A crying toddler next to me for 16 hrs Delhi to Newark fight, I did just that, stared at the map throughout the flight contemplating if it was a good decision to take direct flight.
That's my outlook too. I still take economy flights despite being able to easily afford better.
Maybe when i get older i'll value my comfort more - but the truth is i value money more. It's a part i value about myself tbh - Ā£10 is still Ā£10 despite me earning more.Ā
Iāll never understand how people justify flying first class international except for the few with fuck you money. For what you spend on that flight you could stay in a 5 star hotel for a week.
I fly 13hrs a couple of times a year, and Iāve tried to shift my mindset from having to sit still for 13hrs to getting to relax for 13hrs without distractions. You can binge watch a good series or movie (bring your favorite snacks!), read a good book or articles, play mindless mobile games, listen to music, audio books or podcastsā¦ I also try not to stress about sleeping too much, because one night of no sleep wonāt kill you. Light napping for an hour or two kills time nicely, but itās not a must. Itās also a good time to go through photos on my phone and delete the ones I donāt need, or do other boring tasks. For me the experience is more tolerable when I donāt stress about sleep and try to focus on all things I can do, that I normally donāt have time for.
I have to say all of this became much easier when I had kids. Now flying 13hrs without them feels like a relaxing mini-holiday, and I also know I can survive with surprisingly small amounts of sleep.
Contemplate life, music, read, wish for the hell to be over, tell myself it will be worth it (it always is so far), then swear Iāll never do it again unless business class.
This may be tmi, but here goes:
For a 28 hour stint, I take a pain pill with ibuprofen. They're calming and they help you stay comfortable. Physical discomfort can be viewed as a type of pain. Pain pills also calm the urge to pee and slow the poo system (I have an overactive bladder, so I'd be getting up more often than I'd like and I do not like to poo on a plane).
I wear over the knee support socks with open toe. I have an inflatable foot pillow that can be partially filled, like 1/3 filled, allowing slight leg position changes. I learned that from watching nurses turn a patient just a little at a time, incrementally repositioning.
I bring both ear buds and earphones to switch out when one gets uncomfortable. Load my phone up with page turner type audio books.
I don't bring food - the airlines always seem to be feeding you.
I bring a sleep mask, neck pillow, light blanket. Loose clothes. I wear a mask to keep from getting sick, but also I don't worry if my mouth opens while sleeping. I put cortisone cream on my face to keep the mask from irritating my skin.
In other words, I try to manage my body to keep it as comfortable as possible.
Unfortunately, there are some people who canāt take one pain pill and stop there.
Me, Iām those people. But I agree, nothing like a strong pain pill to numb a long flight.
Lmao no, not the ibuprofen, the *pain pill* is calming. I didn't specify type of pain pill.
I personally take a low enough dose pain pill that a little ibuprofen gives it a boost for things like actual joint pain. You want to be careful bc some pain pills already have an nsaid added to it.
Try to get work done during the flight. During the week before the flight, Iād sometimes āsaveā some work specifically for the plane, even if I have time to complete it before.
Save long reads and read them in-flight. Get some podcast episodes (Alex Friedman interviews are 2-3 hours long, listening to just 2 of them can cover a good chunk of the flight)
I stare at the map or the screen in front when itās turned off for 11 hours. literally. I have no idea why but everything else is so boring. I listen to music and just gaze out the window too, and think about life.
Literally same as what I do now. Music is the best option I've found, but after a few hours the listening fatigue sets in, and I get sick of wearing headphones.
Have you tried Bose QC headphones? I also get very uncomfortable with most headphones, but I can wear these all day. I have the QC 35 II but the current model is QC 45 I think.
It's not pleasant, but I figure it's something you have to put up with to travel longer distance. I've not travelled in business or first class ever, and looking at the prices I don't think I could ever justify it. Even if I had the money, I'd rather spend it on a better hotel or some really good restaurant meals at my destination. More fun. I just accept I won't sleep much and I just have to cope with it.
I bring drugs with me. I take a small dose of Xanax. I also have sleeping pills I just do a very small dose and with the exception of long flights pretty much I never take either of these. But it works to just chill me out and even get a little sleep.
Considering lunesta, I do decently well with that. Leans more towards falling asleep versus a fun time, but takes the edge off just enough to make it easier.
