How I Travel: Sir Richard Branson Packs a Chess Set in His Carry-on

Sir Richard Branson sees his flight time as an opportunity to work. The to-do list isn’t about plowing through emails, however, but chatting with fellow passengers and airline staff. “I love meeting people, love talking to people,” the Virgin Group co-founder says. “And if I do have time to sit down, I’ll generally try to sleep, not watch films—I need to be ready for the next day.”

Branson recently had an idea for others who like to work hard, play hard, with the launch of the Scarlet Summer Season Pass on his Virgin Voyages cruise line. It’ll allow passengers to book four weeklong trips back to back at a reduced rate, so they can spend a month “WFH” (that’s working from helm) aboard a ship while cruising through the Mediterranean. Sir Richard Branson spoke with Condé Nast Traveler to discuss the impact those in-flight surveys have had on business, how he travels with toddler grandkids, and the Aussie gate agent he hasn’t forgotten.

His favorite place he’s traveled to:

Space! I had the most extraordinary day of my life going to space on Virgin Galactic. I was lucky enough to have my children and grandchildren there, and my grandchildren “believe” that I was once a pirate who was dumped on Necker Island and built it with my own hands. So my granddaughter whispered to me, just before I went, “Papa, you realize you're going to be the first pirate ever to go into space?” There were so many delightful moments, but just being able to unbuckle and float around and look back at our beautiful earth was pretty damn good.

How he spends flight time:

I make a point, obviously, of flying Virgin Atlantic. I have a notebook in my pocket, and I get out and about and talk to all the staff. I talk to all the passengers. I will get on the speaker and thank everybody at the end of the flight. I will sometimes joke with the passengers; we did an all clean-energy flight across the Atlantic the other day. Near the end of the flight, I got on the loudspeaker and said, “I've tried to break world records across the Atlantic on three different occasions. One was in a boat, and we ended up sinking and were pulled out of the sea by helicopter. The second was in a balloon, and we ended up sinking and being pulled out of the sea by helicopter. The third is in this plane today, and we’re going to be landing at JFK in a few minutes, but with the first 100% clean-energy flight, and I'm delighted to live to tell the tale.”

You learn all about the detail and what matters by talking to people. The reason that we have the best kosher food on a Virgin plane, for instance, is because, for 39 years, I talked to a regular Jewish traveler who said, “If you can get the right kosher food, we will fly you forever.” Ever since then, we've done that. [Another time, I saw a] cabin crew member who had brand new shoes, and the heels were rubbing. It's awful to have your staff hobbling around a plane, so we immediately changed the shoes the next day. Too many company bosses feel that little details are beneath them. Actually, it's little details that matter more than anything.

What’s in his carry-on bag:

Always, my trusted notebook. A spare shirt in case I pour something down the front of my shirt when I'm on board. I'll carry a book, but rarely have time to read it. A phone, an iPad, and a small chess set. I love to play chess if I ever have a chance.

How he handles ever-present jet lag:

If it's a short trip, I'll try to go to bed at similar times to where I've come from. Not drinking alcohol helps a lot. I do take two or three puffs of melatonin spray to help me get to sleep. Melatonin is actually healthy for you, so there's no downsides to taking it; if anything, there's upsides. And I will, in some circumstances, take a sleeping pill, as well, just to make sure I get a good night's sleep. I think getting a good night's sleep outweighs any downsides. Of course, rules are made to be broken, so on occasions it'll be a party time and I'll regret it the next day.

The most beautiful waters he’s ever passed through:

I have to say Necker Island. Last week, we had our Virgin Voyages cruise ship come within 200 yards of Necker, through a tiny passageway, and we had a big bonfire to welcome it. The sea around here is more pristine than any sea I've ever seen anywhere in the world, because there's no rivers. It's 3- or 4,000 miles before the next bit of land, which is Europe, and you can see a hundred feet underwater. We had whales yesterday, and dolphins the day before. There's turtles all around. Nothing really beats it—but let me [try] to be unbiased. The Maldives are all also very lovely. Anywhere that is well away from rivers polluting the sea.

His tips for traveling with little kids:

Just enjoy every minute of them, because they grow up so quickly. I've got five grandkids from [age] nine down to three. Obviously, the easiest way of traveling with kids on a plane is to put them in front of a screen, and they'll be forever grateful. We're no different from most grandparents or parents [in that respect]. We will spoil ’em on a long journey in order for everybody else to have a good sleep around them. And generally, we'll have our kids and grandkids travel in economy until they're 18—we might have a standby upgrade if there is space—just trying to make sure that they don't feel in any way spoiled from a young age.

The cities he could go to a million times and not tire of them:

I've always enjoyed Sydney. Cape Town, the same. I mean, Cape Town at Christmas: Nothing beats it. Virgin has had a long history in Australia, and I have many happy memories of trips to Sydney. I was down there a few months ago, welcoming our cruise line, and they're fun people. They know how to have a good time.

The best way he’s ever seen someone handle an unruly passenger:

It sounds strange, but very little gets up my nose. I'll tell this story, because it's funny: I was in Australia and there'd been a delayed flight, so there was a queue of people being moved to another flight. This guy jumped the queue and the Virgin Australia girl said, “Sorry sir, but would you mind staying in line?” And he very loudly said, “Do you know who I am?” She was cool as a cool cat, as a cucumber; she got on the loudspeaker and broadcast to the whole airport, “I have a young man at Gate 15 who doesn't know who he is. If anybody would like to come and claim him, that would be great.” He turns on her and says, “F*ck you!” And she responded, “You'll have to get back in line for that too, sir.” She was given a pat on the back by all of us at Virgin Australia. I think having a little bit of humor in dealing with complicated characters is good.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler