long haul flight survival recommendations

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gzt

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#102594 17-May-2012 20:38

I sleep as much as possible - wake up for meals only, sometimes including a movie, iPod listening and a little reading and exercise. Ear plugs when sleeping and a generic neck pillow type thing and usually a baseball cap to shade my eyes. Plan ahead to miss the huge rush to the lavs after meals. Take extra food items in case one or more meals are completely inedible. Nothing worse than being hungry on a plane.

What are your recommendations for long haul flight survival in economy?

Any recommendations for a good neck pillow or eyeshade?

The usual synthetic ones heat up after a while. Every eye shade I've tried the mild pressure on the eyes gets to me after a while.

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#627069 17-May-2012 20:48

Noise canceling headphones!

qwerty7

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#627083 17-May-2012 21:27

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?

gzt

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#627086 17-May-2012 21:30

qwerty7:Anyone know what to do when they keep kicking the back of your seat?

I just explain the situation. If they are not old enough to understand then their parents will. Usually you have to repeat the process at least once but it seems to work.

networkn

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#627088 17-May-2012 21:33

Business class is one of my favourite ways to survive long haul flights.

knoydart

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#627089 17-May-2012 21:34

On the eye mask front, I´d suggest wearing them in the run up to the flight so they feel less odd after a few hours use.

My suggestion is to get some exercise in before a flight - swim or a good walk is a must. Fresh air is always good before and after a long haul flight imo.

networkn

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#627092 17-May-2012 21:39

geekiegeek: Noise canceling headphones!

And this, so much of this. M14 Blackbox will be the best money you spend this year travelling.

vexxxboy

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#627097 17-May-2012 21:49

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.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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khull

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#627171 18-May-2012 08:25

Get yourself a pair of Bose qc15 headphones. You'll never want to travel without them again.

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#627176 18-May-2012 08:53

If you are travelling alone and if you are able to, pick the centre-aisle seat. So not the window-aisle seats, for example on 747 general seats configuration is ABC-DEFG-HJK, so pick either D or G, reason being, less movement for someone to get in and out of your seat. 777 seats arrangement is ABC-DEF-GHK or ABC-DEFG-HJK. 767 AB-DEF-JK. A330/340 AC-DEFG-HK.

Not all airlines are have same seats configuration.

So who are you flying with in for long-haul.

http://www.seatguru.com/

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robjg63

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#627192 18-May-2012 09:32

networkn: Business class is one of my favourite ways to survive long haul flights.

+1 On that!

Flew to Paris last time on Korean business class - great service/comfort etc.

One thing that appeals to me (regardless of class) is the fact that going with Korean to europe means an overnight stopover in Incheon (Seoul). They pay for a nice hotel - give you meal vouchers for evening meal/breakfast. It means you sleep in a real bad and can have a shower - stretch your legs etc. I find it very difficult to sleep on a plane no matter how good the seats - but pop me in a 'real' bed and I was out like a light. Its the first time I have got off at the other end (Europe) and wasnt cross-eyed and headachy...

Sadly they dont have an overnight stopover on the way back.

I know a couple of other airlines have a stopover at their hub - worth checking out if the added travel time doesnt worry you.

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networkn

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#627193 18-May-2012 09:37

We have been pretty clever with our credit cards and airpoints collection and haven't flown economy for quite a while. AirNZ is our preferred carrier, with it's lie down seats, though with the new airpoints program it's a big boo to airNZ for it. They have really shot themselves in the foot and ruined a lot of the goodwill they had earned over the last 7 years! They have delayed it's implementation so hopefully they will make the process more transparent.

crackrdbycracku

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#627234 18-May-2012 10:39

First, forget looking cool.

Sadly, you are probably going to look like crap when you get there anyway so wear the most comfortable stuff you can. Planes are hot, or at least reasonably warm, so make sure you can take some of the cloths you are wearing off.

This is might sound a bit crazy but I'm serious; wash you feet and wear clean socks before you get on the plane. This means you can take you shoes off and go barefoot or socks only for the flight without anybody looking at you funny. You won't get cold and your feet will thank you.

Drink plenty of water and use bathroom trips as an excuse to go for a wander around the plane. This keeps the blood moving and stops you getting too bored. Don't take salty snacks, you'er going to have enough problems with dehydration as is. Take fruit instead, as this will help keep your mouth wet. Just leave it on the plane or bin it at the airport when you get off, don't forget and try to take it through customs.

Remember that for take off and landing electronic devices must be off. I always take a paper book or at least a magazine. They also don't break or require batteries.

If all else fails take comfort in the fact that going by boat would take forever.

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#627252 18-May-2012 11:10

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.

Kids don't like sitting in plane seats (or even worse on mum and dad's lap) for hours and hours.

Even though it is not your fault - it makes a massive difference to the parent if you show a little understanding. If they aren't doing anything ask nicely, but the worst thing as a parent is someone making snide remarks or being huffy when your kid is having a meltdown. If you can ask to be moved to another seat.

Our 2 year old has been to gold coast and rarotonga (on my lap to goldcoast, nightmare). We were very lucky to have parents with kids in front of us in the same boat so we suffered together. raro he was a bit older and fell asleep watching Peppa Pig.

Long haul with kids under 5 - god no.

networkn

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#627255 18-May-2012 11:18

We took our 8 month old to Japan, that was pretty good, we were in business and we had him for about 2 hours the whole time, the rest of the time he got passed from person to person in business who wanted photos with him and to play with him (He is Blond with Blue Eyes). The way back he slept. We as parents are super sensitive to the impact our kids make to other travellers but in reality kids are kids and there is only so much you can do.

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#627266 18-May-2012 11:39

I've flown Cathay Pacific to Heathrow twice. Both times their plane had 1st landing slot in morning so the terminal was almost empty. Downside was a fairly long stop at Hong Kong.

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