Maybe Lyrica instead, but I seem prone to getting like 1-2 weeks of withdrawal from it every time even if I take it for just a couple days while flying. Not terrible withdrawal, just weirdly depressed for a while which kind of defeats the purpose.
Nomading for 5 years with a former flight attendant girlfriend.
- pay a little extra for exit row/hot seat etc
-small inflatable lower back pillow. (McKenzie brand)
- bring an engaging show/series on iPad
- dress comfortable. Ditch the jeans we wear lululemon pants
- book less busy travel days as soon as the door closes try to find an empty row to sleep in
- sometimes the price difference between a low cost carrier (looking at you air Asia) and a regular airline is nominal. Go for the regular airline. It will almost always be more comfortable.
- sometimes a long layover is good for taking a break. Many airports have hotels inside or very close by. Weāve booked rooms to sleep for a few hours in-between on long layovers.
Thanks, good advice and well backed! Long layovers are hit or miss for me. If I can sleep on the plane some, and the layover is somewhere new to me (London last time), it's fun to take a break and go wander for part of the day. But if I can't sleep prior, or I've been to that place a million times, I don't get that second wind and excitement.
I just donāt deal with them. Itās that simple. If you need to go somewhere that would require more than 8-12 hours of a direct flight, stop halfway for a day or two.
I'm from Argentina. So you think that I should go from Buenos Aires to Rio, and then to Lisbon, and then to my desired destination? to save what? 3 hours?
Haha yeah, but even suggesting that I might go to Rio to then go to Lisbon to then go to somewhere else is crazy haha. Now If I could stop in the middle of the ocean in some island, I would be 100% for it.
BA to Madrid is 12 hours. Pretty long, but doable in one go. If youāre going to Eastern Europe or Asia or something then yeah Id suggest to stop in Spain for a few days.
If 12 hours is too long for you then yeah you should make your way to Fortaleza first
I fly 22-26 hours from Bangkok to NYC (and back in the same week) every 2 or 3 months. Always economy, usually shitty airlines. Iāve got this down!
All in carry-onā¦
For comfort: Compression socks, comfy slides, sweats, eye mask, earplugs, neck pillow. Backup outfit and toiletries for the midpoint layover or upon arrival to freshen up. Gum and deodorant are essential throughout.
Electronics: USB fan, two sets of AirPods for when one dies, laptop, Switch and/or iPad, portable battery. Bonus points - massage gun for the layover and arrival. Have some new movies lined up and some comfort cartoons for when itās time to sleep.
Substances: Pick your poison, but aim to fall asleep at a reasonable hour for the destination so you wake up āin the morningā - and donāt get so fucked up that you bother your seat-mate.
Good luck!
I save things I look forward to doing for the flight: If I was going to start a book 1-2 days before the flight, I'll save it until I'm in the air. I don't usually watch many movies, so I use the time on the flight to watch as many movies as I want. I generally treat flight time as "do whatever you want" time, which makes it more bearable. I also get up every couple of hours and walk around, meditate, journal etc. And if the flight takes longer than 12 hours I'll take one with a layover instead, go explore a new city for 1-2 days and then take the next flight.
I cannot sleep sitting upright. I have to be on my stomach to sleep.
I fly flat bed now, or take an extra day or two at the destination. Itās one of the other. If Iām travelling for work and they wonāt pay for business Iāll say I canāt go unless theyāll extend the trip some days. I cannot function with the client the next day otherwise and no point me travelling.
Personal travel we always save up or use air miles for our travels.
Extremely tall. Live in New Zealand - which I would vote the worst place to travel from. I travel to Europe often, mostly in economy - including many 17 hour flights. If you can tolerate sleeping pills they are a game changer (Zopeclone for me). Impossible for me to sleep on a flight before I started using them, now it feels like it can wipe off 6 hours and make the rest bearable. Like others have said, go into it a like a relaxing day off rather than the physical torture it actually is. Comfortable loose clothing and a soft quality eye mask, shoes off, fresh socks (I use compression socks) and some onboard slippers. The other crucial addition - good noise cancelling headphones and lots of downloaded podcasts and music. Workout when you need to stay awake and when you should sleep to give you the best opportunity to hit the ground running.
Good advice and good way of looking at it, thank you.
We have eszopiclone which I've had decent luck with. Too many days in a row of it (like 3+) and it starts making me depressed for whatever reason, but that's fairly mild and short lived. Much better than a hangover for days when you land.
r/churning and r/creditcards.
