Frequent Flyers Reveal Their Best And Sneakiest Airport Hacks

Leaving on a jet plane...
[rebelmouse-image 18349920 is_animated_gif=Traveling can be an adventure, but airports aren't most people's idea of fun. How can you make getting there when you travel as painless as possible?
A Reddit user asked ""Frequent Flyers of Reddit: What are Your Airport 'Life hacks?'."
Here are the tips and tricks from the experts.
Excess Baggage
[rebelmouse-image 18349922 is_animated_gif=There are 2 kinds of bags: those that get destroyed in cargo bins, and those that destroy other bags in cargo bins. Get the second kind of bag. Buy an aluminum-frame Luggage Works Stealth bag, or a Travel Pro. It's what all flight crew members use for a reason.
Reunited at Last
[rebelmouse-image 18349923 is_animated_gif=If you have a lot of time to kill, find the area in baggage claim where pets are reunited with their owners. It's a blast watching those dogs get out of their carriers, and they all behave differently.Paste
TSA PSA
[rebelmouse-image 18349924 is_animated_gif=If you are traveling internationally, sign up for Global Entry. It takes about an hour to fill out all the forms and you schedule a brief interview with a TSA representative who makes sure you aren't a crazy terrorist, but after that you essentially get to skip all the customs lines after returning to the US from an international trip. Trust me - it's worth it. Use TSA Pre-Check when traveling domestically as well.
Multipurpose Storage
[rebelmouse-image 18349925 is_animated_gif=I carry one of those neck pillows in it's neck pillow bag clipped on to my carryon. I put everything in there I want to have quick access to in the flight. My tablet, headphones, cables, and a pen if flying international. That way I don't have to get up and try digging through my carryon after I'm already seated.
Plus I leave that stuff in there and it doesn't have to touch the inside of the seat back pocket.
Dude, Where's My Car?
[rebelmouse-image 18349926 is_animated_gif=Take a picture of where you park so that when you return from a long trip, you remember.
Get Organized
[rebelmouse-image 18349927 is_animated_gif=Screenshot your boarding pass and keep your ID in your front pocket makes security as simple as possible. EVERYTHING goes in your bag before you even get in line (wallet, keys, belt, shoes).
Turn the brightness on your phone ALL THE WAY UP when presenting your boarding pass in security lines or when you board the plane.
Lock the orientation on your phone, with the QR code open, and place your phone about a foot above the scanner. Push the phone down onto the glass scanner, and then raise it back up. This is the best way to scan that QR code... those scanners can be finicky.
Making Connections
[rebelmouse-image 18349928 is_animated_gif=Do a little bit of homework and research the layouts of the airports you'll be flying into, especially regarding what airline fly out of what terminals. Do this before you book tickets so you can be sure you make connecting flights. I'm LAX based, and the entire airport is divided into separate terminals. If you arrive on Frontier and need to make a connecting flight on Delta, you have to exit security, then budget about 45 minutes (if you're fast) to either walk or take a bus from the Frontier terminal to the Delta Terminal, go through security AGAIN, and walk to your gate. It's amazing how many passengers flying through LAX leave 30 minutes to make a connection when they'll have to change terminals, which essentially guarantees you'll miss your flight. Just a little planning ahead will prevent things like this from happening.
City Guide
[rebelmouse-image 18349929 is_animated_gif=After traveling to the same cities multiple times, I make sure to know what each airport has to offer in case I have extra time there. For instance, Portland has a great little free theater with local short films. Many airports have massage places. Midway has a free use yoga studio. Sitting around being bored is for suckers.
In the Middle
[rebelmouse-image 18349930 is_animated_gif=This isn't as much of a hack as it is common sense, but be a courteous passenger. If you have the window seat, you get a nice view and a wall to lean your head up against. Leave the shade open for takeoff and landing, but other than that keep it closed so people can sleep. If you're in the aisle seat, you get a little extra space for your outside leg and arm, and easy lavatory access. The guy in the middle seat gets both arm rests because middle seats f'ing suck.
Choosing the Right Line
[rebelmouse-image 18349931 is_animated_gif=There's a clip in the film "Up In The Air" where George Clooney basically profiles the respective people in the security line. Watch it; everything he touches on is correct. Then choose your line accordingly.
Charge It!
[rebelmouse-image 18349932 is_animated_gif=If you lose or forget your phone charger, go to the airport lost and found. If they have any extras lying around, they'll just give them to you if they're been there long enough (usually 90 days).
