While travel suggestions are available today from various sources online and on social media, chances are high, they probably is not going to be from a one who has flown 23 million miles. Meet Tom Stuker, the person who has done precisely that by flying all all over the world for years now, at all times staying loyal to his favorite airline, United Airlines.
A temporary history
Based in Chicago, Tom has been a member of United’s Mileage Plus loyalty program since 1983 and has at all times flown with United or one in every of the opposite Star Alliance member airlines. It took him 19 years to fly his first five million miles after which an extra ten years to succeed in 10 million miles, making him United’s first-ever passenger to achieve this.
Actually, in 2011, when Tom crossed the ten million miles mark, United honored him by naming one in every of its Boeing 747-400 after him. The airline also held celebrations within the air and on the bottom when Tom passed the 20 million miles mark.
It’s reported that Tom’s favorite seat is 1B and that he once went 12 days without sleeping on a bed by just jetting all over the world.
His advice for summer travel
During an interview with the Washington Post, when asked if the veteran in flying had any suggestions for this 12 months’s summer travels, Tom got here up with 4 points.
1. Friendly cabin crews
The very first thing Tom suggested was being friendly and complimenting the primary flight attendant a passenger meets upon boarding the aircraft and thanking them for his or her outstanding service the last time, even when there was not a final time.
“She’s the pinnacle attendant. I at all times say, ‘I remember you! You gave us such great service last time. I desired to thanks again.’ Even when I’ve never met her. I guarantee she’ll bring you every kind of free stuff.”
2. Seating arrangement
The second tip, which Tom suggested, is catered toward passengers who may not have received the seat allocation of their alternative.
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For this particular issue, Tom’s suggested treatment for passengers is to have the seat map for the flight open on the airline’s application. This fashion, the passengers can view which seats of their cabin class are still unallocated, thus allowing passengers to select a preferable seat if available.
Nevertheless, passengers need to do not forget that while it’s perfectly alright to maneuver to an empty seat since it stays unsold, sometimes airlines block out specific seats within the cabin on account of system inoperability and even safety reasons comparable to unusable seatbelts. Hence, it’s at all times a very good idea to double-check with the cabin crew in case you can move to a different empty seat.
3. The bags
The third piece of recommendation imparted by Tom was to not carry any bags for checking in, and any handbags that passengers carry with them onboard need to be as flippantly packed as possible. Tom commented,
“Every town has laundromats. And stores.”
Photo: ImYanis | Shutterstock
While it could be unavoidable to have checked luggage sometimes, consolidating all the pieces into the minimum number of baggage remains to be a very good idea. By having fewer bags, statistically, the waiting time required for passengers to receive all their checked-in luggage at their destination is reduced. It’s also a matter of convenience for passengers in terms of handling all their luggage, especially after what could possibly be a long-haul flight.
4. Phone call etiquette
The ultimate piece of recommendation is something that applies to all passengers. Tom indicated that every one passengers should be considerate of their fellow travelers and crew when using their communication devices and never make calls on loudspeakers without headphones.
What do you think that of Tom Stuker’s travel suggestions? Tell us within the comments!