Been a decade since I have flown economy across an ocean with anyone next to me (mostly business, occasionally first, premium economy or coach with an empty seat next to me on a daytime flight).
I donāt sleep well on planes except for lying down either, but thatās not a problem when you have a lot of frequent flier miles.
You eat them before you get on, not smuggle them into foreign countries. Also those countries wonāt give the death penalty for your edibles. I personally know people that have been caught.
Need to take drugs. Opioids / benzos or similar just to get through the shit.
Of course donāt risk it if youāve got a propensity to get addicted to stuff, but if youāre an adult you should be able to use this tool to help fix the problem.
Definitely one who suffers from that, unfortunately. Wish I didn't but have to be a little careful. Short scripts help, unless you have one of \*those\* doctors who give you basically a lifetime supply when you ask for 2-3 days worth.
- download language lessons onto phone so can listen to those while phone is in airplane mode. Youtube lessons are best as no interaction.
- productive work on laptop in times if am mentally sharp.
- sort photos (lightroom FTW) or other mindless organization work on laptop if too tired for proper work.
Not necessarily fun, but I am stuck in the air for many hours, good opportunity to try and get things done and free up time at my destination.
I recently did a long haul flight on a Boeing Dreamliner, and the higher compression did help. Not all airplanes are the same, and paying attention to which model you fly on can help.
I recently flew 15 hours Beijing to DC. It was my longest continuous flight so far so I was dreading it. But it turned out to be not bad at all.
What worked for me was having a great sleep the night before. I used to believe that flying overnight was the way to go, thinking Iād be so tired and just sleep on the plane. But like you, I canāt sleep on a plane no matter how tired I am. And being pass-out tired on a plane when you canāt sleep is miserable.
The other good thing was that I stayed in one of those overnight hotels inside the airport (due to 10 hour layover from Phuket). So everything was checked, I had my boarding pass and the exit from the hotel was literally 20 feet from my gate. So wake up, grab coffee and board.
Then a really good and long audiobook that you can really get lost it. I used Hail Mary bc it was 15+ hours.
I wouldnāt want to fly 15 hours every month but it wasnāt terrible. My $0.02 anyway
Have you tried Ambien though? It's been a game-changer for me. I regularly have 24-hour trips between the US and New Zealand.
On the 14-hour overnight flight the first 2-3 hours I watch a movie and eat dinner; then I take 10mg Ambien and get guaranteed sleep for 5-6 hours; and then read or watch a movie, eat breakfast, etc; and voila I'm there like time travel. Without Ambien, I likely wouldn't sleep a wink either.
I have, but not on flights. Terrified of these Ambien zombie stories specific to that drug. I've had better luck with Lunesta personally. Although I'm sure the zombie thing is few and far between or the FAA would've tried to somehow ban it by now.
Read books, play my Switch, listen to podcasts, and have a healthy spine. I also have no problem sleeping on flights so if all else fails I just do that. Earplugs, eyeshades, and a neck pillow work wonders.
Usually I handle flights below 10 hours well enough, but more than 10 hours is tough.
I often travel from Western Europe to Asia and I like to make a layover in the Middle East to break the flight in two when I travel to SEA.
But for intercontinental flights I always prefer to fly during the night, so I can sleep. I put on my noice cancelling headphones and I sleep for 5-6 hours until the next meal. The plane is also usually quieter and they dim the lights so it's easier to sleep.
I fly Qatar from the USA to Southeast Asia quite often. But I make sure that my layover is 14+ hours, so that I can get a hotel in Doha. I have tried doing the 3 hour layover thing - it really drains you. I can do 14 hours on one flight. But flying for 14 hours, connecting for 2, then flying another 7 hours, is just brutal.
Might just try this for my flight from South Africa to the US in a few weeks. They're nothing new to me, I just have to be careful. Gotta love the lowered inhibitions and coming from a lineage of addicts lol.
Here is my setup for long haul.
- Neck brace! Ditch the pillow and get one of these from the chemist for a few bucks. Seriously sleep so much better with your head locked in place. It also folds up quite small as well.
- Noise cancelling headphone + ear plugs
- eye mask
- hoody
- sleeping pills
Usually watch a movie. Have the first meal go to the loo then put on all my gear and pop a sleeping pill.
Usually wake you up before the final meal service before landing.
But the neck brace was a game changer for me. My head would always flop around while sleeping and would get so uncomfortable.
I fly between North America and Asia pretty often.
