If you’re savvy when booking your flight for your forthcoming surf trip you can save heaps and it’s amazing what politeness can get you mid air…
Get one up on the airlines
Sometimes airlines accidentally put up ridiculously cheap air fares and there are a few websites out there dedicated to getting these mistakes out to the masses. Take a look at these guys.
Timing
The price of flights varies depending on the month, day and time of travel. This means it can vary drastically. For example, let’s say you’re one of my London friends wanting to visit me in Spain for the weekend. You might want to consider making it a long weekend. Why? Because the Friday flight from London Stansted to Santander can be up to triple the price of the same flight on the Thursday.
Fly indirect
If you’re going long haul, money might be more important than time. If that’s the case, you should consider looking into flights with a stop-over as you can save an absolute fortune. Ok, you may have to endure a 21 hour layover in Ethiopia like my friend Chad, but you can use the cash you’ve saved to spend in a new city.
Use an alternative airport
You might be closer to Bristol than Heathrow, but you should always check if it’s cheaper to fly from one further away if possible. It might work out heaps cheaper. The same goes for your intended location. Using Spain as an example again, if you wanted to join our Surf & Yoga Trip to Latas Surf House this October, you could fly into the small Santander Airport, which is 20 minutes away, but probably costly. Bilbao on the other hand is a much larger airport, so likely to have cheaper and more convenient flights. What’s more, it’s still only 50 minutes away.
Beat the baggage fees
If you are taking surfboards, wetsuits etc and you’re worried about excess baggage charges, you could copy my friend Will and wear your extra items. Yes, poor Will wore two pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, four t-shirts, two jumpers and a jacket to come visit me in the Canaries, only to arrive in 35 degree heat- uncomfortable to say the least! But you could just take advantage of the rules and wear a decent jacket with pockets, get a spacious carry on bag and carry your ‘laptop bag’ and ‘duty free bag’ on with you (the inverted commas are suggesting you carry items other than which they are intended for).
Get an upgrade
It’s always nice to be nice. But when it comes to flying, being nice could also make your long haul flight to Sri Lanka a whole lot more comfortable- especially if they upgrade you to first class. Be nice to the steward- they are in control of your destiny for said flight, so don’t be an annoying drunk or moany self entitled prick. If you make their job easier and there are any spare seats they might just bump you up to Business or First Class. This has never happened to me, but it happened to a woman in front of me. I’m not sure why, I just assumed she was nice.
In-flight treats
Most airlines are well stocked with all sorts of treats. I recently flew with Singapore Airlines. In departures, I spent around £15 on an eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and toothpaste. I then got on the flight and the kind stewardess handed me a sleeping pack which included all of the above plus a sewing kit (?) and some slippers. If that wasn’t enough, when when it was time to sleep the woman next to me politely complained that she was cold and received an extra blanket and some pyjamas. PYJAMAS. Now there’s a game changer. If you’re flying over night, get into those comfy PJ’s and waltz into your destination with clothes on as fresh as a daisy.
Extra food
I actually like plane food. Seriously I love it. The bright white bread roll with butter, rubbery omelette’s, disgusting coffee. I’m a pretty healthy guy with a good diet, but there’s something about plane food that, to me, feels like a naughty treat. Now I don’t ask for extra meals but (on airlines where food is complimentary) you totally can. Obviously don’t ask whilst the steward is serving someone. Wait until they have finished their service and ask politely if you’re still hungry / feeling gluttonous. They will also usually have a variety of snacks that you can ask for at any time.
Once, I was on a very weirdly timed flight coming back from Bali. I’d just woken up without a clue what time it was meant to be, but my body tends to require food straight after sleeping no matter how long the sleep. I got a cheese sandwich, some nuts and a diet coke without a problem. It accompanied my (morning?) film viewing.
If you’re on a budget airline that doesn’t serve complimentary meals, or a short haul flight, bring your own food aboard. You can totally do this as long as they aren’t liquid (humous etc) and you will save a fortune.
Ask for a tour of the cockpit!
This won’t save you money but it’s a cool thing to do. You can do this as long as the plane isn’t in transit and the pilots are up for it. My friend Sophie did just the other day.