Age old question - long haul flight tips and entertainment

[WonsWoo]

I know it's done to death but what are your go to
Tips
Must haves
Don't bother with and
Things to do

DH and I have a 12 hour flight coming up. It is a night flight but I have trouble sleeping in my own bed at home so not confident I will sleep much.

I also struggle with chronic lack of concentration/easily distracted so not sure how much reading I would get done.

For me:

• Phone preloaded with audiobooks and maybe a film
• Book
• Puzzle book
• Colouring book and pencils

Earphones obviously a must.

Take your own snacks just in case the airline’s food is late being served or you don’t like it. Take some hard boiled sweets to suck to alleviate ear pressure.
I take a mini bottle of mouthwash on board instead of taking my toothbrush.

wet wipes / face wipes, toothbrush & toothpaste, small deodorant and hair brush so can freshen up before landing. I'd also take a clean pair of knickers and a clean t-shirt (handy in case you spill dinner down your front too!).
eye mask, neckpillow and ear plugs if you want to sleep
comfy clothes and shoes
puzzle games on ipad/tablet that don't need wifi
if you use your phone or ipad for games, music etc then take a powerpack too

Accept that you won’t get much sleep
I take 5mg Melatonin, bought in USA not sure if it’s available in UK about an hour before I predict the lights will go off
Comfy clothes, leggings and a sweatshirt, hotel slippers that can be thrown away and flight socks
Fill your water bottle airside and minimise the alcohol
Audio books and Podcasts downloaded so at least you can close your eyes and rest
Try not to hate all the other passengers who are in a deep sleep!

I take my kindle and not much else. I’ll watch a few films.

I take eye drops as I wear lenses and they get dry, lip balm and sometimes those under eye patches.

For overnight flights, I take night nurse and wear Bose noise cancelling headphones.

Wear something like leggings and a fairly loose t-shirt, my teenage daughter wore a tighter fitting one and it was riding up her back constantly as she shuffled around in her seat. Basically things that are really comfy, have a warmer layer to hand as the air conditioning varies between airlines and sometimes it's really cold and other times it feels fine. The airlines seem to vary in their blanket offerings too. Take an empty reusable water bottle and fill at the water fountains in the terminal. I would check the airlines inflight entertainment offering in advance and download things to your tablet if nothing appeals. We just did Sydney and back in the summer holidays, probably spent 46 hours in the air, at least two of the flights were overnight so that filled a lot of time, and honestly all I did was play a few games of angry birds, bejewelled, Uno, who wants to be a millionaire and I did listen to an audio playlist on one flight. Otherwise I had the screen on flight map and would just check progress any time I opened my eyes, and I basically just dozed or chatted with the kids the rest of the time. I didn't watch a single film, whilst my husband probably managed 7/8 films across the flights. The previous time we went to Australia we did a leg with Qantas, and I listened to an audiobook on their inflight entertainment which I really enjoyed, this was fab way for me to zone out without much concentration and filled the entire flight. I didn't quite get to the end though, some books might take 9/10 hours in audio format, so I then had to get the book out of our local library to finish it.

Cosy clothes

Toiletry bag, eye drops, hair brush

Zopiclone sleeping tablet.

I basically watch a film, eat, sleep, watch a few comedies, wash my face and brush my teeth.

Binge a comedy box set is my top tip if you are awake. I love to do this especially American ones such as American Autos as it makes time go really fast.

I don’t do much different to any other flight. Just make sure I have comfy, warm clothes, eat, watch a film or two and I ‘pretend’ to sleep for a couple of hours and hope I accidentally fall asleep in that time. Wake up, eat, brush hair, clean teeth, off.
have fun!

Thanks all. Last time I flew I was all set to listen to an audio book and turns out it hadn’t downloaded so will make sure of that.

Snacks is a good call too.

Just found out there are airport worker strikes in our destination country starting the day before we arrive. Joy!

I always bring a really big pashmina scarf - can serve as a blanket, rest against the armrest and pillow. It’s always cold on a plane!

We download at least 12 hours of films in case of delays or being stuck on the plane.

Hand sanitizer and wipes. Do your whole area including screen - those areas are never properly cleaned.

Noise cancelling headphones - genius. Remember the plug to plug into the in flight entertainment.

Snacks - salty and savoury as you may not want to eat chocolate early in the morning.

Reusable cloth bag for anything you buy in the airport (drinks) .

Have a great flight.