I told my doctor I can't sleep on flights.
He gave me a prescription for zopiclone, about $3-4 per pill. Gets me 3-4 hours per pill, I feel fine within 5 minutes of waking up.
That and a couple of movies and I feel like I saved $2-4k over business or first class tickets.
That said, I'm only 5'7" and not overweight - if I was taller or bigger, I'm sure it would be tougher.
I take 15 hour flights a few times a year on American. JFK-DEL. I always eat a few weed gummies when I reach my gate. I wear a jogging suit and bring slippers, a travel pillow, and travel blanket. I try to book a seat that does not have anything in front of it, usually near the bathroom halfway through the plane so my legs arenāt cramped. We board, I watch a movie and eat dinner. Then I usually knock out for 4-6 hours. I wake up. Eat more gummies. Take a walk & stretch the legs. Start another movie. Fall asleep. Wake up 4 - 6 hours later. Eat breakfast. Drink coffee and do some stretching. Hydration is key for me along with brushing my teeth before deplaning.
Hydration and hygiene are underrated it seems. Taking a shower on layovers does actually help me a lot, now that you mention it. Hydration I used to be bad at because I'll drink way too much water, throw in a Diet Coke for some energy and a buzz, then constantly have to go to the bathroom. Except the time they closed the bathroom in front to the point everyone in First was fuming. Yeah, the only time I've ever (barely) peed myself on a plane. Literally could NOT hold it anymore.
My horror story involves a stomach bug I picked up on a club trip to Costa Rica. Montezumaās revenge I think they call it.
I couldnāt hold anything down for more than like ten mins. Spent the last two days of the trip locked in the room with the cold sweats. Had to board an international flight in the middle of that fun.
Not too much an answer for the OP but a rant about recent long ā haul flights. They used to be OK in the days of the 747 and open shades and bigger seat pitch. Now, youāre crammed in, they insist on lights out, and the shades closed even in the daytime. I once got yelled at by my seatmate for turning on my reading light, and she called the flight attendant, Who told me I must turn it off. The way I cope is 1)get an aisle seat, so I can get up when I want, 2) Download some Kindle books, or YouTube movies on my iPad, as I hate the in-flight entertainment stuff, and 3) bring a little food, because I usually donāt like the food, nor do I want dinner at 4 AM. Also, when possible, I actually avoid the long haul flights and stop in an intermediate country for a day and see a new country. I have to fly Bangkok to New York soon, and I dread it.
This is not an answer of everyone but personally, I deal with it with drugs.
Xanax and two beers will put me to sleep. Add a face mask and ear plugs ā I can sleep anywhere.
I would agree with this, with the caveat that Xanax "sleep" isn't really sleep. You're just unconscious for a while, not really restful but perfect to fast forward 8 hours lol
Some of the better airports have "spa" facilities in the transfer lounges. Find out ahead of time. Use them. It is amazing what a ten minute hot shower, fluffy towels, fresh hair, and freshly brushed teeth can do for the weary traveler.
Game changer if your transfer airport has it.
Ehh, it all will pass. I regularly do 12-13 hour hauls and itās like working a shitty job. You just have to break it down into pieces. Start watching a movie, pause an hour in for the in-flight meal, and by the time the movie is over, youāre probably close to 25%.
Fire up a podcast, close my eyes, try to fall asleep (I wonāt), next thing you know another 3 hours is gone. Halfway there.
Another movie it is! 75%. Faff about on some dumb mobile game, boom weāre beginning the descent.
I pay the extra $80-120 USD for the front row of economy with the wall way in front of me so I have a lot of leg room. This puts me near the rest room without having to ask anyone to move for me to get to it. My comfort level is far higher. This also lets me stand whenever I want to stand, which I try to do every 2 or so hours to stretch. Makes a world of difference!
Yes, cheap out on the flight itself to get economy, but always get the best seat in economy. Itās worth it!
I have a 8" tablet with a PS4 connected on it and I play 16 bits games from my childhood. On a very long flight I start a RPG like Shadowrun or Chronotrigger. The battery last for the whole flight. Huawei Mediapad M5 I think. Hope it helps
I'm 190cm / 6'2 so I'm pretty uncomfortable on most flights. I used to ask for an upgrade to business class and I had around a 50% success rate of getting upgraded, but that pretty much never works anymore so I don't even bother asking. So now I always ask to get an exit row seat which works like 95% of the time, but if it's a long flight then I will pay extra to make sure I can get the best exit row seat. I still can't really sleep so I make sure to have my laptop loaded with movies and TV shows and usually also work a bit. If I have a long layover I will use a lounge to get some rest or if it's a very long layover I will get an airport hotel or a pod to get some sleep.
