First long haul flight

[merchdrist]

I'm about to go on my first long haul flight to Singapore. I'm going for work and have premium economy booked. Can anyone share any tips about what I need to bring with me to make the flight more enjoyable / less likely to get jet lag?
I'm very excited to be going, but also feeling a bit nervous about the long cramped flight and being really tired for my meetings

Premium economy is not usually that cramped - which airline are you flying on? I usually just make sure I have a good book in my hand luggage. There will probably be a good choice of films, including recently released ones to watch.

I've never experienced jet lag so can't help there. Whether it's two hours on a train or eight in a plane, my mind goes into suspension and I'm always surprised by what time it is when I arrive! Plus I can usually sleep a bit on long journeys, enough to power thru.

Wear layers - planes can be hot or cold. Get up and walk around once in awhile. Go easy on the alcohol, drink water. Travel pillow. I load up my ereader and put headphones on. Look up what entertainment options your airline has on that route.

Who are you flying with and at what time?

For jet lag you need to start thinking in that time zone a day or two before - go to bed earlier, get up earlier. It will help.

Drink lots of water. Moisturise.

Take a blow up pillow. It can get cold overnight, wear layer. Thick socks nice. Take your shoes off as your feet might swell a little.

Noise cancelling headphones, an eye mask (they’ll give you one in PE), ear plugs.

Little deodorant and your toothbrush for when you wake up.

I usually take a big bottle of water and some snacks. What they provide will depend on the airline.

TBH it can be quite nice. Few drinks, meal, watch some movies or series. Bit of a snooze.

Noise cancelling headphones with some music or podcasts you like pre-downloaded are my essentials.

Sometimes I don't even have anything playing on the headphones, I just wear them while reading or sleeping to block out the background noise.

I'd also say shoes that are easy to slip on and off, and some nice cosy socks and a pashmina / big cosy wrap are nice to have as it can be cold on flights.

An eye mask.

Ps.. We went to Singapore last year and didn't suffer too badly from jet lag at all. We were awake a bit earlier than normal in the mornings but managed to power through until a normal-ish bedtime. Probably helped that we arrived early evening so by the time we'd got checked in, had dinner and a walk round the area it was bedtime.

Which airline? Do you have lounge access?

The thing to do is have a sleep on the way out, then you stay up until Singapore bed time. I find that totally stops the jet lag. The way back is a different matter...

Premium Economy is much less cramped than economy. Which airline are you going with? Make sure you wear layers and take a big wrap/ shawl. Be prepared for the madness of Singapore Airport when you arrive, it's madly busy and I found it a bit disorientating on my own.

I went to Singapore for work and really enjoyed it- it's real East meets West. You can be on a very western street, turn a corner and see the 'old' Singapore, markets, temples etc

Oh, another one for long haul, I always put a clean T-shirts and clean knickers in my hand luggage and change either right before or right after arriving. Just feeling that bit fresher until I can get a shower is nice.

Oh wow, so many good replies already thanks!

I'm going with Singapore Air and flying out late morning UK time. I'm not too worried about jet lag on way back as I will have the weekend to recover!

Oh Singapore Air I'm sure Premium is a cut above! I went business class with them and the seats were the same as BA First. I was lucky enough to travel a lot for work, couldn't afford it myself!

This is probably obvious but wear really comfortable clothes. Nothing that can dig in!

compression socks can feel nice!

Comfy clothes, warm socks, and layers, planes are so unpredictable in temperature. Buy the best noise cancelling headphones you can, take eyemask. Don’t drink alcohol, drink lots of water. Try and adjust to the time difference even a few days before you go, and once you’re on the plane, so ideally you want to sleep on the plane. I alway bring toothbrush, face wipes, deodorant and clean underwear so I can freshen up before landing. Download music, podcasts, and ideally TV or films if you have a tablet.

l travel to/from Singapore quite regularly for work. You will have a good choice of films and music channels, plus a cushion and a blanket provided.

lt pays to wear flight socks and l know what they say about alcohol, but a couple of glasses of wine helps me sleep.

Fill in your arrivals form online 48 hours before you go. Have copies of prescriptions to cover any prescription medicines.

There are plenty of taxis available on arrival. PM me if you want to ask anymore about Singapore.

Comfy shoes as your feet swell, lots of layers as i found the temperature kept changing, and get some snacks in the airport (dried fruit/nuts) in case you don't like the meals. I booked a vegetarian meal and got a vegan one that was absolutely revolting with gluten free bread for some reason ... and was absolutely starving by the time we landed. And drink loads of water.

l’m afraid substituting veggie meals for vegan ones is a recent common cost cutting exercise. Most vegetarians will eat vegan but not vice versa. And most uneaten meals carried have to be destroyed.