Frequent Flyer Miles
[rebelmouse-image 18349933 is_animated_gif=If you fly a lot, get a rewards credit card with that airline. After flying frequently for work for a couple years, I now have platinum memberships with different airlines. Which means I get free checked bags, priority boarding, access to the lounge in airports that has free food and booze, and best of all free upgrades to first class if there are open seats. Not to mention all the free flights I've gotten from racking up points on the card. My company reimburses my flights, so I charge them to the card but get to keep all the points for personal use.
Customer Service Call
[rebelmouse-image 18349934 is_animated_gif=If weather/maintenance/delays/whatever is screwing you, and the airline sends you to the impossibly long customer service line where 600 people wait in line to be helped by a single poor Customer Service Associate, call the airline's customer support line while waiting in line - they'll do the same thing the CSA can do and it's probably quicker. Calling while waiting in line ensures you get helped ASAP.
Skymiles
[rebelmouse-image 18349935 is_animated_gif=If it takes more than twenty minutes for you to get your bag when you fly with delta you can get 2500 Skymiles by putting in a request here: www.delta.com/bagsontime
Catching Some Zs
[rebelmouse-image 18349936 is_animated_gif=Airport chapels are a great place to get some sleep.
Lounge Lizard Life
[rebelmouse-image 18349938 is_animated_gif=If you've got a long layover -- especially if you're on your own -- book yourself into the lounge. The time absolutely flies by, there are drinks and food, and you can chill out on the WiFi in a comfortable seat. Most places will give you three hours, but I've never been anywhere that actually checks (unless you're really taking the piss) and it costs about $50, but it makes an arduous journey a lot less of a pain in the ass.
Wi-Fi Makes Everything Better
[rebelmouse-image 18349939 is_animated_gif=This website lists the airport and airline lounge Wi-Fi passwords for most airports around the world. Enjoy the free Wi-Fi.
Flight School
[rebelmouse-image 18349941 is_animated_gif=Top tip: be the pilot so that you have a solid door between you and the general public.
People Divulge The One Thing They Wish They'd Never Discovered About Their Significant Other
As relationships get serious, it's understandable that one will want to know as much as possible about their significant others.
That is, until we make a discovery about them which might forever change how we view our relationship.
Sometimes, it might be a discovery that might just take some getting used to, even if we'd have been better off not knowing.
Other times, however, this newfound information makes remaining in this relationship untenable.
Redditor Mr_MightyMouse was curious to hear what people wished they'd never learned about their past and present relationships, leading them to ask:
"What is the one thing you found out about your S/O you wish you never did?"
He was anything but faithful
"He cheated on me."
"When I had cancer."- stolliolli
Her one true love... wasn't me
"She drunkenly admitted to her friends that her ex-boyfriend was the one and she’ll never get over him."
"Still not sure how to handle that information."- FreeFoot_
Complicit without knowing it.
"She was an opiate addict."
"I was funding her addiction unknowingly."
"I was helping her destroy herself and I was too stupid to realize that."- Local64bithero
Moving way too fast
"Not that it was that traumatic as we were only dating a few weeks, but she started real deal crying when I wouldn't put her on my life insurance."- Toasted_Bagels_R_Gud
Someone needs to sharpen their aim...
"I hang up a towel to dry my hands in the bathroom."
"Sometimes I would find it on the floor and think hmmm the towel fell off the rack."
"TEN YEARS GO BY."
"One day my husband casually says 'you are always so quick to do laundry, like if I accidentally pee on the floor and clean it up with the towel it is gone so quick'."
"I'm like what.... what?"
"WHAT!!!!!!"
"So yea, I've been drying my hands with pee towels for 10 years."
"FML."- kperkins1982·
A club no one wants to belong to
"I was dating my ex for two years and she drunkenly confessed that she had cheated on every bf she had ever had."
"We broke up not long after."
"Then found out she was also cheating on me with multiple people from the office."
"I’m now happily married!"
"She also hid her then current bf from me when we first hooked up, he was asleep in another bedroom and we was in a different bed."
"She told him I missed the train home and needed a place to get my head down."- JancingSalmon
A stronger connection than they knew.
"He once dated a girl that he was getting fairly serious about until he showed up to a family event and she was there."- rowenaravenclaw0
What was he up to?