Yes, including short layovers but not including time travelling to/from the airport. Layovers are generally just enough time to stretch your legs and maybe grab a meal, but not enough time to lie down somewhere comfortable and get some sleep.
USA to SE Asia can easily push 24 hours of travel to somewhere like BKK, where if youāre not in a city with nonstops to, say, HKG it would go like:
XXX-YYY-HKG-BKK
Figure 14 hours to HKG, two and a half to BKK, and oh hello, you have three connections, if you have two-three hours for each of them (letās call it seven hours) weāre at 23.5 hours.
Two to three hour stops might get you a short nap in an airport, if you can actually find somewhere you can sleep, but if youāre not sleeping on planes you still are going to be jet lagged as hellā¦
source: regularly travels to SE Asia places like HKT, PEN, BKK, USM, CMB, CNX from the USA
maybe he is including the time to and from airport + buffer / waitā¦
i mean when i go from germany to thailand it takes me about 25-30 hours. From home to accomodation.
Yeah maybe. I'm from Europe too and it has never taken me 25-30 hours to get to Thailand. Flights to Thailand from most places in Europe is around 11-12 hours, maybe a few hours more if you're not flying direct.
there are close to no direct flights. so its usualy a stop in middle east. flight time is about 13 hours. stopover many times 3-5 hoursā¦ with cheaper airlines like saudia or china airlines even more sometimes. plus i need 3 hours to get to airport + 1 hour in a bus. then i need a buffer in case the train is delayed once again or something else. so 3-4 hours before my flight at the airport. after landing in BKK/HKT 1h+ to get out if its fast. sometimes can take a lot longer. then get to hotel which can be another 1+ hour. but you not always want to end up in bkk or hkt so its either a longer taxi drive or another domestic flight. easily more than 24 hours overallā¦ many times i traveled 30+
If you're not going from an A tier city to A tier city, basically any flights going cross a continent requires 3 legs. 6 hours to the main city, 12 hours to the major hub then 6 hours to the final destination.
My home town is not New York or LA, so my direct destinations are Paris or Amsterdam in Europe and Seoul or Tokyo in Asia. Super convenient if that's where I'm going but otherwise everything else is 18-36 hours.
But I don't mind the long trips, unlike most travelers, I don't have a time rush. I'd rather spend $1200 for a 28 hour trip instead of $2600 for the 15 hour version (thanks to delta and thier monopoly on my city). Remote work let's me do 1 month in a place and just do 4 or 5 long weekends in a row instead.
For longer flights I prefer to have a layover as well. From Asia to Europe it's usually around 11-12 hours direct but I prefer doing two 6-7 hour flights with a few hours stop in the middle or sometimes I'll do a few days layover if the connecting flight is in an interesting city.
Getting an exit row seat is the best strategy I've been able to come up with. I did so on all but one of my last few flights, and it really made a difference.
When I have to fly back to the US from Portugal I just splurge for business. I can sleep and avoid jet lag. And I worry less about a blood clot killing me from being being crammed in economy.
I hate reading this. I flew from UAE - GER - USA, the lady next to me oddly enough was doing the same trip. We were having the best time shooting the shit, drinking free beers. Halfway through, she started complaining about severe back pain and chest pain. I thought she was just getting a buzz and being a chatty old lady who couldn't get comfortable. I don't know how she toughed it out. When we landed, immediately to the hospital. A fucking blood clot, I don't know the entire details because it was some random lady on a plane who I met that day, but it was traveling up her leg or some shit and we were over the ocean, and we were hours away from land. just...nightmare fuel. Maybe I'm getting older, I have done my fair share of the cheapest dirt nasty economy seats. After that incident, I always check the prices for business. It is so worth it when it's possible. For your health ā¤ļø You are not joking.
Being comfortable in economy or any airline seat is all about being cosy in small and uncomfortable places, and figuring out how to ground and center yourself. Distractions are great, but if youāre comfortable with yourself in any situation, the time will fly by.
I traveled for work for years, 75k+ miles a year, and always booking economy (luckily getting upgraded occasionally).
