/ end of day is the worst time to travel anywhere in the world (with the exception of the Middle East). All domestic and intercontinental flights will be jam packed and everyone will be bringing excessive carry on. Friday is also the most delay-affected day as the ripples of earlier events accumulate towards the tail of the week. Where possible extend your hotel room one night and fly out Saturday morning to preserve your sanity.

Things to look forward to in 2010

1) Kindle. Being in the UK, we can buy the Kindle but don’t yet have full access so we’re still waiting. However, the need is already there; books comprise a large proportion of my carry on bulk so for the sake of making travel easier this appears a great solution. I’ve pulled back from importing to the UK for 2 reasons so far:

• There are a number of reports about it’s fragility (i.e screen outages)
• UK owners have to pay a $2 premium on each book for wireless delivery & VAT which puts kindle ebook prices above that of the printed version which just seems absolutely crazy.

Thoughts?

2) The Singapore-KL train. The flight is but one hour. However, add in taxis, airport nonsense etc it’s at least 4-5 hours. You can take the 1st class sleeper express from Singapore to KL leaving Singapore pm arrive KL around 6 am for $100. You get your own private cabin with shower and meals. You’d be spending that on a hotel and you’ll arrive without hassle of checkins, fellow travellers and straight in the centre of town. Worth considering?

3) World Taxi Meter. I’m usually in a country for one night only so assuming clients are paying for the flight & hotel it’s usually the taxi that’s the biggest outlay. In most countries the combined return fare is between $100 and $200. So if you’re visiting 10 cities in 3 weeks for example, you need to start managing your costs. I’ve used World Taxi Meter before with reasonable accuracy. Try it out to get a rough estimate of taxis in that city.

4) Singapore Airlines private suites They exist for first class on the double decker A380 (see here) - bankers, government officials wasting public money and footballers. One day I will fly the suite and tell you all about it just because I would have blown $10k on a 10 hour experience. Then again I could take my family to the Maldives for a week for that money… difficult choice.

5) Prayer Rooms? I once sat next to an old cad who had been flying since the days when DC-10s used to regularly fall out of the skies. He shared with me his number one “tip” developed from before Priority Pass or luxury lounges as we have now. He used to locate the “multi-faith prayer rooms” or “chapels” as they were known back then, find himself a nice quiet spot and sleep there. Nobody would disturb him. Worth bearing in mind if you get stuck!

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