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The NYC Insider's Guide
for women who aren't kids
The Three Tomatoes
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Insider Travel Tips and Products
for the Discriminating Traveler
Meet Carolyn W. Paddock
After more than 20 years in commercial and corporate aviation, I am delighted to bring my expertise to the world with In-Flight Insider. Based on my philosophy that not only should safety and comfort be mandatory, but glamour and elegance should be too. I have created a resource for the discriminating traveler that combines my hands-on experience gained with over nine million miles in the air with my knowledge of the most practical and luxurious travel products the world has to offer.
Carolyn has contributed her travel expertise to a range of national media outlets including The Washington Post, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Robb Report, and creditcards.com, and Divine Caroline. She has also been featured as a travel expert for USA Today, AOL.com, Peter Greenberg’s Radio Show, Prevention’s “List Maker’s Get-Healthy Guide”, and SilverKris (Singapore Airlines’ in-flight magazine). Carolyn is featured as the travel style contributor for MedjetAssist’s website and their monthly newsletter as well as the travel expert for and GLOW Beauty Magazine.
Discover more at www.inflightinsider.com.
Recent Articles by Carolyn
It’s true, flying these days can feel stressful and beyond complicated. But there are things that you can do to make your trip more (or less) comfortable, depending on how well you plan.
Just a little foresight can make the difference between a great restful flight and one that leaves us frazzled, fatigued, and disagreeable. Here are 5 easy tips that I have learned that work best to make travel more organized, efficient, and enjoyable!
1. Be early. Honestly, the place to start is at home. Leave way more time than you think you need to get to the airport and through security. Make sure you have the time to deal with the worst-case scenario—an accident that backs up traffic on the highway or a really long line at security (this just happened to me, at 5:30am there were at least 40 people in wheelchairs in line ahead of me). You don’d want to start out your trip nervous and stressed out. Being relaxed before you get on a plane will help you have a better flight. When I'm early, I go directly to the Sky Club, have a cup of coffee and relax before I fly out.
2. Dress for security. You always hear this one but its true. Dress in a way that prepares you for a speedy trip through security screening. That means, don’t wear a belt (if you need one, put it in your bag and put it on after you go though security), shoes that tie, jewelry or a watch—all of which you’d have to remove at the check point. I put my watch and jewelry in a quart size zip-lock plastic bag in my purse so that if the TSA needs to go through my handbag they won’t get separated and I will be able to retrieve them easily once I’ve been cleared. I wear shoes or boots I can kick off easily, and I start the undressing and the sorting process well before its my turn to load up the TSA plastic bins.
3. Pack efficiently. To make your life as organized and easy as possible, either send items ahead to your destination if you don’t want to check your bags, pack light, or check your luggage and always carry on just the essentials you’d need if your luggage were lost (medicine, work materials, back up clothes). The less you carry with you, the quicker you’ll get through security and get settled on the airplane.
4. Be entertained. When it comes to traveling, anything can happen (and often does happen). You need to get your head in the game and be flexible- you may arrive 20 minutes early or be delayed 2 hours. Take something that will interest, entertain, and/or immediately relax you on the ground and in-flight. Download magazines, a book, some crossword puzzles or Sudoku on your iPad, iPhone, Kindle, or your laptop. I love to take tea bags, packets of instant cocoa, or instant soup for something different to drink/eat onboard. There is almost always hot water available on the plane. And bring your favorite foods or snacks, its comforting. You want to be as self-sufficient as possible and avoid being irritable, bored or hungry.
5. Dress comfortably. That doesn’t mean sloppy jeans, flip-flops, and a sweat shirt, but it does mean clothing that isn’t going to feel tight bind or strangle you. And do take a sweater or a warm wrap of some kind, especially if you chose to sit in an exit row seat (the window area get chilly). I can’t think of anything more unpleasant that shivering for hours in a plane seat with no way to get warm. Also, I tend to wear black when I fly, it’s chic and won’t show stains or dirt.