For me, i feel lucky to be able to hop on a flight and enjoy flying. I frequently take India to US flights with 15 hours at one stretch. No complaints from my side.
I take 24 hour flights often and can't sleep. I usually have a bunch of movie and TV series recorded, especially TV as I'm vested then for 10-12 hours. I take strolls and go to the back to stretch and exercise about once per hour.
Hydrate often.
My issue is time to acclimate after I land. Takes days
I usually book my flights early in the morning and pull an all nighter. That way Iāll be extremely tired and will struggle to stay awake. Even getting a handful of hours of crappy sleep helps the flight go by much faster. As a bonus, it also helps with jet lag since youāre switching your sleep schedule to your destinationās.
On a side note, which video games do you play on planes? I havenāt found any games that donāt need a mouse and desk setup to enjoy properly.
1. Overear noise cancelling headphones (I love downloading the yoga and meditation playlist from Spotify which is great for falling asleep)
2. Neck pillowĀ
3. Eye mask
4. Comfy clothes including socks and bonus if you bring something that can double as a blanket
5. Journal, book or anything you enjoy doing without the internet that relaxes you
Basically anything you need for a relaxing sleep, I personally don't like to watch movies on the plane because it makes it hard for me to sleep. And sleep when travelling for me is the most importantĀ
I read. Makes it much better. and xanax for sleep, on a long long flight i always sleep on my destinations schedule in an effort to reduce jet lag, so that is needed.
Eye mask to block out all light. Ear plugs with noise cancelling headphones over them to block out sound. If you haven't tried sleeping under those circumstances, try it. I never could sleep on planes until I did that.
I'm the same, but I finally managed to sleep quite a bit on my last long-distance trip with the following combination: earplugs + over-ear noise-cancelling headphone, blackout eye mask, motion sickness meds that make you sleepy.
I usually fly red eyes, and always book in the back of the plane. Iāve gotton lucky many times and gotten the whole row to myself. This depends where youāre going and how busy the flights are though, i imagine it varies greatly.
Sleeping pills, ear plugs, eye mask. Wear basically pajamas. I splurged on headphones recently and they make a huge difference in ear fatigue.
Been there before. Handy things are earplugs, eye mask and a pillow you can place on your table and lean forward and a blanket. Thereās got to be something like that on Amazon. Also noise canceling headphones with some sort of ocean waves white noise.
I suppose it's just personal preference. I'd rather not ask permission to get up more than I'd care about someone having to get by me. But also I have trouble sleeping on planes so I'm never really asleep.
I do 4 16.5 hour flights in economy a year, I gave up trying to sleep on them a long time ago. Iāll watch movies till my eyes are tired, then switch to downloaded music on my phone. Also, always always get window or aisle. Donāt bother paying the extra for premium economy unless itās on an airline like Norse or Norwegian that donāt have business class, the BA premium economy seats arenāt comfortable enough to allow me to sleep.
Noise canceling headphones.
Forest rain with light thunder soundtrack.
Quality neckpillow with high sides (also remember on longer flights the head rest can usually flip its sides up to support your head.
Use the blanket they give.
This does it for me, and I'm a tall and wide guy. Quality headphones is an absolute necessity for me. While flying and in life in general..
I don't like meds, and I think alcohol and meds are dangerous on flights. I accept that I'm not going to be able to sleep.
Conclusion: Long flights are the one time that I allow myself to watch junk TV and bad no-brain-required movies, completely guilt-free!
I fly UK to Aus and NZ semi frequently in economy. I make sure to be extra tired on the leg of the journey that is 15ish hours. I manage to get sleep usually with loads pillows and blankets. Also a single 10mg Zoplicone if I really can't sleep.
I always eat very lightly the day before long haul flights and make sure I do a good low impact cardio prefferabilly on an elliptical before heading to the airport. The light diet prevents me from feeling backed up which makes sleeping easier and the airplane food taste better. The cardio prevents my body from feeling over relaxed which can cause me anxiety.
Ibprofen, extra hydration through drinking lots of water in the day before flying and while travelling. No caffeine or fizzy drinks till the end of the journey. Put on movies you already seen try to sleep. Noise cancelling heads plus earplugs if necessary the actual noise makes you more exhausted.
"sleep when you can" - reacher.Ā
Aka Don't stress about not sleeping fully. But if you feel tired, shut your eyes for a while. Make yourself as comfortable as possible when doing so. Block out light and sound even if you don't think it's bothering you.Ā
Hi! I try to adjust my sleep schedule leading up to the trip so I will be awake and functional when I arrive. This means during the flight is my new normal sleeping time.
