We live in a wonderful time when international travel has become much more accessible than one or two generation ago. With the proliferation of travel bloggers and amazing travel postings on social media adults of all ages are travelling much more than before.

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The continued growth of airline sectors, reaching all corners of the world, and the ease with which to personally search online and plan you own itenarary further fuels the appetite for travel.

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On the other hand, the increased choices, more crowded skies, narrower seats, increasingly congested airports could increase the stress of air travel.

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On this page, we offer a few tips for you to consider when planning your air travel itenarary and picking airlines to fly with and airports to into or through.

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1. Itenarary Planning

​Some clever planning could save you significant dollars which you could spend on a better hotel or fly in business class without paying the full fare. Some helpful tips:

* If you are flexible with travel dates, avoid flying Friday to Monday. Flying mid week often is cheapest. Could apply to business class too.

* If you are travelling to multiple cities in Europe (or USA for example), check fares for your long haul flight flying into different cities and plan your itenarary around that first stop. Once in Europe, you could plan your way around with internal flights / train / or self drive. For example, I love visiting Switzerland for skiing or hiking, and the long haul fare into Zurich is often very expensive. The last couple of trips to Europe, I flew into Munich at a much lower cost, and enjoyed some time in beautiful Bavaria and Austria before making my way to Switzerland.

* Use flight search engines like google flights as a quick way to compare fares between airlines and itenararies.

* For spontaneous trips, search for last minute fare deals on sites like skyscanner or ratepunk.

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2. Airlines

​There are three major global airline alliances are Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam. These alliances bring together numerous airlines to offer passengers an increasingly seamless wider range of destinations, flight options, and benefits. 

​* It pays to try to accumulate all your air points on one airline's frequent flyer program instead of spreading your points across multiple airlines.

* Try to stick with airlines that are member of the same global alliance so that you can accrue all your flight points to one airline program. This way you get to the gold or premium status fastest and can enjoy perks such as airport lounge access which is valid through all airlines within the same alliance. Other benefits of gold or premium status include free additional check in luggage; priority boarding, seat selection, using points for upgrades or paying part of the fare, etc.

* Be wary that some airlines still practice dynamic pricing - when your browse a certain itenarary, they remember your IP address so that when you go back to review the same itenarary, or to book, their pricing goes up compared to what was before! One way to get around this is to browse in incognito mode so that they cannot see or remember your IP address.

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3. Airports

​There are great airports, good airports and then there are the others... Transiting or arriving at the 'wrong' airport could mean very inefficient and tiring immigration and security checks, poor amenities for waiting out a long transit, even very long queues for rental car pick up. I once took a long haul flight into SFO only to be confronted with a 2-hour immigration queue, further delays at security checks and then another 2-hour queue at the rental car counter before my 2-hour to the Monterey Peninsula.

 

Some efficient and excellent major hub airports:

* Singapore Changi

* Hong Kong International Airport

* Zurich International Airport

* Munich, Germany

* Manchester, UK

* Vancouver, Canada

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I have not yet experienced a major international air hub in the USA that is not stressful, except maybe Denver, Colorado, but that was quite a few years ago...

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If you have experienced other great international air hubs, please do share! 

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4. Baggage

Different travellers have very different tendencies when it comes to baggage.

There are the minimalist back packers who survive weeks or months with a single back pack. I have also known people who won't leave home without TWO very large suit cases and who would bring with them many pairs of shoes and even their blender. Yes blender.​

From years of travel experience, my tendency is to have one check-in suitcase and one small to medium carry-on. Rationale behind this approach:

* If you try to put everything into just a carry on, getting through customs screening will be a lot more tedious with higher chance of getting pulled aside for a detailed search or getting your toiletries confiscated. You would also struggle to get a big enough space in the over head compartment for your large carry-on unless you are in business class or you somehow can be among the first few to board. As a considerate traveller, I also do not feel good taking up more than my share of space in the overhead compartment.

* If you have more than one check in suitcase, many tricky situations would arise - you will always need a push cart at the airport, and some airports charge for them. You likely have to pay extra for the 2nd check-in suitcase. Not being sure if you get a big enough taxi to fit all your bags, especially in some European cities where the taxis are small. In some cities, there are no lifts or elevators in the hotels or train stations. So hauling two large suitcases to the 4th floor by stairs is not something you would enjoy doing.

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5. Navigating Airport Security

​No one enjoys getting through airport security, especially when there are long lines that move very slowly. Some airports like Frankfurt and Zurich have express lanes for business class travellers. I guess they pay for the priority service.

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My personal wish is that all travellers could be more savvy to make life easier for everyone. Prior to getting to the security check, dispose of liquids; take all items out of your pockets and put them into your carry-on bag. This saves at least one minute person at security. So if there are ten persons in front of you, you save 10 minutes queueing! It also eliminates the risk of you leaving something behind - like your wallet, watch, keys or phone. When standing in line, have only two things on you - your carry-on bag and your laptop or other item that they usually want removed from the carry-on.