fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2591 ]

[ SECRET POST #2591 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2591 ⌋

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'mm gonna take an 18-hour flight in a couple of days, and I'd really like any tips y'all have about flying as comfortably as possible....

If you have the money and/or points, splurge on first class. With that long a flight, you'll thank yourself.

Otherwise, bring an iPod and a pillow, and pray to the gods of air travel that you'll end up next to someone unobtrusive.

Warm socks so you can take your shoes off but not have cold feet are nice.

Earplugs for when you're not listening to anything (to block out engine noise) and noise-canceling headphones for when you are (if affordable).

I like bringing a sleeping mask to block out light and make it easier to sleep.

You might like a neck pillow. They make inflatable ones.

When you get up to pee, take the opportunity to stretch out.

My sympathies, long flights are a pain in the butt.

* Check in early if you can, and look around online for sites that show seating charts listing the best seats. I know there's a site like this, but cannot remember the name. :(
* Be nice to the people at the gate. Even if stuff goes wrong, because they have the power to help (or NOT help) you if there's a delay, etc.
* Dress in layers, 'cause planes tend to be on the cool side.
* Keep hydrated, which is difficult to do with the liquids restrict. Contrary to popular opinion, coffee and tea are just fine for keeping hydrated, despite being mild diuretics. The amount of water you take in is greater than the amount you'll lose.
* Try to get up or at least stretch/wriggle in your seat to help with circulation. You don't want to be one of those freaky blood clot accidents.
* Long flights often have some sort of movie screen, etc. for each seat, but take a book/ereader/music just in case.
* Consider bringing along a mild sleep aid-- Benadryl, Dramamine (which also helps with motion sickness) and sleeping for most of your flight.
* Pee early. You probably won't like how an airplane bathroom looks/smells after 17 hours.
* Earplugs, just in case.

Comfortable shoes that are easy to slip off! Unless your feet smell. A book in case whatever electronic media you use goes dead. Headphones so that even if they are not on, you can pretend not to hear your seatmate.

Get up and stretch every few hours to keep bloodflow to the legs

I've never been on a flight longer than 18 hours. Basically, a blanket and pillow and lots of things to entertain yourself with. If you can sleep for most of it, that's even better. Also, yes, get up and stretch regularly! Seconding layers too since planes can be cold, and a snack or two (no saying what you'll think of the food on the plane).

Bring your own pillow. First class isn't a requirement for flying, but getting drunk enough to sleep through it really is.

Wear flight (compression) socks. Seriously. Your circulatory system is not designed for hours and hours of high-altitude sitting, and keeping the fluid from building up in your lower extremities will make you a lot more comfortable.

Get up and walk around the cabin as often as possible and keep hydrated. Ask the flight attendants for warm water as often as you need- they will have it on hand.

Hand sanitizer is a seriously good idea as well, because proper hand washing technique is often impossible on airlines, and there's a pretty high probability of being exposed to foreign microbes.

nayrt

I'm kicking myself for never having thought of compression stockings before. Every time I have to fly, my ankles swell up like balloons--a pair of compression stockings is going into my bag right now now so they'll be on hand the next time I fly. With a trip to Philadelphia in March and to New York in April, I have a feeling I'm going to be really grateful for this tip.

Yeah, it's not common knowledge, but it really should be. Also reduces the risk of deep vein thrombosis during the flight by a whole hell of a lot. I continually give this tip to everyone, and you should too.

Personally I do better if I haven't slept the night before so I can sleep for a while on the long flights. benadryl is also helpful.

Warm socks, blanket, some sort of little pillow (those neck wrap around ones are nice).

Ipod with lots of music. I find music makes the long flights go faster than movies do. Also ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones. You'll thank yourself.

Get up every few hours and stretch.

If you have long legs get an aisle seat. Otherwise I personally find window seats better. You can lean on the window, so there are more positions to switch into to be as comfortable as possible.

Bring something to wash your face, around an hour before your flight lands. It works so well (for me, at least) to make me feel more awake.

For me, hydration is number 1. I tend to get dehydrated easily, and spending your first day in new country with a splitting headache and nausea is not fun. Drink water whenever it's available, and I actually recommend either buying a waterbottle at the airport, or bringing an empty one and filling it up before the flight.

I personally prefer the aisle, because I would rather get up to let people out than be stuck going "do I wake them up, or can I hold it in?", as well as being able to strech my legs a lot more frequently.

Noise cancelling headphones, or at least earbuds that cut out a bunch of noise (which I have, since noice cancelling headphones are expensive) help quite a bit. Even if you're not listening to music or anything, it cuts out a lot of the background noise and chatter.

If you're an electronics junkie like me, it can help to get an inverter/adaptor for planes. There are a lot more planes now that have standard electrical sockets between the seats, but some of them have just a car-charger type socket, or even this smaller-but-similar one. Radioshack or similar stores may have the thing I'm talking about. And that way your laptop/phone/tablet/mp3 player will last the whole flight.

1. Get a neck pillow. It'll help you tremendously if you want to sleep.

2. Have a IPod and store up as much music as you can in that thing.

3. Get a book (or two!) as long flights would eventually bore you half to death.

4. Pray that there'll be no turbulence.

my advice is to take a very strong sedative and hopefully you'll just be unconscious for the entire flight. there is literally no way to be comfortable and awake at the same time on an 18 hour flight. it's one or the other

People have said a lot of good things and I don't feel like parroting them. One thing I didn't see though was snacks. Bring snacks for yourself because airline food is never enough.

