However, showing appreciation for the hardworking flight attendants is a nice gesture which could boost their mood.
If passengers do score a special first class dessert, they could be in for a real treat on some airlines.
First class desserts on Emirates include an orange frangipane tart, chocolate mango tart or even a cheese board.
The airline also offers free luxury chocolates to its first class passengers as well as a cheese board option.
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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Alex and Willow Rymer were supposed to jet off from Manchester Airport to Cape Verde when TUI staff pulled them aside at the departure gate to tell them the plane was too full. The couple were two of 26 people booted off the flight 25-minutes before its departure.
Arranging time to go away is particularly difficult for the pair as Alex, 52, is a full-time carer for his 94-year-old dementia-suffering mother, reports The Mirror.
To make matters worse, the refund TUI is due to send them covers the amount they paid two years ago – which is worth considerably less now due to the high rate of inflation.
“We have the cat in the cattery, my mum has dementia and we had to organise care for her,” said Alex, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
“Family members have taken time off work to care for her. I’m my 94-year-old mother’s full-time carer and this was was my week of respite.
“TUI just don’t give a monkeys. It’s the lack of care.”
Alex and Willow were looking forward to their holiday to the TUI BLUE Cabo Verde resort in Cape Verde, having been there three times before and loved it.
They had had to delay their honeymoon for a year, having got married during Covid lockdown.
When Alex tried to check-in online the day before they were due to depart on Sunday, he received an error message, prompting him to call the TUI helpline.
After 25 minutes on the phone the line went dead, leading him to hold for 54 minutes a second time before a customer service representative told him to print the boarding pass at the airport.
On Saturday evening Alex and Willow arrived at Manchester Airport and checked into a hotel there, ready to get up bright and early for their Sunday morning flight.
After two and a half hours of waiting in the departure hall, and having checked in their bags, a Tannoy message urged them to find a member of staff.
The newlyweds were told that there was not enough room on the 767 – which had been swapped in for the 787 Dreamliner – for them or 24 other people.
“They said just six of us weren’t contacted before we got to the airport,” Alex said.
“We said that was outrageous and they must have known before. They weren’t interested.”
The couple are now fighting to get compensation for their airport hotel stay and parking, while feeling gutted that their honeymoon has been cancelled indefinitely.
A spokesperson for TUI said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience to our customers on flight TOM586 from Manchester to Sal, Cape Verde, on Sunday 22 May who were affected by an aircraft change due to operational issues.
“We contacted affected customers as soon as we became aware of the change, offering the options to cancel their holiday for a full refund, amend their holiday with an incentive or change onto an alternative flight.
“We understand how frustrating and disappointing this will have been and are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
A TikTokker has gone viral for posting a video of herself sharing a tip on how to make the most of luggage space on a Ryanair flight. Kristen Black, who goes by the username @kristenashleyblack on TikTok, shared the tip to help others fit more clothes in their Ryanair carry-on bag.
Passengers flying with Ryanair are only allowed one carry-on bag with them on a flight.
To take more clothes with them on holiday, they must pay extra to put a bag in the hold.
This can sometimes cost passengers more than the flight itself, and so it’s worth trying to pack light to try and fit everything in one bag.
Kristen has shared how passengers can make more room in their bag.
READ MORE: Simon Calder shares essential tip amid passport chaos
The captions accompanying Kristen’s video read: “How to pack for your Ryanair flight when you have zero luggage allowance.”
She then went on to share another hack, with the text in her video reading: “Use your hat for the souvenirs you bought during ya trip.”(sic)
Kristen put a souvenir gift on her head and placed her hat on top of it.
Lastly, she put items in the pockets of her coat, with the video’s text reading: “Stuff those pockets.”
Jackson commented: “Pretty similar to what I did on my easyJet flight. Was wearing three pairs of trousers, four t-shirts, hoodie, jacket with pockets for days.”
Sinead added: “You cracked the code girl.”
User xg00sebomps wrote: “So helpful and one of my favs right now thanks guuuurl.”(sic)
Travelgirl_lasvegas said: “This is….genius.”
However, user ii.szymon said: “Just get priority with a suitcase, it’s not even expensive.”
User bay said: “I’d rather pay the extra fees than look like you.”
Cracktoosie added: “But if I did this I’d get tackled to the floor.”
@flywithmerm uses her TikTok account to provide an insight into her life in the sky. In one video, she showed her almost 200,000 followers how to pack light – a concept many struggle with.
For working out, she packs a lightweight sports bra and leggings.
She continued: “I’ll pack a dress because that’s easy to fold, they’re thin and I can wear that out or just chilling.”
It’s key to pick clothing that can be worn both day and night to avoid overpacking for every eventuality.
Being strict is a must when it comes to packing properly, according to the expert.
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“I pack one pair of jeans, and that gives me room to pack my flats, my sneakers, which I use for the gym and for going out.
Some more essential items include her makeup bag and hair products.
If, and only if, she has space, @flywithmerm brings a pair of heels.
For the flight and waiting around the airport, a blanket can also come in handy.
