Having traveled to some 60 countries, with three around-the-world adventures under my belt, I’ve spent a lot of time flying. With so much time travelling to and from airports, packing, unpacking, standing in line-ups and answering questions from customs officials, I’ve picked up a few tricks.

• When booking an airline ticket, flying mid-week will not only be cheaper, it won’t be as crowded.

• Sign up for frequent flier rewards points from all airline carriers: Air Canada (Aeroplan), Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles), American Airlines (Aadvantage), and so on. This way, no matter what airline you fly, you’ll be raking up points to put towards future travel.

• On the day of the flight, check in online. By doing so, you’ll avoid one less frustrating line-up, get the chance to select your preferred seat in advance and minimize your airport waiting time.

• Selecting the perfect airplane seat is an art. For short flights, I prefer an aisle seat (more leg room) near an exit row, so I can quickly escape if, in the unlikely event of a crash, the plane bursts into flames. For long-haul flights, I prefer a window seat, so my head will have something to hit when it nods off. I’ve also learned the hard way that the seats just before the exit row don’t recline. Not a very comfortable choice for overnight flights; www.seatguru.com is a great resource for plotting your perfect seat.

• Bottles of liqueur may make great gifts but, due to recent rules about bringing liquids on-board, they must be checked. In order to prevent leakage or breaks, wrap these bottles up in clothing and pad them in the middle of your suitcase.

• Charge up your gadgets, be it laptop, iPod or cell phone, so they’re juiced up for the long plane ride and point of landing.

• There’s nothing worse than when your gooey cosmetics explode all over your neatly packed clothing. I like to put anything that can leak inside tightly sealed Ziploc plastic bags. So if a spill happens, at least the mess is contained.

• When you arrive at the airline check-in counter, it may be worth asking if there are any “emergency or exit rows” available. These seats come with responsibility, but you also get extra leg room.

• Think ahead. For the sanity of the rest of us patiently waiting in line behind you, empty your pockets before you get to the metal detectors. Scan through your bags to make sure all liquids, tweezers and weapons of mass destruction are not in your carry-on.

Safe travels!

– Julia Dimon is co-host of Word Travels, airing on OLN; www.juliadimon.com.