Why anyone enjoys flying is beyond me. The thought of going through security, waiting for what seems like forever to get on a plane, and then not going anywhere once you get on a plane, are all very valid reasons to not like flying.

However if you like to travel or have to travel for work then flying is a necessity. In other words you have no choice but to fly, and since I like the spending time with my family in warmer locations in the winter time, I have to fly.

So I have put together five tips that I would like to share with you that I try to implement to make my flying experience a bit more relaxing and hopefully more comfortable.

Book a Flight the Day Before
A couple of years ago my wife and I booked a cruise with some friends that was leaving out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cruise was to set sail on Sunday so we thought it would be a good idea to leave the day before and enjoy San Juan before we embarked on our journey. Luckily we did. Our area was hit with a major snowstorm on Sunday which would make leaving and arriving on time to board the ship nearly impossible. That is why from now on I always leave a day earlier than planned. I would hate to start off any vacation trip or business meeting trip where I could not be where I am supposed to.

Fly first thing in the morning
This might be a matter of preference but I like to take the first available flight out for the day. My thought process is if we are held up on the runway and not going anywhere it's more than likely due to the plane that I am on (which could be good or bad I guess). But more importantly I do it to avoid the early morning to mid morning rush.

Look to a Smaller Airport
Even though larger airports offer a wide variety of amenities, do not be afraid to fly in and out of smaller airports. They are less crowded and a lot of times you can get some good prices for your flight. If my drive time from a smaller airport exceeds an hour and a half then it isn't worth it to me, so I keep that in mind as well when I am booking.

Take nonstop
I can't think of anything more nauseating then having to get off a plane and catch a connecting flight. This can present so many problems if you have a delay anywhere and who needs the extra stress. Also studies have shown that airports chances of losing your luggage increase with flights that have stops. Choose a non stop flight whenever possible.

Avoid Rush Hour Traffic
I touched on this before in the section about flying first thing in the morning, but nothing is more stressful than rush hour. Whether it is stuck in traffic on the way to the airport or standing in line to get yourself and your bags checked in, avoid the crowds. If possible fly first thing in the morning when traffic is a bit lower. But if that is not possible then mid morning around 10:00am in a lot of airports it slows down as well as mid afternoon before the work rush hour begins.

As you can see none of these adjustments are life altering decisions but adhering to these changes could mean the difference between a happy flight and a miserable one.

Bruce Tucker is a contributing writer to Mike's How-To Blog http://mikeshowtoblog.blogspot.com/, a blog that covers a wide variety of topics and how to do them. You can also follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/indocquent.