What a flight attendant packs when he travels | Canada Voices

Brendon Savic’s first time on an airplane was in 2011. Young and eager to travel, he flew to Las Vegas for a vacation that spring. Three months later, at 24, he left a burgeoning career in marketing to become a flight attendant.

“The travel bug bit me, and that feeling never left,” he said.

More than 15 years later, Savic still relishes travelling. Now a senior flight attendant with WestJet, his seniority allows him to take frequent leisure trips around the world.

For work, Savic flies about 15 to 20 days a month. He prefers stacking multiple short flights in a day and finishing his shift at home in Calgary or in Toronto. Those days often start around 5:15 a.m. and involve two or three flights – sometimes to Caribbean destinations such as St. Maarten or Punta Cana – before ending around 9 p.m. Savic also takes longer routes, such as flights to Paris, where he’ll fly over the holidays and stay an extra few days to explore.

His personal travel calendar is just as full: a week-long trip to Mexico in January, a quick getaway to New York in February and Australia, where he’ll spend a month and a half in March.

At 6-foot-4, Savic said long flights can be tough.

“It’s all about the comfortability of your clothing,” he said. “If your legs aren’t able to move very much, you want to make sure you wear something comfortable to stretch as much as you can.”

For him, that means lightweight pants and a breathable button-up shirt – pieces that keep him cool in warm cabins and polished enough to boost his chances of getting an upgrade.

“I always dress to be ready for an upgrade,” he said. “As flight attendants, we notice that when we choose who to upgrade.”

Savic also recommends bringing small gifts – chocolates, gum, hand sanitizer or scratch tickets – for the crew and introducing yourself to them as you board. Those gestures can improve your chances of an upgrade, especially when flying standby. On a recent trip to North Carolina, Savic moved up from economy to business class this way.

Travelling with only a carry-on is also key. Even for long trips, Savic packs just a week-and-a-half’s worth of clothing, rolls his garments to save space and books accommodation with either laundry service or easy access to a machine to keep luggage minimal.