"He had a notebook of every detail of my life, including menstrual cycle, and also kept all the details of my friends and family members."
"Even ones I had never mentioned."
"And we were only together for two months."- totalfranmove
The news no one wants to hear
"That she had Cancer, which ultimately took her."
"That is literally the only thing I found out about my late wife that I ever regretted."- d20gamerguy
A happy anniversary indeed.
"This is NSFW."
"She gave me her phone to look for an address and make a restaurant reservation for our 7 year anniversary."
"I don't know why she gave me her phone, but I guess it was just destiny."
"Someone sent her a video on Whatsapp, and the next message says 'tomorrow again?'"
"From the same person."
"Now I am not one of those people who checks my partner's phone, I don't like that."
"But I was curious and clicked on it. It was a full 2 minute video of her hooking up with someone"
"Needless to say there was no anniversary dinner."- kmiaw
Even though everyone here says they wish they'd never learned these things, one has to imagine some of these people are, deep down, grateful.
As they may have been saved from trouble or pain down the line.
Even if it doesn't make these discoveries any easier.
It's ok to be naughty.
But sometimes... you wanna watch yourself.
Naughty can lead to trouble.
And we're talking adult naughty.
Maybe it's time we discussed it all.
Rule #1... Better safe than sorry.
Redditor Black_Hole_Baken-00wanted hear from all the people willing to share sexy secrets that might leave plenty of people blushing. They asked:
"What’s your most shameful NSFW moment?"
Elevators. Stairwells. Planes. You name it. I've shamed it. No Deets...
don't worry I wasn't naked...
"I was watching adult videos in the middle of the night. After I did my deed I felt a slight pain in my balls, like someone flicked their finger on them. The pain increased to the point that I had to walk it out. After some minutes I began screaming from the pain when my parents came to my room (don't worry I wasn't naked) seeing me in pain on the floor."
"At that moment I thought I did something wrong but was to ashamed to tell them.My dad rushed me to the emergency room where I was rushed in and my pants were removed. Laying there they gave me a nose spray which halted some of the pain. The doctor then started fondling my family jewels while the nurse stood next to me reminding me to breath because the nose spray stopped the automatic breathing if that makes sense."
"All the time my dad is standing there looking and the only thing I could thing at that moment was oh no do they think my unit is small. After that the doctors brought me to another room while my dad was in another room. While going trough the halls I told the doctor I probably know the cause and explained that I was pleasuring myself"
"I don't remember the doctors response but I felt truly ashamed like I was the only person doing such a thing. Later the doctor told me I had testicular Torsion which is caused by the balls not being attached to the sack so I'm living in fear of it happening again to this day."
Sick-Man_NL
"WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING??"
"In the 90's/early 2000's we bought a pub and moved into it. It had a big screen downstairs and we lived above, but Sky Sports was so expensive for the business account we basically hooked the giant screen to our box upstairs so whenever the sport was on it would show on the screen downstairs."
"So we couldn't watch TV upstairs except what was being shown on the big screen when this was happening. Anyway one Sunday evening around 10pm after the sport (bearing in mind the sport finished at 6pm) I was freely browsing through channels because the giant screen has been wound up into the ceiling and my 14 year old self came across some softcore adult videos"
"Curious, I started watching it. Suddenly there was a big buzz from the phone that connected to downstairs, I answer it. It's my mum with laughing in the background. "WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING??" I was like "errr.. I was just flicking through channels.." "Well you've stayed on that one for a while haven't you?"
"I forgot about the small TV in the bar area. It was still on and was showing the entire pub what my horny self was watching. I was mortified. Luckily my mum never brought it up again and neither did any of the customers thankfully."
Parish87
I Gotta Go
"When i was 12 my younger sister walked in on me playing fondle the dongle. I told her I couldn't pee and was trying to force/pump it out. She told my mom out of worry. Said I needed a doctor to help me pee. When Mom confronted me about what my sister was saying i then had to explain it to her."
itisbaileyikilledyou
"My mom walked in on me. The look on her face went from incomprehension to shock to utter disgust over the span of a second or two. She stayed calm and explained how it wasn't appropriate, but I just remember how unsmiling and tense she was, totally unlike I'd ever seen her. Decades ago but still cringe so much recalling it."
A_Dazzling_Method
Oh. My. God. Y'all are animals. And I'm LIIIIVVVING for it!