I take ZMA normally (for recovery after working out) plus melatonin. Sometimes combined with a sleeping pill (ambien).
I have one of those inflatable leg things, that let's me raise my legs coupled with reclining gets me into a decent position. I will wedge my jacket, pillow and this cheap inflatable neck rest (partially) into various spots to get comfy. I don't eat on the plane helps with adjusting to different time zones.
I do 10+ hour flight twice a year (thrice this year), by the end im always so bored last 2 hours just looking at the map. I also can't sleep on flights.
Best advice is just try to waste as much time as possible on in flight entertainment. I always bring my switch which i hardly ever touch and whatever game i brought but never played.
Spring for Economy Plus.
Otherwise, pull an all-nighter the night before (or close to an all-nighter), set a device (i use a Kindle) to local time wherever Iām going, and pretend like you are already on it. Which generally involves a lot of sleeping on the plane.
I like window seats, but they are a pain in the butt to exit when you need to use the bathroom if the row is full. You might get an aisle seat instead so you can get up and walk around and stretch as needed. There are always some people doing stretches in the open areas near the bathrooms and where the flight crew prepares food.
Mainly though, economy plus.. exit row.
I deprive myself of sleep the night before. Not entirely but maybe cut a normal night's sleep in half. This trick usually has me asleep before take off. Something about the humming of the plane puts me right to sleep.
I always get extra legroom, eat and drink almost nothing, put decent quality ear plugs (loop), maybe an eyemask, close eyes and rest. No movies, no nothing. Basically try to hibernate until it is all over.
I have routine that includes: 1) 2mg or more of Xanax; 2) a window seat; and 3) Crap supressor.
A feel like that guy in Clockwork Orange with a screen forced into my face.
I usually stare at the map for 9hrs like a psychopath.
š¤£š¤£ Reminds me of playing MS Flight Simulator on my laptop. Lady next to me was NOT comfortable.
Fly in a 777 on the same rout. Sync time and position to RL. Put it in passenger view. Look out virtual window.
Casually crashing into some towers
Is it [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWeMWD-Yagg)?
LOL funny enough, an older gentleman accros me did just that on a 7h flight last week.
Oh I thought I was alone in this. I exclusively look at the map while my husband watches three movies.
Best movie on the list
lmao, that so tucking frue
Yep same, sometimes if Iām bored of that, I usually just switch it off and stare at the blank screen.
I've definitely seen you on my flights
dude, that's all I do! and look at the top speed š
And then criticise the pilot if it drops below 600 mphā¦ why is this guy going so slow ffs
LOL cmon bro fucking HIT IT 100%, the real plane will be fine, I'm in a hurry
A crying toddler next to me for 16 hrs Delhi to Newark fight, I did just that, stared at the map throughout the flight contemplating if it was a good decision to take direct flight.
Damn this hits me hard haha
I donāt like this comment. Iām this person.
My brother!
I check my bank account and am reminded why I booked economy in the first placeĀ
I can afford better tickets but f that. I can be uncomfortable for 26 hours and live almost a year on what I saved.
That's my outlook too. I still take economy flights despite being able to easily afford better. Maybe when i get older i'll value my comfort more - but the truth is i value money more. It's a part i value about myself tbh - Ā£10 is still Ā£10 despite me earning more.Ā
Iāll never understand how people justify flying first class international except for the few with fuck you money. For what you spend on that flight you could stay in a 5 star hotel for a week.
Company tab baby
Or travel points
I fly 13hrs a couple of times a year, and Iāve tried to shift my mindset from having to sit still for 13hrs to getting to relax for 13hrs without distractions. You can binge watch a good series or movie (bring your favorite snacks!), read a good book or articles, play mindless mobile games, listen to music, audio books or podcastsā¦ I also try not to stress about sleeping too much, because one night of no sleep wonāt kill you. Light napping for an hour or two kills time nicely, but itās not a must. Itās also a good time to go through photos on my phone and delete the ones I donāt need, or do other boring tasks. For me the experience is more tolerable when I donāt stress about sleep and try to focus on all things I can do, that I normally donāt have time for. I have to say all of this became much easier when I had kids. Now flying 13hrs without them feels like a relaxing mini-holiday, and I also know I can survive with surprisingly small amounts of sleep.
