Of all the means of transport that exist, we all know that flying can get quite expensive. This is why most of us choose to fly in economy class. But what most of us don’t know is that you can take advantage of many airplane freebies even if you fly economy.
When we want to buy tickets for a flight, we are already expecting to be charged for everything. Every time you fly, you discover a new thing the airline will charge you for. Because of this, we want you to know about these lesser-known airplane freebies.
We know that the days when you used to get free snacks and water are long gone, but according to flight attendants, there are still some things that you can get for free. The secret is that you should know about them.
1. Free cancellations and changes
Once you have booked your flight, you will know that this is it. In case something happens and you need to change or cancel your flight, you will have to pay a large amount, or you will never get back the whole amount of money you’ve paid.
But is this always true? Flight attendants say that this is not how things work, and you should stop being that afraid of changes and cancellations. Things are not how they used to be anymore, and airlines let you be more flexible when planning your trip.
And even if this is not one of the airplane freebies you would expect to find on this list, it’s still something that gives you an advantage. The pandemic managed to get rid of most fees regarding flight changes and cancellations.
Most airlines allow you to cancel the booking before checking in if you have an economy or main cabin ticket. You will then receive a credit that you may use for up to a year.
When buying your airline ticket, make sure to check the fine print or get in touch with customer service for any free modifications or cancellations.
2. Free dinner
Usually, there are not so many airlines that will give you free food, but this generally applies to domestic flights. If you fly internationally, things might be different. Since the flights cost more and also take longer, you will get more airplane freebies than on a regular domestic flight.
And even if you choose to fly in the main cabin, you don’t have to worry because you will get food. All of the major airlines will provide hot food for their passengers, and besides food, you will also have the choice of drinking juice or an alcoholic beverage of your choice, usually beer or wine.
So, no matter if you decide to fly in economy class, remember that you will still get a meal. Maybe it will not be your favorite, but you will have a main course, a salad, and a dessert, for sure.
3. Free Wi-Fi
Every time you take a fight, this can easily be one of the biggest problems you can encounter. Hopefully, Wi-Fi is one of the best airplane freebies you can get.
Indeed, it is not that easy to find it, but there are a few airlines that will provide free Wi-Fi to their travelers. If you know that you depend on the internet, try to get your tickets from one of these airlines.
Free Wi-Fi is available to passengers on the majority of JetBlue’s flights, though not all of them. Delta has also been discreetly offering free Wi-Fi on some routes. Also, Mileage Plus members of United receive a significant discount on it. The trick here is that joining the membership club is completely free.
4. Checked bags that are free
This sounds like something impossible, but if you know this trick, this is one of the best airplane freebies you can ever get. You can request that the baggage be gate-checked if you wish to check it without having to pay the charge.
Sometimes the gate agents will gladly take your baggage and check it in for free at the gate because they prefer to avoid filling up the bins. By keeping the bins free, they make sure that the flight won’t have a delay.
But this is not always working. If you still want to get free checked bags, you should look for airlines that offer this perk to their passengers. For example, if you travel with Fly Southwest, each seat comes with two free checked bags.
5. Free snacks
If you usually fly with low-cost companies such as Allegiant, Spirit, or Frontier, you might think that there is no chance you will ever receive free snacks again. But this is not actually true.
Yes, you will not find these airplane freebies on ultra-low-cost carriers, but if you choose to travel with legacy carriers such as American, United, or Delta, you might be lucky and get some free snacks.
In the main cabin, most airlines still provide free snacks. Travelers on a major airline using an economy ticket will receive a free snack along with their free beverage, which might be pretzels, cookies, chips, or stroopwafels.
But this is not only something that you find on big airlines. Some of the best budget airlines also offer snacks. In fact, Jet Blue invites customers to grab as many snacks as they wish at a self-serve counter located near the middle of the aircraft. Here, unlimited snacks are available throughout the entire flight.
6. Free headphones
Most people take their headphones with them when they are flying. This helps them pass the time, especially if the flight is longer. If you are one of them, you know what we are talking about. Maybe you want to listen to your favorite music or a podcast; it doesn’t matter; it is important to have the headphones with you.
Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that you forget the headphones. What are you going to do now? Get bored? If you are traveling with an airline that offers seat-back in-flight entertainment, you will probably not. If the plane has this feature, be sure that they will offer you a pair of headphones.
In the past, headphones used to always be free, so when you can get them as airplane freebies, you can feel how it was back in the day.
7. If the flight is delayed, you will get food
If you flew at least a few times, you probably had to deal with a delay. It is annoying, and it can easily mess up all of your plans. It is not something we look forward to, but something that sometimes becomes inevitable.
Hopefully, if you get hungry, you don’t need to worry because most airlines will take care of that. No one wants to have a bunch of passengers who, besides being upset because their flight got delayed, are also hungry.
All American airlines—including the ultra-low-cost ones—have committed to providing each client with a food voucher in the event that their delay lasts more than three hours.
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