Yes, this. You used to get a box lunch even in coach, but now you're lucky to get a tiny bag of peanuts. And while many airports (especially major hubs) are full of places to eat, the food is fantastically overpriced.

I like to take clementines and carrot or celery sticks--that way you get some hydration with your food. But don't forget that if you take something like yogurt or pudding cups, they'll make you leave it behind at the TSA checkpoint unless it's under 3 ounces.

Huh, even on long international flights? I know short-haul ones like starving you, but the handful of 14-hour economy flights I've taken (Sydney to SF or LA) always give you two meals and a snack bag.

Good point. OP has less to worry about than I thought.

Don't sleep the night before the flight, two nights if you can manage that. That way you'll sleep through the bulk of the flight. At least once every two hours (better yet, once an hour if you can manage it), get up and walk through the aisles to stretch your legs a bit. When you're sitting down, every now and then, slowly clench and release your muscles to keep the blood flow going.

If you have any electronics, bring back-up batteries or portable chargers or whatever you can to keep them going. And/or bring a bunch of magazines or a nice long book. Or bring that thing you keep meaning to read/do - you'll be so bored on the plane it will be nearly impossible for you to procrastinate on it. :P

If you're a tea drinker, bring your own tea bags/leaves - they'll (most likely) have cups and hot water for you to use. Bring your own snacks, too, in zip-lock bags. If you live in a country that doesn't have laws against bringing in liquids, take your own drinks, as well. :)

So, my model is going to be Sydney, Australia to either LA or San Francisco, which I've done back and forth three times now. It's fourteen hours, but fairly close.

You have a few days to prepare, so try resetting your body clock as best you can - trying to get closer to whatever your destination will be.

With an eighteen-hour flight, you probably will get a meal, unless it's a super budget one. Check your flight details, it should tell you if they're included. (Using Sydney-SF or LA, you get two meals included. Leaving afternoon Sydney time, you get dinner, then you get breakfast before arriving in the States. You also get snacks. This is for economy.)

Regarding hydration, you can buy a bottle of water once you get past security. Beforehand, no. Afterwards, yes. You could also get snacks, but they tend to be super expensive. You can also request water at any time from the flight attendants.

NECK PILLOW. You will want this, even if you have a seat against a window. On that long a flight, you'll have a blanket and pillow provided, but the neck pillow gives extra support.

For comfort on a long flight, I'd also bring a very lightweight jacket (remember that you'll have to keep it nearby even if you're not wearing it, so you don't want anything too bulky, and again, you get a blanket), comfortable shoes (and socks - I usually take my shoes off as soon as I'm seated), and clothing that isn't too restrictive. Jeans can feel damn stiff after wearing them continuously for eighteen hours! Last time I flew home from the States, I actually wore pyjama pants, and that was completely acceptable.

Try to make sure your personal bag is small, and keep anything you think you'd need in it, especially things like medication. It's all about maximising how much legroom you have.

There will always be the jerk who shoves their chair right back at the start of the flight. Always. Generally, if you POLITELY ask them to move their seat back up, they will, and they've got to for meals. Hopefully, whoever you sit next to will be cool, too.

Seating! If you can, exit row is godly, particularly the window seat exit row. You may have to pay extra. For the rest, avoid the middle seats, they get all the downsides of aisle and window and none of the advantages. For window seats, they're good for the view, to have a wall to lean against, and to only have one person next to you - downside, they can be a bit colder and you have to climb over people if you need to get out. Aisle seats give you the most freedom of movement, but it's more exposed and you can have people clambering all over YOU. So if you prioritise sleeping a lot, window. If you prioritise getting up and walking around easily, aisle. (Best seat I had - aside from the underbooked flight when I had three seats all to myself and could actually lie down - was an aisle seat riiiight at the back of the plane. Only one person next to me since the back row only had two seats on the side instead of three, and I could use the area behind the seats to stretch.)

You SHOULD be able to choose your seat when you check in - most airlines let you do this 24-48 hours ahead. There may be a small fee, but that's often worth it to be comfortable for nearly a full day.

Snacks. Things to keep yourself occupied (books/ebook reader, video game, laptop), headphones for anything, not just music player! Oh my god there was a kid across the aisle from me on my flight back home last year who had her headphones hooked into the seat for the movie but had her ipad on fucking full volume. :|

A sweater/jacket. Just in case. I've either had planes be sweltering or arctic.

Slip on shoes/easy to remove and put on shoes for security. Nothing more annoying than trying to hop around and lace up boots/sneakers after going through.

SNACKS. >.>

Some people say it's useful to bring some chewing gum to help you get rid of the pressure on your ears. Other than that: What the others said. Boredom is the worst on long flights imo, so sleeping through it and/or bringing some entertainment of your choice is vital.

I'm going to give you the opposite advice to what people have said previously:
get all the sleep you can manage before you go. I've done 16 hr - 2hr stopover - 4 hr flights before and at no point did I get further than uncomfortably napping for ten minutes and hurting my neck. By the time I landed at my final destination I was groggy and loopy and didn't know what temperature my body was anymore because someone told me to restrict my sleep leading up to my flight so I would sleep easier. Liiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeesssssssss.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2591 ]

Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

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Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

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Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

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Re: Any frequent fliers?

Re: Any frequent fliers?

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Re: Any frequent fliers?