“underwear”
"My dad caught me editing the game files of The Sims to replace the female underwear textures with 'underwear' that just makes them look nude. Looked up reference material and edited them in photoshop. That a lot of effort to put into something so depraved."
IrrelevantPuppy
Mistakes
"When i was about 10, my parents were out so I looked up some adult videos on the family computer (mistake number 1), then I kept hearing noises and thought someone was in the house so i ran to my room and called my dad, leaving to computer on (mistake number 2)."
"My dad rushed home and went around the house looking for an intruder, no one was there, it was just my next door neighbors (we have a semi-detached house) then obviously saw what i was looking at on the computer and asked me about it… i told him the intruder must of broken in and searched it up :( "
Educational_Top122
Library Time
"In middle school, my friend got her boobs and she wanted me to touch them. We probably spent 30 minutes everyday before school until the librarian caught us and we were suspended."
Shef43
I wonder if she knew...
"My HS gf and I were having sex in the sideways laying down cuddling position. Mom walked in to show me a new Christmas decoration. To her it looked like we were just cuddling but she sat on the bed inches away from me and proceeded to talk about the decoration for like 10 minutes. I wonder if she knew. They never cared much about that stuff so I think she was just oblivious."
MyPupWrigley
I'm Dead
"I was violently ill. In my fiancé’s house where we were living. While he was at work, his dad was working from home. I needed my mom to take me to the hospital. I screamed for my father in laws help, who entered the bathroom to my nude body, puking at t in his bathtub. He called my mom for me, and we never spoke about it."
hammybachy
Well I need a cold shower and more vodka.
Don't have sex with people attached to someone already.
There is no good excuse.
There is no reason that makes it worth it.
Most of the time the "reasons" are lies.
RedditorVirtual_Welder_4525wanted to hear from those willing to spill a little tea about some bedmates. They asked:
"People who knowingly have slept with someone who was in a relationship, why did you do it?"
Why do we do it? I still don't know what I was thinking.
Hot. Not.
"I was young and it made me feel hot/desired . It was dumb."
miau121212
Liar
"She told me that she was in an open relationship but turned out that she was lying."
ipg9
"Yeah, I had the same thing happen. Girl told me she was in an open relationship, I slept with her, then she told her boyfriend about it. So the next day I get a call from her boyfriend, threatening to kick my @ss."
"Story does have a happy ending though. I had text history of our conversation leading up to the hookup, as well as her texting me about how good it was after I had left. I sent him screenshots, showing proof of her saying she was in an open relationship. He dumped her and apologized for believing her."
Zappiticas
Come to your senses...
"I was freshly 18 working a restaurant gig and the attractive shift manger took an interest. Hooked up at work a few times on overnight shifts. One day his gf came in to eat and I realized they weren’t as on and off as he said. Wish I could stay I stopped there, but it happened once or twice more before both of us came to our senses. I think he was 27? Ended up getting my number and sending me inappropriate texts for the next three months after I quit that job. I still feel slimy."
silverpawsMN
23...
"I was 23 when it started and it went on for years and I felt like literal scum afterward every single time, but the sex was good, and I hated myself, so I figured it was the best I could do and I deserved to feel like crap. I justified it because I wasn't the only one he was cheating on his wife with, he had two or three other girls in rotation. I was just dumb and selfish and self sabotaging."
idontcare4205
Gross
"'You were gone! He was here!'", Shadynasty."
Johnny5isalive38
Humans will just do it anywhere. Just like pigs.
Like A...
"I was young and a virgin. She was gorgeous and sweet. She spun me a story about how bad her relationship was and I was hooked."
seemsmildbutdeadly
4+ Years
"I was 20/21 and had finally gotten out of an abusive household and was barely financially stable and not at all mentally stable. He was A LOT older than I was (his son was older than I was by a couple of years) but he did generally treat me pretty well."
"It went on for 4+ years. We were far from an ideal couple, even had he not been married, but overall it was a positive thing in my life at a time when I really needed it, and it became a safety net. It ended years ago and I feel deeply ashamed of it and my actions."
"But I've grown enough to know that I'm not that same person anymore and I'd never repeat it. I did learn that a poly relationship definitely suits me better than a monogamous relationship - but it can and should be done ethically and morally."
Mendel247
Her wife found out...
