In an ideal world, air travel always involves the same steps: You book your flight, show up at the airport with enough time to check any bags and clear security, and board your flight before jetting off to your destination. But as anyone who has ever been through this process knows, it can be something of a miracle if there aren’t one or two hiccups along the way. However, you don’t necessarily have to fly blind forever: According to one industry expert, there’s a simple yet "mind-blowing" hack that keeps all your important flight information immediately accessible.
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There’s a hidden feature on your phone that gives you instant access to all your flight info.
Even savvy travelers can have a hard time keeping track of their flight information—especially when you consider delays, cancellations, and other last-minute changes. But in a TikTok video, Darby Maloney (@durbinmalonster), a former airline employee of three years, says that "besides [TSA] PreCheck," there’s one travel-day hack that everyone should use.
"The morning of your flight, you’re going to text yourself your flight number," she says. "But the key is you have to include your airline code!"
As a hypothetical, she uses the example of someone flying on American Airlines flight 686, which would mean typing "AA686" and sending it to your own number. She points out that each airline is different, so it’s essential to check which code is assigned to the carrier you’re traveling with.
"If someone is picking you up, send it to them," Maloney suggests. "If you’re Ubering, send it to yourself."
What happens next is the kind of innovation that goes surprisingly unnoticed by many smartphone users.
"That text will become a link to tell you everything you need to know about your flight—and it will update in real-time," Maloney says. "It will be your source of truth all day."
She then goes on to demonstrate how it works by showing her screen. First, she clicks the link from her messages before selecting the "Preview Flight" option. She can then see information about the plane she’ll be traveling on before she swipes on the screen to receive her flight information. The posted information includes departure and arrival times, duration, and even the baggage claim number.
"What’s your gate? You’re going to go through security, open your phone, click your link, and 'Oh, I’m gate D6!'" she exclaims.
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It even accounts for updates and layovers.
While it might seem like this is all the basic information you can get from your boarding pass, this hack still has another advantage.
"If it changes, it will change in that link," she says. "Whoever is picking you up can actually see a little airplane flying across the screen!"
Maloney uses the example of leaving on a flight that’s scheduled to arrive at 8:30 but ends up catching a strong enough tailwind to arrive roughly half an hour early. The update on that link comes in particularly handy if someone is picking you up, as they’ll know the details have changed while you’re mid-flight.
Working with a tight layover before you get to your destination? Maloney suggests texting yourself the flight number for both departures before you jet off.
"The second you land, you can just click the link and know exactly what your gate is, so when you get off the plane: Bing! You’re off to your connection," she says.
She adds, "I never have to look at the screens in the airport anymore," which can waste precious time during a short turnaround between flights.
@durbinmalonster S/O @Brooke Webster for teaching me this in my bag loading days 7 years ago
The takeaway:
According to one former airline employee, there’s a simple flight hack that can help you stay on top of all your essential flight information. Simply text yourself or whoever is picking you up from the airport your flight number (being sure to include the airline code with it). This will turn it into a handy link that will display everything from scheduled departure and arrival times, boarding gate, and even which baggage claim you’ll be using.
The best part? Unlike the information on your ticket, it will update throughout the day if there are any changes to your schedule.
"It’s the greatest hack ever!" she says. "And I feel like nobody knows about it."