She stated: “In my lunchbox I’ll pack whatever I left out.”
These packing tips were extremely popular with flying newbies as well as seasoned flyers – it seems that packing light is a universal struggle.
TikTok users were amazed at her packing skills, with @mariamsalif saying: “Bless your heart, I could never.”
@caramelmochatwist seconded the sentiment: “This is hard to do,” to which the flight attendant responded, “A lot of sacrifice”.
In the comments section, @flywithmerm revealed that she isn’t a “fan” of packing cubes.
And in another handy video, the helpful flight attendant generously outlined some simple flight tips for new flyers.
These tips included bringing a neck pillow and blanket onboard, making sure to pack headphones for inflight, and staying prepared by getting personal items together in the gatehouse (waiting area).
She also recommended bringing an eye-mask for some inflight shuteye and a credit card for food and alcoholic drinks.
The last of @flywithmerm’s tips were to bring an empty water bottle and refill at water stations around the airport, and have your boarding pass ready when getting on the plane.
Normally the cabin crew will put the seatbelt signs on when turbulence hits and passengers aren’t supposed to leave their seats.
If it’s an emergency passengers could try asking the crew if they can go to the toilet but the attendants might say no.
While turbulence normally feels a lot more dramatic on the plane than it actually is, someone could still fall and have an accident.
If the plane toilet paper is noticeably dirty, passengers could ask the crew to provide a fresh roll.
One commenter on TikTok said: “Solid gold tip. Why do the curtains never completely shut?”
Victoria responded: “I have no idea! But it’s super annoying when it happens.”
One traveller shared their own tip, saying: “I use a big claw hair clip but that’s a good one!”
A huge hair clip could also keep a hotel’s curtains closed but it might not work if the curtains are particularly heavy.
Most hotels have floor length curtains which can be a lot heavier than ones in an average household.
Delta Air Lines on Friday morning will launch its inaugural commercial flight of the Airbus A321neo narrowbody aircraft on a flight from Boston to San Francisco, which will feature a newly designed first-class cabin.
The new first-class cabin will feature 20 seats, complete with memory foam, that are 21 inches wide and include five inches of recline and 37 inches of pitch, according to Delta. In addition, the seat is outfitted with 10-inch screens, a fixed headrest, “wings” for more privacy, a larger and sturdier tray table with 25 percent more workspace compared with Delta’s A321ceo domestic first-class seat, three times the storage of that aircraft for electronic devices, an in-arm water-bottle storage space and large overhead bins.
Another design element is an electronic outlet panel flush with the seat as opposed to in the back of the seat in front, therefore eliminating the potential for cords to be in the way of the person in the window seat when they want to access the aisle.
“If you think about domestic first class, nothing major has been done in the United States for the past 20-plus years,” Delta VP of brand experience Mauricio Parise told BTN during a “ferry” flight that brought the aircraft from Atlanta to Boston. “We really spent time with customers starting five years ago to understand what the needs are of a five- to six-hour flight in a domestic plane.”
Delta surveyed its corporate advisory board, which meets quarterly, for input, Parise said. The company also brought both corporate and leisure customers—”but with a bias toward corporate”—to its offices to talk about their needs and to test the new seats for functionality. The three key elements travelers wanted were the ability to sleep, especially if on a redeye flight, more privacy and more and better storage, Parise said.
The first-class cabin also included Delta’s new premium-cabin Someone Somewhere sustainability-focused amenity kits, and offered Viasat satellite Wi-Fi, with streaming access for $5 per device, and free messaging.
Delta has taken delivery of two A321neo aircraft so far and expects to have 26 by the end of 2022. The aircraft offers 20 percent better fuel efficiency over Delta’s current A321ceo planes, according to the company, which has a total of 155 ordered to be delivered through 2027. In addition to the 20 first-class seats, the aircraft’s configuration includes 42 Delta Comfort-plus seats and 132 Main cabin seats—all with memory foam cushioning and the 10-inch screens.
The next routes to be serviced by the A321neo will be Boston-Seattle beginning Aug. 11, then Boston to each San Diego and Denver starting Aug. 20, according to the company. Plans are to keep it to domestic routes, not transatlantic, Parise said.
“As the fleet grows, you’ll see this airplane with any airport with long domestic hauls—Boston, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Detroit,” Parise added. Delta also is considering adding flat beds to the product, but only on a small portion of the total fleet. “There’s no timing or routes yet, and it will be a minority of the planes, but we have plans.”
One TikTok user revealed their hack: “I take a suit bag and I place as many jackets and sweaters in it and stuff it’s pockets with your socks and what not.”
This hack could save tourists lots of money when it comes to baggage check-in.
The cheapest seats on budget airline, easyJet, only allow passengers to bring one small carry-on bag which has to fit under the seat in front, and an additional accessory such as a laptop or handbag for free.
Every item of standard checked hold baggage incurs a fee, payable at the time of booking or at the airport for a higher charge.
The total hold baggage allowance is 20kg per person.
Many of the credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertising policy page for more information.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.