long haul flight survival recommendations

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#627449 18-May-2012 18:23

Yes, and they have multiple rubber covers for different size ears so I'm sure one will work (the default one is fine for me).

profrink

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#627459 18-May-2012 18:39

My normal tactics for NZ -> US can probably be applied to any long haul flight but probably work best for night flights. Also relies on having VOD or notebook for entertainment

I don't have the luxury of flying business class so I have economy travel pretty well down pat. Usually fly Air NZ to LAX or SFO so generally am leaving Wellington early evening and then out of Auckland late evening.

Request a center, aisle seat.
Good travel pillow (cuddle buddy) none of those neck pillows.
Wear normal clothes up to AKL
Take lots of snacks
Pre-flight dinner at AKL if time allows
Start a movie on take off
Have dinner
Head to bathroom and brush teeth and change into a change of clothes for sleeping
Finish movie
Get some sleep
Wake up & start a TV show
Breakfast
Bathroom to freshen up / get changed
Finish more TV shows and arrive.

This puts me in a pretty good place for my last flight to Phoenix. It does require consistency but I believe keeping a routine like you normally would at home is the key. Also as someone mentioned, exercise before you go, helps a tonne.

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#627467 18-May-2012 19:05

I always have an aisle seat so i can get up and walk around any time I want. I'm tall and NO WAY can I spend 12 hours blocked in a window seat. The people next to me WANT me in the aisle seat if they are hoping to get any sleep.....whether they know that or not.

I avoid coffee, tea and alcohol for at least 24 hours prior to flying long distances. I want the coffee I have just before landing in the foreign port to actually work...and keep me awake.

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#627492 18-May-2012 20:01

vexxxboy: get to checkin early or try and book it, the seat by the emergency exit all that legroom makes a big difference and you never get disturbed by people getting up and down.

Are you sure? Emergency Exits are usually quie near the lav's and/or the galleys. A bit of noise there...smell. hhahah.

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#627501 18-May-2012 20:12

+1 Noise Cancelling Headphones - It makes using the inhouse entertainment system bearable, bc with the airline headphones you have to crank up the volume to loud. For sleeping I would choose ear plugs over NC headphones.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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#627518 18-May-2012 20:37

Having had an in-flight entertainment system fail on me just after take off (they run on Linux for the record), I highly recommend an iPad. It certainly saved my sanity that time!
I've flown long haul with a group of guys, drinking all the way (in the lounge before the first leg to Auckland, in Auckland airport, on the plane... when we landed...) and there were parts of the flight where we were in hell. But not due to the drinking, instead, it was due to a lack of foot space. Foot space is the key to me.

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#627539 18-May-2012 21:12

Yes, being tall does mean you have to be careful on seat choice. Agreed 100% that centre aisle is the way to go and cross fingers the next seat is vacant. We have flown Emirates since they first hit NZ and now always fly the A380. Fantastic. Book early and get your aisle seat in the first cabin - about 5m from the captain - and there is literally no engine noise. In the air, it is the sound of air rushing past but still NC gear would be good. I don't have yet. Up stairs is obviously much better, but still get as far forward as possible. On my last leg from DXB to LHR a day or so back I had that next seat empty. Very convenient. Compression stockings and clexane injections - I've been through the DVT saga - sit back and enjoy the inflight entertainment. I can't get the roll up foam ear plugs to work for me - wrong technique I guess.
Also recommend seatguru

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mjb

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#627569 18-May-2012 22:29

LookingUp:
sbiddle: Red wine is the solution. There is a complex formula for establishing the perfect qualitity for eliminating annoyances such as screaming kids, jetlag, noisy people next to you, people behind you hitting your seat, and people who snore. Just be careful you don't exceed the correct dose though, or you'll hit problems when you go to depart the plane and the air pressure at sea level hits you.

+1. ?I go totally against all "advice" and generally survive as well or better than those I've travelled with.

Drink plenty of wine and eat salty snacks. ?Dehydration is your friend, as it means you can then go 12hrs without having to climb over people and queue for horrible toilets. ?Wine is better than beer as it has more effect for less water.

Sleep as little as possible so that you'll be really tied when you get to the other end, then make sure you stay up until normal bedtime at your destination. ?A couple of drinks before bed and you'll get a good night sleep and beat jet lag there and then.

