10 Insider Travel Hacks from Flight Attendants (11 photos)

Flight attendants spend over 80 hours a month in the air, making travel a way of life for them. Who better to turn to for the ultimate travel tips and hacks?





Here are 10 flight attendant-approved secrets to make your next trip so much smoother.



1. How to Get Better Service on Your Flight

Most passengers try to book seats near the front of the plane so they can deplane quickly and secure their preferred meal choice. But flight attendants know a secret: sitting in the back often gets you extra-attentive service. The logic is simple—answering a call button in the front of the cabin usually triggers a chain reaction of requests from surrounding passengers. On a full or short flight, extra pillows, earplugs, toothbrushes, or mini bottles of liquor run out fast. However, if you're seated in the back, it’s much easier for crew members to slip you a little extra wine or whatever else you might need without causing a fuss.





2. How to Iron Your Clothes in a Pinch

A flight attendant with 30 years under her belt shares this tip: "Use a flat iron to touch up your clothes when you're in a hurry and don't have time to set up an ironing board."



3. How to Make Sure Your Hotel Sheets Are Fresh

A 19-year flight attendant veteran advises: "Never get into a hotel bed if the sheets don't have crisp fold lines. If there are no creases from being freshly folded, someone has already slept in that bed."



4. How to Completely Block Out Light in Your Hotel Room

A flight attendant with 15 years of experience suggests: "Use the clips on a pants hanger to clip hotel curtains together so light won't peek through the gap."



5. How to Protect Your Ears When Flying

One flight attendant warns: "Try to avoid flying if you have a severe cold. The pressure difference can blow out your eardrums and cause hearing loss. It happened to me once—I couldn't hear properly for a week, and it hurt like hell."



6. How to Steer Clear of Crying Babies

You can't always avoid a crying baby—and you can't really blame them either—but you can lower your chances of sitting near one by staying away from bulkhead seats. Bulkheads are the only walls equipped to hold infant bassinets safely, meaning parents traveling with infants under one year old are usually seated there.



7. How to Beat Jet Lag

One crew member reveals her trick: "A strict bedtime routine works wonders for me. Put away all screens an hour before bed, sip some herbal tea, and read a bit. Usually, that does the trick. But if I'm still tossing and turning after an hour, I get up, do something else for a bit, and then try sleeping again."



8. How to Pack Lighter for Any Trip

A flight attendant with a year on the job shares: "Call your hotel beforehand to see if they have guest laundry facilities. If they do, pack a few laundry pods and dryer sheets in a Ziploc bag. That way, you can cut out two to four days' worth of clothes, no matter how long your trip is."



9. How to Save Space in Your Suitcase

Another flight attendant says: "My go-to packing hack is rolling clothes instead of folding them. I’m often away for anywhere from a few days to three weeks, and rolling everything saves tons of luggage space."



10. How Never to Miss Out on Free Hotel Food

"If you know you'll miss a prepaid meal because you're checking out early or arriving late, ask the front desk if they can prepare a grab-and-go box for you," suggests a flight attendant. "It's usually just a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, and some cheese, but it has saved my rumbling stomach more times than I can count."