Air travelling tips for 2006

I spent 14 hours travelling from Anchorage, Alaska back home to Toronto, Canada yeesterday. With the bonus loss of 4 hours, all told I lost a full waking day. This trip happened less than a week after the world banned flying with gels, liquids, and pastes. And I was on the vacation end of travelling without checkable luggage, just a Roots knapsack and a MEC bag. From this experience, here are a few tips I'd like to share with the wayward traveller of 2006:

1. No beverages? No problem. Many travellers were concerned about dehydration on the long flights. And while bringing on your own beverages was banned, the flight authorities did not ban empty bottles. I brought my trusty water bottle, emptied and innocent, onto the plane, and immediately asked the flight attendant to fill it up. There I sat with a full beverage throughout the flight, happily hydrating.
   
2. No toothpaste? On the redeye? Think again. Modern gum plus your toothbrush can work wonders. Grab that pack of sugar-free, and chew up a couple pieces rapidly and throughout your mouth. Then pop back to the lavatory, spit it out, and brush. It isn't perfect. But it'll do for now. Apparently, the flight authorities (FA) haven't figured out that gums could be as dangerous as pastes and gels. And until they do, chew.
   
3. Footwear is always suspicious. Consider wearing shoes that can be very easily removed. There are several styles in fashion this year that make for easy flying. Try a pair of flipflops or Birkenstocks. Or those odd ugly plastic colourful clogs that are circuling through the elite and redneck circles alike this summer. Easy to slip off and back on again through the security checkpoint. And who wears gel inserts in Birkenstocks? And remember to bring socks on board. For some reason many planes circulate cold air through the plane from ankle level beside the window seats. There is nothing worse than a frozen pair of ankles when you awake.
   
4. Douglas Adams knew where his towel was. So should you. Bring one, or a large pillow, as carry-on. Towels can be used for almost everything from a pillow to a blanket to a sack. And pillow cases make for nice sachels. You can fly sleeping in comfort all snuggled up with a cushioned head.
   
5. Pastes and gels. There's a word used only by drug and personal hygiene companies. But what is paste, beyond the tooth? Acfcording to Princeton, paste is:
   "any mixture of a soft and malleable consistency". while gel is: "a colloid in a more solid form than a sol". These substances can easily be added to or substituted for. A solid form of any of these can however travel with you, for now. Consider taking a solid bar of toothpaste with you. Solids aren't banned, yet. You can often buy such products in health and organic stores.
   
6. Consider FedEx. Before you leave for the airport, package up your banned items and have them shipped to your desitnation. This applies especially for those things that may be soon banned from checked luggage as well. For a few dollars, FedEx will ship anything anywhere, and you're assured that your precious cargo will actually arrive, often before you do.
   
7. Yes, I smoke. So far, a book or box of matches is allowed in your carry-on. Drop your lighter in your checked in luggage, or leave it behind. Matches may be old-fashioned, but after a 7 hour flight, but you can light up right away ourside the nearest airport exit. For connecting flights, keep in mind that only about half the airports in North America have a smoking lounge inside. Everyone knows where it is. Just ask. For those airports that prohibit all smoking, the journey out and in again through customs can't be skipped, but since you are already streamlined to do this, it may be worth it to stave those cravings off. Just be very sure you have your photo ID and boarding pass with you, and that you really do have enough time. And you can get a permit to carry a zippo lighter. Seriously.
   
8. My glass nail file - long, pointy, and rather dangerous looking - nevertheless has made it through dozens of airport security checks without question. Fascinating.
   
9. So far books and clothes are allowed. But consider the future of naked travelling. How close to naked are you comfortable with while travelling? Sounds odd, but we sure are heading in this direction. I like flipflops, a bathing suit, socks just in case, a sweatshirt and shorts. A small paperback is handy, or a puzzle book although pencils may become questionable. See if you can shave some of these items off. The less you have with you, the farther you'll go.
   
10. And remember, since you'll be the happiest and most comfortable passenger on the flight to share these tips with your fellow travellers. They'll be happy to have met you. What goes around, comes around.
    

If you have more tips, please add them here. Enjoy your travelling, and watch for the 2007 list.