Avoid paying for seats on the aircraft and getting faster service

Emirates has a nice selection of special meals to order from but on the down side they also charge additional fees to select a seat on long international flights

After many many years, we once again had a rainy Christmas. Nearly 20 mm of rain soaked the earth and the day went by much quieter than usual because the neighbours preferred not to gather around the pool and the barbecue. With Christmas gone for another year, we can start looking at those abstracts (you still have a week for the ICDE early bird abstract), conferences and travelling. 

Well, let us focus on how to get faster service on aircraft first. When booking, you can choose your meal preferences. Make sure that you choose something other than the standard meal and you will be served first with your meal. That way you will be finished with your meal and already sleeping or watching a movie when the standard meal cart arrives at your side. Depending on the airline, you will have a good or great selection to choose from and if you are adventurous, try something you do not usually eat at home. There are also religious food options on most international flights. The down side of this is that more and more people are ordering special meals and therefore even this service is becoming slower than what it used to be. 

More and more airlines add fees when you want so select a specific seat, even on long international flights. This must also be brought into consideration when doing the initial research for the costs of the ticket because you normally pay in US Dollars or Euros which could add a significant amount to the price of the ticket. One way to avoid this is to select your seat only when you check in, usually 24 to 48 or 72 hours before the flight but then most of the better seats are already taken. You can also use your loyalty membership benefits to ensure that you do not need to pay for your seat. Normally, when you reach the second level of membership, your benefits include options to select a seat when booking without having to pay for it and the option to board with first class and business class passengers even if your seat is in economy class. So do check the benefits of the different levels of membership of your preferred airlines and start to use them to your advantage the next time you travel.