Travel advice from Anna Niles. A flight attendant’s TOP TIPS.
By Lisa Player / Photos by Kate Treick Photography
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or new to the skies, tips to make your journey more enjoyable are always welcome. Anna Niles, a longtime flight attendant and frequent world traveler, recently shared her best tips for packing and flying, some of her favorite destinations, what to bring back from your trip, and how not to be THAT person on a plane.
Niles, who lives in Gulf Breeze, is the mother of five and is married to Thomas, a pilot. She’s been flying for 38 years, and she doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. After a brief stint as a college counselor at Pensacola State College (the former PJC), Niles tagged along with a friend and applied for a flight attendant job on a lark. Then she got the job. She started with Piedmont, then switched to U.S. Airways, which then became American.
“After 9/11, I took a 10-year leave. A lot of people didn’t even know I was a flight attendant,” she said.
The airlines offered leaves of absence after 9/11 because air travel slowed dramatically. Niles, who had four children at the time, took one of the offered leaves, which helped prevent another flight attendant from being furloughed. She had her youngest child during this hiatus and was allowed to retain her years of service and seniority. Once she went back to work, she had the seniority to start doing international destinations, and that opened up the world for her family.
“I started taking my kids on my trips. And they fell in love with travel. I just made it work.”
Whether her trips were domestic or international, she’d often have one or more of her kids in tow. Niles would work on the flight on the way, then have a layover for one or more days to explore with the kids.
“People thought I was crazy, but I’m like, you know what? This is what this job is all about. We always said that the kids’ experiences are as valuable as their education. I think travel is something that’s so important,” she said.
Having been all over the globe, Niles is happy to share her travel expertise.
PLAN AND PLAN SOME MORE
Niles stresses the importance of good planning because there are always glitches when flying.
“You just always have a backup plan. You know, more than one backup plan. A, B, C and D.”
She recommends starting your trip early in the morning.
“I’ll start with the first flight out. I know it’s hard to get up in the morning, but go with the first flight,” she said.
That way, you’re less likely to feel the consequences of earlier flight delays, and you still have time to get another flight out if yours is cancelled. Check the flight schedules for the day and know whether there’s another one you can take if you need to. Also, be sure to know what hotels are near the airport if you have to stay overnight. If the first leg of your flight is delayed, are you going to miss your connection? If you can already tell that’s going to happen, get on your app or phone right away and start trying to rebook on another flight. Don’t wait until you land and get in line with everyone else.
If you have a special dietary restriction, you should order your meals (for longer flights only) at least 24 hours in advance. If not, they might not be available.
Ensure that older passengers who require assistance have sufficient time to arrive at the airport, get settled, and also have enough time between flights to transfer to a new terminal or gate.
Niles says that on longer flights, she recommends going ahead and buying a seat for a two-and-under child. Having that extra space to handle your child is priceless.
While at the airport, stay alert and check your phone for gate and flight changes. The airlines sometimes don’t change the gate sign when a gate changes, and Niles told the story of an older couple who missed a gate change announcement and continued sitting at the wrong gate, almost missing their flight.
PERFECT PACKING
Great packing is key to having a great trip. Start with your carry-on bag.
“Basically, as long as you have money, your medicine, and one change of clothes, you’re good,” Niles advised.
Consider bringing along some anti-nausea medicine, either over the counter or prescription, if you tend to get motion sickness.
Sometimes, the airline doesn’t load the wired headphones to use to watch the in-flight entertainment, so she advises planning for that, among other things.
“Be prepared; bring everything you think you might need, especially if you have kids. We don’t stock diapers. We don’t have snacks for your baby,” she said.
Depending on the length of your trip, you might want to try to keep it to one bag, so pack light with versatile clothes that don’t wrinkle and that you can layer and wear in multiple ways. Some spray-on wrinkle releaser would be handy.
“I do like the packing cubes, because they do kind of keep things separate. And I just use a good old-fashioned Ziploc bag for the liquid stuff, so that doesn’t spill out in your bag,” Niles said.
When planning to check luggage or other large items, keep this in mind: If you are late to the airport, you may have to book another flight. The airlines won’t check luggage when it’s too close to departure (usually 45 minutes for domestic and one hour for international flights). So arrive early if you’re planning to check bags.
It’s also smart to add something to your bags to distinguish them from others.
“A lot of flight attendants will have things that say, ‘This is not your bag,’” Niles said.
Any type of loud bag tag, bright luggage strap or unique ribbon tied to the handle will help.
Niles always brings disposable plastic grocery bags to put shoes in because of dirt and germs picked up while traveling, and she carries a little set of international outlet plug converters.
SLEEP AND TRAVEL
Traveling can be exhausting, and there are endless tips for how to handle jet lag. Niles, for one, doesn’t want to miss a minute at a fabulous destination.
“I don’t nap. Unless I land at six in the morning — when I may nap for about an hour — I go right out, especially if I take any of my family with me because you’ve only got a short time. You can do a lot in 24 hours,” she said. “And I totally mess up my sleep schedule if I stay on our time. So my tip is immediately get on their time.”
One way to do this is to get out in sunlight as soon as you can, which will help to reset your body’s circadian rhythm quickly.
Since Niles is working on the flight, she often doesn’t get to sleep midair, except for longer trips when the crew actually gets breaks to nap.
“But, when you’re on the plane as a passenger, you probably need to go ahead and rest up so you can be ready to go,” Niles said.