Seriously - this works for me, although totally against accepted "wisdom".

That's pretty much what I do, and it works a treat. I actually kinda like getting to the other end exhausted, as it's a sure fire way to ensure you'll be out like a light when you do go to bed at the appropriate time in your destination time zone.

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#627600 19-May-2012 00:10

Gooseybhai:
vexxxboy: get to checkin early or try and book it, the seat by the emergency exit all that legroom makes a big difference and you never get disturbed by people getting up and down.

Are you sure? Emergency Exits are usually quie near the lav's and/or the galleys. A bit of noise there...smell. hhahah.

I've done the EE thing a few times now, with that exact fear the first time. In practice the proximity of the toilets is not a problem, the air con in that area must be massive.

You will get people using the space to do strange exercises in front of you but if you are sleeping or watching a movie you don't notice it at all.

Has to be said, I use headphones and earplugs the whole time so noise is not a factor anywhere.

Depending on the plane there is also the tail area where they have two seats in front of three seats which gives leg room to the aisle seat behind. Yet to try that one.

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#627604 19-May-2012 00:34

wasabi2k:
qwerty7: http://www.quickmeme.com/First-World-Problems/

If you sit near tantrum kids noise cancelling headphones are a must.

Anyone know what to do when they keep kicking the back of your seat?

As someone has said - most parents don't want their kids to be doing this and do try to stop it. If the kid is too young to get it (e.g. under 5) it is really a losing battle.

Last flight I had to explain to a 5 year old behind me that a touch screen is called a touch screen because all you need to do is touch it. He understood that easily enough.

Some genius put touch screen games on without thinking this would happen?

It needs a sensor which deactivates the game for 5 minutes with - 'you poked it too hard'. Some older people need that message as well. Everyone gets it after an explanation. Else it would be called a stab it real hard screen.

SteveON

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#627614 19-May-2012 04:31

Fly air nz, problem solved.

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sidefx

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#627620 19-May-2012 07:57

mjb:
LookingUp:
sbiddle: Red wine is the solution. (...etc...)

+1. ?I go totally against all "advice" and generally survive as well or better than those I've travelled with.

(...etc...)

That's pretty much what I do, and it works a treat. (...etc...)

This. Yes, seriously. Well not the dehydration bit because that really screws me up, but:

1) Have a few drinks before going and on the flight to take the edge off.

2) Take enough entertainment to stay awake the whole flight, with maybe just a few small cap naps (I've done it on ~26 (11+ 12) hour flights) Trying to sleep properly is folly with all the noise\aircon on plane\etc and makes it more likely you'll screw up your circadian rhythm

3) Arrive and make sure you stay awake until that night in your destination timezone.

4) Have a few drinks and make sure you set multiple alarms for the next morning, then sleep like you've never slept before.

5) ????

6) Profit. And avoid jetlag, though that first day is a bit of a mission especially when you arrive at 4am after a 26 hour journey, lol

And what you want is noise isolating (not cancelling) headphones. I had a pair of Shure's that worked a charm.

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#627625 19-May-2012 08:52

sidefx: And what you want is noise isolating (not cancelling) headphones. I had a pair of Shure's that worked a charm.

There are some good noise cancelling headphones that also cover your ears well...I use Blackbox M14 headphones.

Note that noise cancelling technology deals with white noise - air con, computer fans, jet engines. It won't block screaming, etc. For those you need something that block your ears. A good noise cancelling headphone will be active (cancelling) and passive (blocking).

Yes, wine is good to induce a stupor, but for many it's as diuretic as coffee. Drink more water folks. Walk around, get aisle seats if you can't upgrade to a flat bed and always have a change of clothes in a backpack. It's good to have a shower if you have a stop between flights - that's when being a Koru member or Gold level comes in handy... Not before the flight (unless of course you missed dinner before going to the airport), but the showers each time you can stop...

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#627929 20-May-2012 13:55

I'm flying on Emirates to the UK in a couple of weeks. I've got a good pair of earphones I'll be taking for the flight, but from some of the comments here it sounds like a standard 3.5mm jack won't work with the inflight entertainment system. Do I need an adaptor? DSE have got one - http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/product/P6645/airplane-headphone-adaptor - would this do the trick?

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#627931 20-May-2012 14:01

That'd work just fine.

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