Genius Crew Travel Hacks To Make Your Next Trip Smoother

There are few people in this world more adept to life on the road than cabin crew. Away from the comforts of home and the people we love, we are the masters of improvisation in a world where there is no constant except the fact that we are always on the go. After years at the job, we all find our own tricks to making life a bit more normal. Indeed, dear reader, you can learn from us.

On the plane

– First thing’s first: Ladies, I can’t stress this enough – pack a pashmina. I used to work tons of flights between the Caribbean and New York in the winter. There are always one or two women who board these flights practically naked and complain to the crew nonstop about being freezing, despite keeping the cabin at a comfortable 70 degrees. A pashmina is great because it can double as a blanket or a light scarf, and I find that it comes in handy almost every trip year-round and in any destination. Assume the air conditioning may be a little too strong or not strong enough. Failing that, layer – and save the beachwear for the beach, not the plane.

– Nothing is worse than spilling something on your clothes just to try and clean it up with paper towels or napkins and adding a mess of paper lint to it. Instead, forgo the paper products, and look for the little drawer in most aircraft lavatories containing sanitary pads. Wet the pad on one end, blot the stain out, and use the other side to dry it. It won’t feather on your clothes and holds more water to blot with. For a tougher stain, ask for a can of club soda.

– Another great product is also found in the lavatory: the toilet seat cover. Besides making 15th century-style headwear, a better use for it is to blot oily skin. Flying always kicks my oily skin into overdrive, so before landing I always use one to diminish shine without removing all my makeup.

– Crewed Talk’s own Sarah Steegar suggests traveling with a tennis ball to massage sore muscles, which are inevitable when cramped in an economy passenger seat for hours on end. “Lots of people might know it’s good for rolling sore feet over, but a dancer also taught me to wedge it between any sore muscle and whatever I’m sitting on. You can either wiggle a little for a massage or even just having the pressure will work wonders on a sore back, shoulder, etc…”

At the hotel

– We all have our own ways of organizing our space, and in order to not leave anything behind, we usually have our specific routines we adhere to. For me, the first thing I do is take the soap out of the porcelain seashell soap dish (because it’s always a seashell soap dish) and turn that into my jewelry box. I always know where I took everything off, and nothing will end up rolling down the sink.

– Even if your hotel has the absolute best blackout curtains, chances are, that little space left where they meet in the middle will stab right into your eyes at 6 a.m. like an icepick. Avoid this by clamping them together in the middle with the pants hanger.

– Eric L., a flight attendant with a US carrier, shared this tip with me. Eric is one of many people who are terrified of the thought of bringing home bedbugs – a legitimate fear for those of us sleeping in a different bed every night. To identify any potential infestation, he heats up the iron and goes over the bed with it, as bedbugs are drawn to warmth (like that of our sleeping bodies). If anything comes crawling out, that’s his cue to switch rooms. And while I’ve always made a policy of keeping my luggage as far from the bed as possible and on a table or luggage rack (as opposed to the extra bed or an upholstered chair), he goes a step further by keeping his bags in the bathtub at night, where the bloodsucking pests can’t access.

– The cabin air dries skin out, and flying takes a toll on your complexion. When I run out of exfoliant, I take the sugar from the coffeemaker setup and scrub with it. (Be gentle, of course, as the granules are much rougher than a facial product would be.) Wash well afterward and your skin will be nice and smooth.

Suitcase 101

– This one is really important: pack a small bag to keep in your suitcase with antacid, pain relievers, bandages, and sanitizer. There are so many times I have woken up in the middle of the night with stomach issues or a searing headache, and there is nothing worse than having to deal with it until the shops open. My little first aid kit has saved my life countless times.

– There’s nothing new about universal travel adapters, but this one from Flight 001 is possibly my most prized possession. It’s like a little Lego and just as colorful, and doesn’t hang down off the wall like the large, clunky universal adapters can. You simply find which piece correlates with the country you’re traveling to, remove it, and plug right in. Low profile, cute as a button, and bonus for airline crews – Flight 001 stores always offer a crew discount! Simply bring your airline ID along and you’re in business.

– Lastly, roll and don’t fold your clothes in order to fit more into your suitcase and avoid major wrinkles. My work suitcase works for me for two days or two weeks, and that’s even carrying five pairs of shoes. I also absolutely love my clothes steamer and bring it everywhere for those wrinkles that do appear.

Got more? Share any other genius travel tricks in the comments!

[Photo: Paykoc Imports]