Tips for a comfortable long haul flight

[randomsallie]

Another episode in the series of random posts to help me live with (hopefully) a little less stress.

My Family and I are taking a long haul flight. Family of 4 two young kids 5 and 8 girls. The children’s first ever flight too. Any tips for a smooth journey please? Headphones? Snacks? Blanket? I've not been on a plane for 14 years !!

Good downloads to watch
Decent neck pillow
Wet wipes
Chewing gum or toothpaste and brush

The airline will provide basic headphones and blankets, usually toothpaste & toothbrush as well. I always have my noise cancelling AirPods with me and download TV shows + podcasts on my phone, most of the time the inflight entertainment system doesn’t quite cater to my taste. To be honest I feel that long haul flights are fairly miserable no matter what - it’s just a case of getting through things, it’s always worth it to get to your end destination!

I recently flew the longest I have ever done (14 hrs + 7 hrs to visit DD in Sydney).. not fun but not as bad as I was expecting.

You should get headphones snacks and blankets with most airlines long haul ( I like Singapore and Emirates best!). If you're not flying business then those blow up things for the footwell are good for the kids as they make the seat more like a bed ( although some airlines are funny about them if they notice you're using them so check). Also good neck pillows.

Hi following and please can someone recommend a good neck pillow for travelling.

A good comfy eye mask is a must on flights for me.

You will be given earphones, blankets and snacks

For a day flight, an iPad loaded with games and movies and some nice comfy headphones keeps ours VERY HAPPY. (So much so they beg for long flights as it’s the only time they get so much screen!). Night flights are always a bit of a nightmare. Grit teeth and don’t stress.

I live 5000 miles away from home, so long haul flights with kids are a regular occurrence for me!

My top tip:
Do not ever use the priority boarding for families with children.
Wait until the last boarding call.
That way by the time you get your kids on the plane and settled in, you’re only waiting 10 mins for take off most of the time.
If you do priority boarding, your kids are sat on a stationary plane on the tarmac for 30 mins longer than they need to be.
Also shoes off at the earliest opportunity! I always pack a pair of compact slippers in my carry-on luggage and swap my shoes for those as soon as I get on the plane.

Ipad/tablet loaded for the kids.
I LOVE my Trtl neck pillow... it's very different from the usual head supports, and you really can fall asleep with it.
Warm clothes... it gets chilly. I always wears a hoody so I can bury myself away, and decent ear plugs.
Snacks the kids like.
Ignore priority boarding.

Flew to Oz last year with a 2.9 yr old... it was fine. Next Feb he'll be 4 and we'll have a 12m old baby with us too. It's doable!

@AusBoundDD 15 hours on 1 plane and an hour to get to a transfer 🙈🙈🙈

Thank you I’m away to check out the neck pillow x

I love my Trtl one

Also highly recommend a foot hammock. I slept for about 6 hours straight on a recent flight.

Time for the standard heads up that some airlines don't allow or have restrictions on certain comfort devices such as foot hammocks or some of the blow up foot supports.

It's worth checking the carrier's website before buying.

Oh god, not those blow up bed things. We were on a long haul trip recently and the family in the row behind had two of them, they took an age to get them blown up, and banged the back of our seats a million times while they were doing it. Something was wrong with one of them and mum was bitching to the dad endlessly about it. So be aware that you’re likely to annoy everyone sitting around you if you’re faffing around with them.

Surprised nobody has mentioned flight socks.

Prevent DVT and also stop your feet swelling from long haul flights, leaving you uncomfortable when you get to your destination. They feel a bit tight when you first put them on but you get used to it - I wouldn't fly over 5 hours without them.

Also a tablet with downloaded episodes of series/TV and noise cancelling headphones. In flight entertainment can be hit and miss and if you can't sleep at least you know there's something to watch.

@Energe ooh thank you!

@WolfFoxHare ah haha! Noted thank you!

I fly frequently and the hammock isn’t ever an issue. I’ve flown with most major airlines. The blow up footrests are banned on nearly all of them though. I would check before buying one.

If you have the money, noise-cancelling headphones made a huge difference for me.The free ones made my ears sore. Lots of downloaded videos and audiobooks. The sort of toys that are “captive” so don’t have lots of pieces to lose are ideal.

@Energe
is it something like this?
https://amzn.eu/d/a0Fcj16

No it’s like this Airplane Footrest Adjustable Foot Hammock, M MOACC Plane Foot Hammock, Travel Essentials Hammock with Support Plates by Thicked Memory Cotton Filling Perfect for Long Flight Plane Travel Foot Leg Rest
https://amzn.eu/d/3YTkQbK to rest your feet on. I’ve not seen the one you linked before.