Tips for surviving a 13 hour flight please

[FupOff]

I have my first long haul flight in a few weeks and I’m a nervous flyer at the best of times - I don’t enjoy the claustrophobic feeling on the plane, or the general frenzy of airports. Being prepared helps me feel calm so any ideas of what to take in my hand luggage will be helpful, also any ideas on what to wear?!

Buy a pass for a lounge and wait there until your aircraft is boarding. Peace, quiet and nice food and drinks. Well worth the cash, esp. if you can snag a deal. My visits tend to cost around £20, which is excellent value when you think how much a coffee and sarnie cost in an airport.

Water, Vaseline, a sedative.

When you check in ask if the flight is full and if not ask if there is any chance of a seat next to an empty one (DH and I got a row of four to ourselves on a recent 13 hour flight which looked nearly full from the online seat chart but wasn’t in reality). Be polite and friendly to the cabin crew and they will happily answer your call button and bring extra wine (the rude guy near us was ignored all flight 😁).

I’m another nervous flyer. Definitely a lounge pass to get away from the chaos of the airport, no point in starting from a stressed baseline!

I download a lot of podcasts and listen to them. I love true crime, so work my way through several of those. Decent headphones are helpful. Either download magazines on Readly or buy a trashy magazine at the airport. I can’t focus enough to read a book, short no-thought-needed articles are all I can cope with.

I don’t wear joggers etc as a matter of course, so I wear a pair of footless tights (usually thermal), a long t-shirt dress with a side split and a leather jacket. A large scarf which doubles as a blanket and a pair of chub-rub shirts in my bag. However, we take our hot holiday in February so I am usually travelling from -2 degrees to 25degrees, I guess the outfit would change depending on where/when you’re going.

Have fun!

I've only done a couple of long haul flights. The second one I was much more prepared. I took a book to colour, puzzle book, kindle, iPad with a months worth of The Archers downloaded on it and any other stuff that you like to watch/listen to. I also took my slippers and put them on immediately. Amazing how they calmed me having a bit of 'home' with me!

I second a sedative. No amount of podcasts and downloads, eye masks and layers can get around the fact that flying is nowadays a wretched experience.

If you are going to do that then try the drug at home 1st
I have seen 2 incidents from people taking sedatives onboard and having re-actions. 1 ended up restrained and the other had have a doctor called on board

That sounds like sound advice@DirtyteaCup

Download some spa style music to your phone and get an eye mask. I like Ayurveda:lullabies for relaxation on Spotify (not lullabies in the baby sense, just chilled out sounds). Earphones in, volume up and I’ve slept for hours on a plane.

I like the bold! Have added the bold items to my list for our 9hr flight in the Summer!

I am always freezing on planes, so I layer up.

I try and go to the loo as little as I can manage as they get progressively more minging as the hours tick by.

I take my lenses out, stick those under-eye patches on (yes, I look a twat) and drink just enough that I'll fall asleep.

And I can't fly without my Bose noise-cancelling headphones.