The Trick to Melt Rock-Hard Airline Butter (And Other Micro-Hacks)

Over time, frequent flyers pick up lots of tricks that make flying easier. Some of them make a big difference. Others could better be described as “micro-hacks” – things that might seem obvious once you know them, and certainly aren’t going to change your life… but still make air travel just that little bit better!

For example, have you ever tried to get out of an aisle seat in Economy while your tray table was down, but found that you couldn’t raise the armrest? There’s a “micro-hack” for that…

The armrest micro-hack

You can often unlock the armrest closest to the aisle by pushing a small button located underneath the armrest, at the back of it (close to the seat). This photo from a Turkish Airlines A330 shows the location:

By lifting up the armrest, you can then “slide” out sideways into the aisle, without needing to worry about the meal tray in front of you.

As I said, this is the kind of micro-hack that seems obvious once you know it. But it’s handy to know!

The frozen butter micro-hack

Many airlines serve a bread roll and butter with their Economy Class meals. The bread roll is often stale, and the butter is often rock-hard. But on the off chance you’re feeling hungry and do actually want to spread some butter on your bread roll, there’s a little trick to soften it.

If you received a hot meal, take advantage of that heat to melt the butter a little bit. Simply place the butter pack under your meal tray – or under the foil – for about a minute.

Of course, there is also a risk of completely melting the butter to the point of being unusable! So, don’t allow it to heat for too long if you don’t want something like this:

Of course, this doesn’t work if the airline serves you only cold food. In that case, you might just have to wait for your “frozen” butter to melt. Or, try warming it in your hands for a few minutes.

What’s your plane travel micro-hack?

These are two examples of tiny but somewhat useful tricks that can enhance your flying experience, especially in Economy Class.

Do you have your own air travel micro-hack? Share your tips with the Australian Frequent Flyer community, and read what other people have to say, on the AFF forum!