Friday
Oct282005
How to survive a long plane flight
Friday, October 28, 2005 at 12:36AM 
Thanks to those who offered advice in Blatherchat, LJ and Flickr yesterday about the poor bird who expired on our front step (and thank you, John C. and Dave W., for your Monty Python references :-)). Turns out it was a cedar waxwing (thanks for the link, David!).
I'm hanging out with Jodi tonight, looking forward to attending a housefilk at Sue Posteraro's tomorrow, and bead-shopping with Judith and Sally in Newmarket beforehand. I'm just going to look, of course; I don't need more beads. I have willpower, yes I do.
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Today, I'm going to compile a list of ways I've learned to cope on long airplane flights. This is mainly for my own reference since I've recently gleaned more experience from our Germany trip, but the rest of you are welcome to use it as well (and add to it!):
- Bring bottled water. Yes, the flight attendants will offer water as well, but you never know when.
- Bring ear plugs or soundproof headphones with an adaptor plug for airplanes. The ear plugs are good for masking the drone of the engines so you can nap. The headphones make listening to music or the movie a more pleasant experience.
- If you're worried about an overly chatty seat neighbour (it's one of my personal nightmares) during a long flight, bring a book. With the book open and headphones on, you can be as happily antisocial as you'd like.
- Bring an inflatable neck pillow and an eye mask if you plan to nap.
- Do take a pillow and a blanket when offered; you may not get a chance later on if you change your mind. I stick the small pillow behind my lower back as lumbar support, stick the blanket under the seat in front of me in case I need it later.
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- Bring slippers or thick socks. Take off your shoes (which are ideally the kind that slip on/off easily since you may have to take them off at security if they set off the alarm) and tuck them out of the way for the duration of the flight. Your feet will swell slightly during the flight.
- Bring small snacks. My favourites: granola bars, Power bars, hard candy.
- Check ahead of time whether your plane serves a meal; to survive, more and more airlines are starting to cut a lot of "frills." Some (like the one I was just on, to Calgary) offer stale sandwiches and chocolate bars for a fee. Bring small bills, just in case.
- Bring a small travel toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste in your carry-on.
- Try to use the restroom before meals/snacks are served, or during the movie. Just after, there is usually a line-up. Once the meals are served, you're often trapped in your seat until dishes are cleared and the serving cart is out of the aisle.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or coffee. The caffeine is dehydrating and apparently makes it more difficult to adjust to jetlag.
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- Try to put as little as possible under the seat in front of you so you can stretch out your legs.
- If you plan to nap and you wear glasses, being a hard-shell glasses case so you can put away your glasses safely before you get some shut-eye.
- Bring moisturizer. Put some on just before the flight.
- If you wear contact lenses, take them out for the flight (especially for long flights).
- Take walks around the plane from time to time. Do stretches...but make sure you do these in an area where you won't be in the way of flight attendants or passengers. My favourite place is in the back where there's usually a small alcove with a tiny window where you can also look outside.
- Bring a small clip-on reading light in case your overhead light doesn't work properly. This has saved my sanity on at least one occasion.
- Wear layers. I've found temperatures of planes vary widely.
- Bring a spritz bottle with water to spray on your face for a quick freshen-up. However, some sources said that spraying water on your face makes your skin feel even drier, if not chapped. Go figure. Instead of taking a spritz bottle, which I find takes up space, I usually just moisten a paper towel in the restroom and pat my face and neck with it, then use moisturizer. It ALMOST makes me feel as if I've just washed up.
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I posted on this about five years ago (and borrowed from that post for the above), and here's what Bill Sutton had to contribute on the topic:
From Bill Sutton:
- Be sure to start working on your destination time as soon as it is practical to do so. I reset my watch when the plane takes off and try to operate with my sleep cycles and such based on "watch time", not body time.
- This isn't so important now that almost all airlines are non-smoking, but take a change of shirt and socks in your carry-on. Change just before you land, if you can. A quick rinse with cold water (a lot of airlines give you hot towels as well ... mmmmm) and a clean shirt can make you feel a lot better.
- If you don't need it, lift up the armrest between the two of you. It really does give you more room to move your hips and upper legs, even if you are disgustingly thin and healthy
- Absolutely, definitely get up and walk around. It not only keeps you from cramping up, it's a good chance to meet people who are also up and walking around.
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- Bring a variety of things to do. Sometimes the movie is just bad (or is at the wrong time - resist the temptation to watch it if you should be sleeping ) or your eyes just get tired of reading. I don't usually do many crossword puzzles, for instance, but I keep a book of cryptics with me to do on the plane when I need a break.
- Laptops and coach seats don't get along very well on most airlines. Don't count on being able to comfortably use your laptop unless you're lucky enough to be in Business Class ...
And some useful links:
Surviving a long-distance plane flight
How to survive a long plane flight
Travelling by air
Air traveler's handbook
Surviving long plane flights with children
Travel with Kids
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