With the proliferation of “must see before you die” lists, I’m moved to submit my own…
Some of these I’ve been lucky enough to experience myself. Others, I just been able to photograph… and some I can only dream about.
Take a spin through my top 13 list and add your contenders in the comments at the bottom!
1) Take a shower on onboard a plane.

Each first class passenger gets five minutes of hot water on Emirates (Chris McGinnis).
2) Get a ride to your plane across the ramp or on the tarmac in a luxury car.

United has deployed two silver Mercedes at Houston IAH to shuttle arriving passengers. (Photo: United)
.
3) Eat warm udon on a Japanese carrier- simple, yes, but I can’t think of anything much more comforting on a 11 hour flight.

Nothing is more soothing than a warm bowl of noodles in broth- this is on ANA (Chris McGinnis)
(This post is a “blast from the past”– a previously popular post on TravelSkills. Take a look at the original post here as well as the reader comments!)
4) Fly backwards in business class.

Only United and British Airways (and a few American planes) offer forward and rear facing business class seats- this is United’s configuration (Chris McGinnis)

Seen the northern lights from a plane? (Photo: Francisco Anzola / Flickr)
.
6) Fly supersonic. I know this is more difficult now that Concorde has been retired, but it could come back in our lifetime.

Don’t even ask about the hair. But I rode on the Concorde in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)
.
7) Get a haircut or spa treatment at the airport.
.
8) Spend a day on or near runways planespotting. I’m lucky to occasionally get media access to runways, but you can always go to In-N-Out Burger in LA or take a vacation on this beach in St Maarten.

Not much more exhilirating than standing between runways at airport rush hour (Image: Peter Biaggi)
.
9) Take a swim or a soak between planes at the airport.

Pool and hot tub available for all passengers at Singapore Changi (Chris McGinnis)
.
10) Get inside the crew rest area on a plane– take my video tour of a crew rest area here.
.
11) Sit in a Captain Kirk seat on Aer Lingus new business class or in JetBlue Mint class

Only a handful of these very special seats on JetBlue and Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)
.
12) Eat caviar on the plane.

Caviar onboard Emirates in first class (Image: Leon Brocard / Flickr)
.
13) Have a drink in an onboard lounge

Lounging around on a Korean Air A380 ICN-ATL (Chris McGinnis)
NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Delta free upgrades disappearing + Shipping vs. checking a bag +_San Francisco’s new long-haul routes + Is Newark our worst airport? + Delta, United forge new international partnerships
Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!
Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!