However, she advises against taking a powerful narcotic sleep aid, which can be problematic for both the knocked-out sleeper and nearby passengers, who might have to crawl over them to go to the bathroom.
DON’T BE A
PROBLEM PASSENGER
Niles really enjoys her job, and most passengers are wonderful. But there are always a few challenges. She mostly stresses treating the crew with respect and understanding the rules that limit what they can and can’t do for you.
“I always try and treat people on the plane like it was my family, you know, how I’d want somebody to treat my mother or my child,” she said. “I do really think about the fact that people don’t travel all the time like I do.”
She said that there are different levels of travelers, and some are not as polite as others.
“Please don’t come back into our galley and do yoga!” she said. “People come back there, and they kind of invade your space. You know, if you want to walk around — and I do think you should get up and walk around — just don’t come back there and do a yoga class.”
It’s a good idea to fill your water bottle at the airport before boarding. Niles said that, while she doesn’t mind requests to fill a bottle, some flight attendants won’t do it.
“I don’t want you to get dehydrated because on the longer flights, I mean, you will pass out,” she said.
And while on some international flights, the alcoholic drinks are complimentary, “don’t feel like you have to drink and drink and drink, because that’s a bad combination. You know, you’re dehydrated, you’re adding alcohol, you’re at a higher altitude. We’ve had more people pass out or not feel well. We have to call the physician on duty, and we might have to land the plane,” she said.
Another annoyance is people who get on the plane and, before it takes off, they’re video calling someone and talking out loud so everyone around has to listen to the whole conversation.
“Yeah, don’t do that. Wear your earbuds; be considerate of others around you,” Niles suggested.
Niles said passengers shouldn’t make a mess and expect the flight attendants to clean it up.
“My job is primarily to be on here for your safety, and I serve you a meal and a drink.”
Don’t be like the dad who gave his kid popcorn on the plane, and then the popcorn ended up all over the seats and floor. Or the famous singer who was in first class, eating peanuts and candy, throwing the shells and wrappers all over.
“I thought … somebody has to clean that up!” Niles said.
What many passengers don’t realize is that the ground crew often has to “turn” planes really fast, which means they have to clean and restock the plane quickly so it can be boarded to go right back out.
And finally, Niles says that if you can’t lift your own bag, you should check it.
“Please don’t think we’re being rude when you say, ‘Can you lift my bag?’ and we reply, ‘No, I cannot lift your bag,’” she explained. “Ask another passenger if you need help. If I get hurt doing that, I’m off of work.”
FAVORITE DESTINATIONS
If it’s on a map, Niles has likely been there. She has traveled for work, for church and for fun. But she does have some favorite places.
“Internationally, I would say Budapest and Prague are absolutely beautiful. For European destinations, Lisbon. Of course, I always go back to my faith. I like to go to churches. Churches are absolutely beautiful.”
She doesn’t stop there, though.
“Germany’s one of my favorite destinations — probably Munich. Went over there for all the Christmas markets — absolutely beautiful. And the castles!”
Another perfect stop is in Ireland, where, as usual, Niles finds a fun day trip to occupy her time.
“Dublin’s one of my favorite cities,” she said. “Go cliffwalking. There’s a little town called Howth, that is literally a train ride away.”
Niles also loves Nice, France, and the easy treks from there to Monaco or Cannes.
“Last year that was my favorite destination because it was the first time I’ve ever been. The hotels are so nice. They’re like, ‘Your family is our family.’ We actually were there last year when the Tour de France came through.”
When she is based out of Miami and goes to South America, Buenos Aires is also a favorite destination, as is Rio.
For domestic destinations, Niles likes southern cities like Charleston and Miami. All the better if a friend lives close by. She once had a 30-hour layover in Louisville, Kentucky, and was able to spend the whole day with a friend who lives there.
YES, YOU CAN
BRING BACK FOOD
Niles knows all the ins and outs of what you can and can’t bring back through customs, and she’s happy to share her favorites. However, always check the current guidelines at USDA and customs websites as rules can change.
She has brought back Malbec wine, European chocolate, French butter, Dutch cheese and many other treats.
“You cannot bring back any fruit. You cannot bring back any meats. But cheese, as long as it’s sealed, you can bring back as much cheese as you want,” she said.
She often brings along a little cooler to store/carry any cold purchases on the way home.
FLYING FEARS
When it comes to the typical worries passengers have about flying, Niles says to trust the pilots.
“I have a husband that’s a pilot and he has always reassured me — other pilots have always reassured me — there’ve been no plane crashes due to turbulence,” she said. “You know what I mean? I always feel like pilots — they have a family. They’re not going to do anything unsafe.”
In fact, when she does get those precious few hours to nap on long international flights, Niles actually likes some turbulence to rock her to sleep.
Before flights, the crew gets together with the pilot for a briefing, where they find out what the weather is going to be like and if there will be turbulence at certain points. During the flight, the pilot will call back and tell the crew the level of any turbulence: mild, moderate or severe. That’s how they know when to turn on the seatbelt signs and when they shouldn’t be serving hot beverages.
Airline pilots and crews are highly trained to get you where you’re going safely, so put your worries to rest and enjoy your trip.
THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
What started on a whim for Niles became a lifelong career and travel obsession for her entire family. All five of her kids have traveled extensively with her, and they all love it, too. Even after 38 years, Niles has no plans to stop.
“I can’t imagine any other job,” she said.
