Travel secrets of the world’s most frequent fliers

It was Mark Twain who said that, while good decisions are usually the product of experience, the only way to get that experience is by making some bad decisions first. And the world of air travel is certainly no exception on that front.

So what can we learn from those who spend half their lives in the skies? Take the jet-set CEOs and aviation lovers who have flown through the likes of Heathrow and Gatwick thousands of times. What have they learnt about smoother air travel?

Conquering jet lag

One traveller who certainly fits that description is Fred Finn. Born in Kent in the 1940s, the lifelong aviation enthusiast holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most travelled man, having clocked up some 15 million miles of commercial air travel, including more than 700 trips on Concorde.

Mr Finn has another big claim when it comes to travel. “I have never been jet lagged in my life,” he tells me, when we speak over Zoom. What’s more, he’s not even sure he believes that jet lag exists as a distinct phenomenon. Instead, he says, what we call jet lag is usually a combination of tiredness and dehydration, both of which can be mitigated.

“As soon as they close the door on the plane, I set my watch for where we’re flying to,” he tells me, describing the ways in which he combats sleep deprivation. And while getting some shut-eye can be useful, just shutting your eyes can bring benefits in its own right.

“Closing your eyes for 10 minutes or so every hour should stop them from getting dry and dehydrated,” he says. After that, it’s down to things like in-seat exercises (for which there are dozens of videos on YouTube) and managing your fluid intake in order to keep the lethargy at bay.

Jet-setting former Google executive Alon Chen (now founder of the AI-powered food app Tastewise) agrees that hydration is the secret to travelling comfortably. “Always make sure you bring a refillable water bottle, as the ones they provide on the flight will always be too small,” he says.

Picking the best time to fly can be a decisive factor when it comes to avoiding exhaustion the next day. Crack-of-dawn Ryanair flights might be cheaper, but are they really worth sacrificing sleep for? Meanwhile, transatlantic travellers should look at BA’s daytime flights from New York and Boston, which allow you to avoid flying overnight entirely.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Frequent flyers have years of wisdom when it comes to picking the best seats. “If I’m sitting in economy or premium economy, I would always opt for an aisle seat if possible,” says the travel influencer and YouTuber Charlie Pauly. “That way you don’t have to nudge anyone when you want to get up for the bathroom.”

Fred Finn directs me to SeatMaps.com, a website he co-founded to help travellers see exactly what they’re getting (including 360-degree photos) when it comes to their seats. “The visual maps that airlines use don’t always tell you the full story,” he says.

While it may sound like the preserve of nerdy plane spotters, knowing what plane you’ll be flying on can be useful too, particularly for long-haul. BA is still retrofitting some of its models to include its newer business-class suites, for example. Similarly, Etihad has an on-board lobby bar on its Airbus A380s, but not its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Escaping airport hell

And how about when it comes to navigating the airport itself? As anyone who has traversed the likes of Heathrow or JFK will already know, mastering their layouts can seem beyond the wit of man. So what have our travel veterans learnt over the years?

“My best tip if you’re British Airways out of Terminal 5 is to use the lounge by the B gates, rather than the one closest to security,” says Gilbert Ott, editor of the travel website God Save the Points. “It’s much less crowded than the main one. And it may even be closer to your flight if you’re flying from a B or C gate.”

Rob Burgess, the editor of Head for Points, cautions travellers against being too dismissive of Luton airport (home of Wizz Air), often ranked as London’s worst airport. “They have massively improved now they have a DART train between the airport and the railway station,” he says.

Generally with larger airports, it usually pays to take a five-minute walk away from the main concourse. Restaurants and retailers are usually spread around the airport (did you know there are 19 WHSmiths in Heathrow?) so you should be able to beat the queues and avoid tripping over suitcases if you venture a little further away from security.

Beating the passport queues

When landing back in Blighty, most of us want to get back to our lives as soon as possible. But are there any tricks to speed up the arrival process? For Gilbert Ott, the process starts well before the plane touches down. “I always do my research and choose a seat which means I can depart as quickly as possible,” he says.

Once you’ve left the plane, you’ll be heading to customs and the now ubiquitous e-gates. Knowing how to hold your passport (photo page open and folded over) is an essential skill for the modern traveller. But are there any tricks or tips beyond that?

“If there’s a queue at the e-gates, I normally look for the line that is next to one of the large pillars,” says Ben Smithson from the US frequent flyer bible The Points Guy. “In my experience, there is usually a second gate behind the pillar, so the queue will move twice as quickly.”

Memorise those tips, then, and you’ll be drawing on the wisdom of the world’s most experienced flyers. It might not make your next trip as pleasurable as a voyage on Concorde – but it should help reduce some of the stress.