"I was in love but also young and selfish and could easily ignore that she was married/she was AGGRESSIVE in pursuing me for years (flying across states to see me, tracking me down at restaurants I would frequent, telling me she loved me and her marriage was in shambles, texting me from new numbers every time I told her to leave me alone). We started the stereotypical long-distance emotional affair that went into sexting/sexy pics. Her wife found out."
Femmeforever
No Excuses
"I was young and drunk, with low self esteem and a crippling need for validation. She came onto me and I found it hard to say no. I justified it to myself as I knew their relationship was on the rocks anyway. I figured, well it's basically over. They just aren't formally broken up. They did split up a few months later. I'm not excusing it, I knew it was wrong."
user262
Typical...
"Didn't know any better. Horny stupid teens do stupid horny things. Wouldn't happen nowadays."
AuthCentDegenerate2
Oh the things we do for a hot roll in the hay. Be better people.
Everyone harbors a secret of some kind, from someone
And even though these particular secrets might be of no harm or consequence to others, many still can't quite find it in them to reveal the truth.
Even if it's something they once did as a child.
Redditor kyyojust gave the Reddit community the opportunity to come clean about their long harbored secrets, by taking to Reddit to ask:
"Whats is a (minor) confession you would like to make today?"
They had it coming!
"I pissed in my bully’s shoes on a field trip to the public pool when I was 10."- eddieswiss
She needed the help
"I entered a Halloween coloring page contest as my little sister and won first place."- drspachemmon
Making Lemonade with unwanted lemons
"I have a shopping cart in my back yard."
"A homeless person left it in my front yard."
"He took everything out of it, so it was empty."
"It had a "call this number and we will retrieve this cart" phone number on it."
"The cart belonged to a BIG STORE chain that everyone has heard about."
"The person who answered, asked me to identify the cart."
"It had some sort of number or word on it, I don't recall."
"The employee told me the cart came from the store a good 15 miles north of me."
"And to call that store."
"Okay?"
"The sign on the cart said to call this number."
"Nope."
"They don't do that anymore."
"Call the other store."
"I called the other store."
"They said they were not going to come and get it, because I was outside of their 'range'."
"Instead I should take the cart to their closer store."
"Me take the cart?"
"Dude, I'm doing you a solid here just by telling you where it is."
"Okay, call the local store."
"Local store says they don't pick up carts that don't belong to them."
"Tells me to call their cart recovery service, who will deliver the cart.'
"Okay, now we are going somewhere!"
'I call the cart delivery service."
"They tell me that they will pick up the cart and deliver it."
"If I pay them $20."
"WHAT!?"
"You should pay ME!"
"'You know it is against city law to keep a grocery store's cart?'"
''You could get arrested for it'."
"Fine."
"Thank you for that advice."
"So, on the advice of the cart delivery service, I removed identifying signs from the cart.'
"It now serves as an aluminum can holder in my back yard."
"I bolted a can crusher to it.'
"When the cart is full, I crush the cans."
"When I fill a 35 gallon trash can with crushed cans, I toss it in the bed of my truck and cash out."
"I get about $30 bucks or so for it, a couple of times a year."- calladus
I just couldn't bear to face them
"There was a 3 week period of my life where everyday I would purchase a large Dairy Queen blizzard, then park and consume it alone in my car."
"One day I finished my Blizzard but wasn’t satisfied, by this time I had been going to the same Dairy Queen for so long the drive through workers recognized me."
"Instead of pulling through the drive through again I shamefully drove 20 mins away to the next Dairy Queen and got another there."- Complete_Fox733
False pretenses
"A friend I hadn't talked to in a while hit me up with a DM on twitter and I was like 'oh, yay! I haven't talked to them in a long time[ only to found out they were pitching their kickstarter, so it made me a little sad."- Digiko
Ignorance is bliss
"Currently eating an ice cream sandwich and intentionally concealing it from my 2 year old so he doesn’t demand a bite."- flappinginthewind69
I just didn't want it to end
"I could have finished my entire workload today in maybe two hours flat."
"But I dragged it out."- misterpickleman
A for effort, or E for evasion?
"I didn't attend one of my courses when I was studying abroad in Spain."
"I looked for the classroom on day one, couldn't find it, just didn't go for the rest of the semester."
"They chalked it up to an administrative error and i got full credit for the program."- takethecannoIi
Carrying a secret can result in stress and anxiety, so getting them off your chest will feel like a huge sigh of relief!
Though, there's also no shame in hiding those ice cream sandwiches...