long freakin flight tips?

[Aisling]

i'm about to go on the longest flight ever for me... any tips on surviving 16-18 hour flight w/o maybe wanting to kill the person seated next to you?

i'm trying to avoid askin my doctor for ambien LOL

[Allee]

Noise cancelling headphones and your Ipod are your best friends.

Try and sleep if you can. Eight hours of sleep means less time you have to be awake, fidgety and bored stupid.

Case out spare seats if your row is full, and as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off, hightail it over there. Coming back from NZ last time I scored an empty row and used it as a bed - sweet.

Seatback entertainment units are the best things ever. If you're lucky you'll have movies on demand, and some of the TV is generally pretty good too.

I have to take a pillow of some sort to stuff behind my back or else I get as stiff as all hell. A bulky jacket works too. The pillows they give you are hopeless.

Walking around the cabin is dangerous for your health, but necessary. Drink lots of water and get up and move around if your feet start to swell up. There's usually a decent open space in front of the rear toilets where you can stretch out if you need to.

Dress warm. For some reason longhaul flights are mobile refrigerators and the blankets are a joke.

Try not to drool over the sleeper units in business class when you walk through. :)

Finally, have a fantastic time. I'm jealous.

[Gecko]

I'll second the noise canceling headphones and an IPOD....that's gotten me through some long a$$ed flights. Stay awake for as long as possible before you fly so that sleeping is easier. If you have points use them for an upgrade to Business class

[kjl]

Anybody have a solution to just plain old having your butt hurt from sitting down for so long? I think I can sit down for about an hour and a half before I have to start alternating which buttock I am putting my weight on. Then, I sit on my left buttock for like 30 minutes, then right, then the left, but this time only for 20 minutes. By the end of 5-6 hour long flights I am switching every minute or so, sitting back, sitting forwards, sticking one foot under my butt, sticking knuckles under my butt, getting up to pretend to go to the bathroom, doing a wall-squat with the back of my chair, etc..

[Allee]

A butt with more padding?:)

[Gecko]

no that doesn't help then you have more weight pushing down making it hurt.

I usually get up and find someplace to stretch...10 minutes of sun salutations does wonders for me

[Guest shrederjen]

Bose headset, Ipod, and an Ambien....

I am not one to normally indulge in sleeping pills, but even half a one helps for those 10-12 hour flights.

I will be scrounging for a pill or two for the flight to South America, in a few months... :D

[Arclite]

A butt with more padding?:)

My dad has an a$$ pad....litterally. he boards with it. underwear with padding, ingenious!

[Seraph]

instead of ambien use melatonin, its natural and ambien can have some nasty side effects like hallucinations. Melatonin also helps with getting yourself on the right sleep schedule in a different time zone. I swear by it.

I hope your not in a middle seat in regular economy. I had to do that once to Tokyo for a direct flight from the East coast, total misery.

Hope you have a good trip.

[tex1230]

all of the above, and avoid alcohol. It's easy to have a couple of drinks to fall asleep, but the in-flight hangover sucks.

[boarderboy]

My wife and I had three N.Y./Seoul or Seoul/NY trips. 14+ hours! That infernal, little red line inching across the "Pacific" on the CRT was maddening!!

Don't look at it, if they're still dumb enough to display those things!!

BB

[Neil Gendzwill]

Drink lots of water, easy to get dehydrated in a plane for that long.

Headphones rather than earbuds - sends a much clearer "don't bug me" signal.

I haven't flown that distance in over 10 years, but when I did it was on the company nickel in business class. The main thing about that was the individual TVs, but now I think most airlines have them in coach. That's a great thing on a long flight.

BTW international business class is very very nice, much better than it is on local flights. Not worth it if I'm paying of course but as Ferris says "if you have the means..."

[Aisling]

haha i wish i could upgrade but i'm traveling with a group of nursing students/recent grads

thanks for all the tips guys... i'm gonna try the melatonin at home this week to see if it works. i would rather go natural than use ambien

i have trouble with my ears so i need to pick up those earplanes they sell in stores... so awesome... none of that pain from descent or popping.

[Michelle]

A good book and a few magazines helps to break the monotony of TV. You can also get in different positions in the seat and read. I also always bring a crossword or some sort of puzzle book with me to keep my brain from frying with boredom.

I was lucky enough to get an IPOD with a screen, so I watched movies on my IPOD back and forth from Europe last month. NOt optimal, but definitely worth it for wasting 1 1/2 hours.

Laps to the back of the plane work too - just standing in the back of the plane helps and any kind of yoga that you can go while standing and not offending anyone around you.

I also used melatonin, and it made me feel weird. It made my friend sick. so definitely try it before you leave.

Have an awesome time - good luck!

[Aisling]

hmmm made you feel weird huh?

i have it... haven't tried it. guess i should do that this week!

i have an ipod nano w a decent screen and 8 gs ... maybe i should get a movie . dunno how long the charge lasts though....which reminds me i need a converter... so much to do!

[Aisling]

oh... does anyone have any good book suggestions? i haven't read a good book in the last few years d/t studies~

[Michelle]

i have an ipod nano w a decent screen and 8 gs ... maybe i should get a movie . dunno how long the charge lasts though....which reminds me i need a converter... so much to do!

My IPOD is a 80G and it has so many movies and music on there and I still have tons of room. You have to do a bit of converting...I can lead you to the programs online.

What I found was most of my "modern" things like my IPOD and camera didn't need a converter, only the right plug for where I was going. Most electronics will have right on the charger 110/220V which means it's ok to plug into the wall in another country, using their plug thingy which is much cheaper and lighter than buying a converter. Check yours, but I'm guessing your IPOD is ok.

