Hit me with your long haul flight tips

[GFHell]

I’ll soon be travelling from London to Sydney via the Middle East. I’ve never taken a flight of anywhere near this length before. I’m lucky enough to be going business class. Travelling alone
What tips can you give me?
I’m interested in avoiding jet lag of course. I’m also interested in what to wear because the weather Will be very different when I leave London from when I arrive in Sydney. I was going to wear long loose trousers and a couple of layers that I can easily fit in my cabin bag before I disembark.
I thought of wearing trainers but having some sandals in my bag.
I have compression socks ready.
Any tips at all are very welcome from what to make sure I’ve got on the flight with me, to what to wear, to avoiding jet lag or anything else you think might be useful

Noise cancelling headphones
warm scarf or pashmina that can function as an extra blanket because planes can be cold.

I think you’ve thought of everything. Maybe plan out when you’ll think you’ll sleep. Business class really does help with jet lag. Do you drink alcohol, if so what’s your plan with that?

Put your watch on Sydney time when you board, it helps your body clock adjust. You don’t say what time you’re arriving but try to stay awake until a normal bed time, we’ve arrived in Sydney in the morning & have managed to power through until about 9pm, sleep through & no jet lag.
I wear elastic waist joggers, t shirt & hoodie with trainers that I either loosen or remove if I have slippers provided.
I have a change of underwear & t shirt in my cabin bag as well as deodorant, face wipes, moisturiser etc.
Take a kindle, noise cancelling headphones & maybe some herbal sleep tablets.

When travelling business long haul I eat everything and drink everything Im offered and then sleep. Works for me

Take (or get at airport) toothpaste. You’ll no doubt get a toothbrush and paste in the amenity kit but it’s often an inadequate amount of toothpaste for that length of flight.

Avoid drinking too much (if any) alcohol and keep water intake up! They’ll give you a bottle on the flight but take a reusable bottle in your hand baggage and fill up in the airport before you board.

No need to take water in B.C.

Eye mask for sleeping. But most of these things should be provided if flying BC . Hydrate is important. Slip on shoes are good but again slippers if you want to keep feet warm .

Moisturising eye drops, and good moisturiser and lip balm. The air on planes is so dry! I can never wear my contacts for very long on long haul but even without them, eye drops are invaluable.

And yes, BC will probably give you a little tube of moisturiser etc but I'm really picky about stuff like that.

I favour a drugs-based approach to jet lag and would have some antihistamine sleeping tablets to use once arrived.

Who will you be flying with? Emirates/Qatar? They offer different levels of service.

I use both a lot and can tell you my 'routine' of what helps me with long haul travel

Posted to quick!

All my long haul flights are with either of those 2 airlines in business.

You dont need to bother carring on extra water/blankets/pillows/snacks/toothbrush ( Emirates sets are a great size) etc all will be provided, I do take my own eyemask as both airlines are just ok, no need for extra headphones (Qatars are better than Emirates) but depends on who your flying with as to give more info.

Check what connection you need for your headphones to work with the IF entertainment.

And if you keep your headphones in a hard case, make sure they are in there before you leave home (side eye at DH who endured a 12 hour flight with the piddly in ear ones provided!)

Lip balm is must for me, stay hydrated.

Get up and stretch if you can - as many times as you can reasonably do so.

I fly BC for long haul and I still take my own bottles. I prefer a larger bottle of water that I can drink whenever I want without always having to ask for new ones.

How long is your layover OP? Some airlines will give you a hotel for long overnight layovers so worth checking that.

Fluffy socks for the flight is always a must for me, together with my snacks.

I also take off my make up soon as I get on the plane, and when it’s circa 12 hour flight, I take face masks and a decent lip balm to ensure my face and skin don’t go dry.

Depending on the airline, you might get a toiletry type bag with goodies given to you, but what I do:

-Take slip on, hotel type slippers. On board I take my socks and shoes off, put on warmer socks and use the slipper things anytime I walk around or go to the loo
-Eye mask, ear plugs
-Mini toothpaste/brush/lip gloss and moisturizer. Other than some lipstick I rarely wear make-up. If I do, I aways remove it on board and moisturize.
-Large, thin scarf. It can be rolled up as a extra pillow, wrapped around me if cold, used as a sarong when visiting a temple in Thailand and as a regular scarf before leaving the UK. It also folds up to fit into a back pack pocket.
-Last time I left the UK there was snow and I was heading to a very hot Aus. I bought a jacket like this https://www.marksandspencer.com/feather-and-down-padded-puffer-jacket/p/clp61227047?color=BLACK#intid=pid_pg1pip48g4r2c2%7Cprodflag_20%25%20off
With the above mentioned scarf, it was certainly warm enough to get from home to the airport, but it was so light and folded up very small in my bag.
-Be prepared to be bored on the flight! I usually watch some films/TV shows and try to sleep when I can
-Before the flight, where possible, I've previously tried moving my sleep 1-2hrs a day and 'trying' to move to the timezone I'm going to. It really helped, but I could only do it when I wasn't working beforehand
-A flight which arrives in the evening local time can be good because you can sleep on arrival
-Try to get some sunshine each day. It really helps to re set the clock. Note that the sun can be very harsh there though, hence most people have hats/sunglasses etc on.

Ive done this loads. This is what I do. On one of the legs (depending on what time I land) I get on and have 2 wines and 2 phenergan. Knocks me out for 8 hrs. Brilliant. Then the other leg I just enjoy and watch movies. I go in a trackie. Make sure you get up for the loo a couple of times on each leg. I didn’t once and my legs swelled up for a week after. Compression socks are a must. When I arrive I take sleeping pills and go to bed at 10pm. I usually have to do that for a few nights to get into their time zone.

Look up what’s included with your business class flights, loyd if the suggestions here will be included .

For awake time I enjoy finding a comedy I haven’t seen and then binging lots of episodes. Then on the way home perhaps watching a few more if I feel to tired for a film or dint have long enough for an extra film.

I find reading makes the time go quickest.

I flew through Doha with Qatar on the way to Africa. We had a two hour layover and I managed to squeeze a shower and change of underwear in. It felt amazing! If you have a water bottle don't forget to empty it before you go through security at Qatar. My husband got held back because of this.

Orangeleavesredleavesyellowleaves it’s Emirates

Madewithtea I arrive in Sydney early in the morning

Right well in that case, I would force myself to stay up for the first leg, then try to sleep later into the second leg (like 8-10 hours before landing) - so Im close to their time. It will be hard, but nap in the day here before the flight, and force yourself to stay awake until late into that second leg.

Then during that first day you must stay awake all day. It will be hard, but try. The most you can do is a half hour nap in arvo. Set an alarm. If you dont you will be all over the shop for days.

Oh and put a 'do not disturb' sign on yourself for that big sleep on the plane otherwise they wake you for meals - I never bother. I take the sleeping pills and the wine to make sure Im proper knocked out.

Top tip though - dont fall asleep at the gate in Dubai! Hard metal chair and busy gate chaos all around me - somehow I nodded off for what felt like seconds, then woken up to someone asking me if I was 'seanconneryseyebrow' and the whole gate was desserted. They were waiting for me (I was tucked around a corner too). Soooo lucky.

Stay really hydrated. Accept that you will feel like total shit!

And yes, hydrating eye drops.

I still take my own bottle when I fly BC.. good to cut down on plastic waste where possible!

I always have a shower in the lounge during the stop in the ME, Its surprising how good it feels, change of underwear etc. They provide towel hair dryers etc. I always head straight for the shower reception on arrival to book in.
Eye drops are a must.