Commercial planes in the US are gradually becoming more and more cramped. About 20 years ago, the average seat pitch - the distance between each seat where your legs are - was around 90 centimetres. Now it's regularly under 80. If you're planning to fly economy and legroom is important to you, look into these airlines and planes.

If you've ever flown in an aeroplane, you've heard the spiel about the oxygen mask. If you looked up from your phone, you've even seen a flight attendant demonstrate exactly how to put it on. And yet, people on the recent Southwest flight still got it wrong.

Dear Lifehacker, I recently took a short domestic flight across the country and when I landed at my destination I waited about 40 minutes for my bag to come through the claim area. When I finally got it, I took it home before I noticed a huge crack near the wheel that I hadn't seen before. What a joke. Will I be able to get reimbursed in some way?

You've been waiting at the airport for two hours, you've had your Maccas fix, and you're ready to board the plane. There's just one problem: There is no plane. We've all been there. Flight delays are a massive headache, and Google Flights just updated with some features to help ease the pain.

Bedbugs aren't just for beds any more. Recently, a Canadian family got bitten all over by bedbugs on a nine-hour flight to London. What's worse, the mother saw a bedbug and knew what it was at the beginning of the flight, but the crew said there was nothing they could do.

Plane travel is incredibly safe -- your odds of dying on a commercial flight are about one in 11 million -- but accidents still happen and travellers sometimes make it to a different kind of final destination. Many past fatalities may, however, have been avoidable. Here's the safety info you should be up on in case you go down.

It's the first day of the school holidays, and from 5:20am this morning until just a few moments ago all flights leaving Sydney Airport - Australia's largest - were grounded. Some flights have started up again, but Airport officials have warned passengers should expect lengthy delays.

The cause of all this ruckus? Ground traffic control was hit with a power outage.

Missing a connecting flight is one of the most stressful and frustrating things that can happen to you when flying. If you want to avoid it, you need to give yourself ample time between flights, and do a little homework before you fly.

If you’re going to be trapped in a small box with a few hundred people for hours on end, the least you could do is try and make the ride as comfortable as possible for everybody. But it seems that there are still some of us that don’t quite understand the finer aspects of good air travel etiquette, so it’s time to change that.

Qantas' fleet of 12 Airbus A380s will be getting a major multi-million dollar cabin upgrade, with an emphasis on passenger comfort on long haul flights. Changes include redesigned seating configurations, new in-flight passenger lounges and larger entertainment screens.

However, the bulk of the improvements appear to be geared towards first, business and premium economy passengers. Here's what you need to know.

For those who didn't get the memo, Click Frenzy is in the midst of a huge travel sale, with up to 70 per cent off selected flights, cruises, hotels, tours and holiday packages. Here are some of the best deals that caught our eye.

No, you're not just imagining it: average seat sizes on aeroplane have shrunk over the past 20 years. If you're overly tall or generous of figure, a few extra inches of space can make a big difference. With that in mind, here's how 17 airlines compare on leg room and seat width.

One of the most tedious aspects of overseas flying is filling out that annoying green card prior to departure. There are never enough pens to go around and you usually forget your flight and/or passport number. Ain't nobody for time for that!

Well, it appears the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) agrees. From July 1, you will no longer be required to fill out these pesky cards while passing through immigration. Hurrah!

It's annoying as hell when you have your tray table down, trying to work or eat, and the person in front of you reclines, narrowing the already tiny gap between your knees and their seatback. To retaliate, you recline your own seat -- it's your right, after all -- and annoy the person behind you. It's a frustrating domino effect of travellers trying to reclaim their space. So who owns that space to begin with?

Yes, air travel is pretty amazing. But between flight delays and bumped seats, airlines give us a lot to complain about, too. Boarding procedures, for example, often annoy passengers because they're seemingly random and pointless. There is, however, a method to the madness.

Airlines in the US are within their rights to kick you off an overbooked plane, even if you've paid for a ticket and don't want to leave. According to United employees, a "computer" picked a man who said he was a doctor and needed to see patients in the morning to be dragged off a flight this weekend. How does the computer know who to pick? The airlines' policies offer some clues.

There are good airlines and there are the many other airlines. This infographic from AirHelp sorts the best from the worst with an emphasis on timeliness and compensatory measures when things go wrong.

If you're planning a trip to the US, a high quality airline will get your trip off to a good start. Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University conducted a study on the major US airlines' performance every year. You might be surprised by the ranking.

Some airlines have their flight attendants ask you and your fellow passengers to raise your window shades during take-off and landing. This isn't about waking passengers up at the end of a red-eye or having all the shades up or down for the next flight, it's about safety.