[Michelle]

oh... does anyone have any good book suggestions? i haven't read a good book in the last few years d/t studies~

Wow, there are so many. What are you interested in? I have a "book list" of books I have read and want to read. Does that make me an official geek?

[dantheman0177]

It depends where you are flying to. If you are only doing a single sector, then the key is to try and work out the timing so you sleep when you would expect to sleep in both places.

That works, for example, between Aus/NZ and US/Can and you can manage about 6 hours on a 14 hour flight. Not too bad and you don't get anywhere near as jetlagged.

But if it's longer, like my trips home from the UK, it's almost impossible to do anything but grin and bear it. So you just have to drink tons and tons of water, get the noise cancelling headphones (best investment I've made in the last 3 years, considering the amount of travel I do) and force yourself to operate on the time zone of your destination from the minute you get off the plane (ie: forget all about what time it is at home).

[bigdyno]

Both times I flew to Switzerland I spent about two weeks adjusting my schedule to offset jetlag. I went to bed 1/2 hour earlier and got up 1/2 hour earlier every day and in two weeks I was pretty much set for the 6 hour time difference. This also helped with the flying as I was awake when most of the plane was sleeping and made transfers less of a groggy hassle. I would expect it would be difficult to follow this program if you have a life (kids, spouse, normal job) and if your flight was more than 10 hours or so. Good luck.

[Aisling]

It depends where you are flying to. If you are only doing a single sector, then the key is to try and work out the timing so you sleep when you would expect to sleep in both places.

That works, for example, between Aus/NZ and US/Can and you can manage about 6 hours on a 14 hour flight. Not too bad and you don't get anywhere near as jetlagged.

But if it's longer, like my trips home from the UK, it's almost impossible to do anything but grin and bear it. So you just have to drink tons and tons of water, get the noise cancelling headphones (best investment I've made in the last 3 years, considering the amount of travel I do) and force yourself to operate on the time zone of your destination from the minute you get off the plane (ie: forget all about what time it is at home).

Dan I'm going to South Africa... i'm adding the headphones to my last minute packing that i'm doing tomorrow... flight is supposedly 16-18 hours... straight from washington dc to capetown w one stop in Senegal just to fuel up (no getting off the plane there)

i'm trying to figure that if i get on the flight at 6pm ... and am kinda tired but not exhausted... that within a few hours (hopefully) i could fall asleep naturally. thing is... i've done the overnight to England + Ireland... and I NEVER sleep. not one wink on a 6-7 hr flight. so i wind up arriving in the morning there absolutely knackered. i do force myself to stay awake on arrival though... we get into Cape Town at 9PM their time the next day, so i'm nearly losing an entire day en route.

i'm a bit nervous, but praying somehow someway i will be tired enough to sleep even 4-5 hours.

thanks mate!

[Aisling]

Wow, there are so many. What are you interested in? I have a "book list" of books I have read and want to read. Does that make me an official geek?

i'll read most anything a good friend recommends... so have at it woman!

[Aisling]

Both times I flew to Switzerland I spent about two weeks adjusting my schedule to offset jetlag. I went to bed 1/2 hour earlier and got up 1/2 hour earlier every day and in two weeks I was pretty much set for the 6 hour time difference. This also helped with the flying as I was awake when most of the plane was sleeping and made transfers less of a groggy hassle. I would expect it would be difficult to follow this program if you have a life (kids, spouse, normal job) and if your flight was more than 10 hours or so. Good luck.

i have no time to do this but that's not a bad idea for future reference... especially if i plan to do extended stays in other time zones :)

[boarderboy]

oh... does anyone have any good book suggestions? i haven't read a good book in the last few years d/t studies~

You're almost surely familiar with Ms. Plum already, but if not, she's a laid-off chain store lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter. (Please don't ask about her cousin, 'Vinnie', and the duck...)

Stephanie is the kind of girl you always fantasized about bringing home 'to Mom'. She's also the kind of woman your Mom always dreaded you would bring home. A real winner of a 'Ms.' in every sense of the word.

If you're not into light, escapist summer fare, Richard Ford's The Lay of the Land held my attention from beginning to end. (And I normally read just a book or two a year, maybe...)

Again, congratulations and best to you and your fellow grads on your trip. Talk about a country, and a people, that know something about music and dance!!

And then there's Bruce Brown's (formerly) 'perfect wave' at Cape St. Frances...

Godspeed...

BB

[MEC]

You're almost surely familiar with Ms. Plum already, but if not, she's a laid-off chain store lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter. (Please don't ask about her cousin, 'Vinnie', and the duck...)

Stephanie is the kind of girl you always fantasized about bringing home 'to Mom'. She's also the kind of woman your Mom always dreaded you would bring home. A real winner of a 'Ms.' in every sense of the word.

If you're not into light, escapist summer fare, Richard Ford's The Lay of the Land held my attention from beginning to end. (And I normally read just a book or two a year, maybe...)

I agree - these books are the perfect kind of book for long flights. I read the first three of them between NYC and China a couple of years ago. They are hilarious and light, and if you get distracted by a noisy, smelly, or obnoxious-seat-kicking kid while reading, you won't get lost or loose your train of thinking when you get back to the page. I live in Vermont now and work at a massage therapy spa. We have almost no business between May and November. I sit here at the desk hoping for the phone to ring or for somebody to come in so I have something to do, (other than surf the internet aimlessly) so I'm making my way though the rest of the series this summer while at "work."

I also recommend "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson if you haven't read it. Maybe it appeals to me because I grew up in the woods and took a long hiatus from living in that environment, and I'm middle aged and constantly fighting the "spread." Anyway, it's also a hilarious, well-written read.

Have a great trip and let us know how the flight went.