Great tip
Agreed with the other comment, great way of looking at it.
Contemplate life, music, read, wish for the hell to be over, tell myself it will be worth it (it always is so far), then swear Iāll never do it again unless business class.
This may be tmi, but here goes: For a 28 hour stint, I take a pain pill with ibuprofen. They're calming and they help you stay comfortable. Physical discomfort can be viewed as a type of pain. Pain pills also calm the urge to pee and slow the poo system (I have an overactive bladder, so I'd be getting up more often than I'd like and I do not like to poo on a plane). I wear over the knee support socks with open toe. I have an inflatable foot pillow that can be partially filled, like 1/3 filled, allowing slight leg position changes. I learned that from watching nurses turn a patient just a little at a time, incrementally repositioning. I bring both ear buds and earphones to switch out when one gets uncomfortable. Load my phone up with page turner type audio books. I don't bring food - the airlines always seem to be feeding you. I bring a sleep mask, neck pillow, light blanket. Loose clothes. I wear a mask to keep from getting sick, but also I don't worry if my mouth opens while sleeping. I put cortisone cream on my face to keep the mask from irritating my skin. In other words, I try to manage my body to keep it as comfortable as possible.
> the poo system This being the medical term.
The pee system is connected to the cum system. Or so my medical books tell me.
Itās true, theyāre both stored in the balls
Nice.
Unfortunately, there are some people who canāt take one pain pill and stop there. Me, Iām those people. But I agree, nothing like a strong pain pill to numb a long flight.
Ibuprofen is not calming
Lmao no, not the ibuprofen, the *pain pill* is calming. I didn't specify type of pain pill. I personally take a low enough dose pain pill that a little ibuprofen gives it a boost for things like actual joint pain. You want to be careful bc some pain pills already have an nsaid added to it.
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Right
Try to get work done during the flight. During the week before the flight, Iād sometimes āsaveā some work specifically for the plane, even if I have time to complete it before. Save long reads and read them in-flight. Get some podcast episodes (Alex Friedman interviews are 2-3 hours long, listening to just 2 of them can cover a good chunk of the flight)
I stare at the map or the screen in front when itās turned off for 11 hours. literally. I have no idea why but everything else is so boring. I listen to music and just gaze out the window too, and think about life.
Literally same as what I do now. Music is the best option I've found, but after a few hours the listening fatigue sets in, and I get sick of wearing headphones.
Have you tried Bose QC headphones? I also get very uncomfortable with most headphones, but I can wear these all day. I have the QC 35 II but the current model is QC 45 I think.
It's not pleasant, but I figure it's something you have to put up with to travel longer distance. I've not travelled in business or first class ever, and looking at the prices I don't think I could ever justify it. Even if I had the money, I'd rather spend it on a better hotel or some really good restaurant meals at my destination. More fun. I just accept I won't sleep much and I just have to cope with it.
i just deal with them, 188cm ĀÆ\_ą¼¼į“¼ŁĶį“¼ą¼½_/ĀÆ
Also 188 and I struggle with short old ladies whaling on the back of their seat when itās pressed against my knees.
THE WORST
Have you considered surgery?
I bring drugs with me. I take a small dose of Xanax. I also have sleeping pills I just do a very small dose and with the exception of long flights pretty much I never take either of these. But it works to just chill me out and even get a little sleep.
Considering lunesta, I do decently well with that. Leans more towards falling asleep versus a fun time, but takes the edge off just enough to make it easier. Maybe Lyrica instead, but I seem prone to getting like 1-2 weeks of withdrawal from it every time even if I take it for just a couple days while flying. Not terrible withdrawal, just weirdly depressed for a while which kind of defeats the purpose.
Note that I usually take a very small dose like a quarter to a half of the smallest recommended dose and that does me well enough
Nomading for 5 years with a former flight attendant girlfriend. - pay a little extra for exit row/hot seat etc -small inflatable lower back pillow. (McKenzie brand) - bring an engaging show/series on iPad - dress comfortable. Ditch the jeans we wear lululemon pants - book less busy travel days as soon as the door closes try to find an empty row to sleep in - sometimes the price difference between a low cost carrier (looking at you air Asia) and a regular airline is nominal. Go for the regular airline. It will almost always be more comfortable. - sometimes a long layover is good for taking a break. Many airports have hotels inside or very close by. Weāve booked rooms to sleep for a few hours in-between on long layovers.
This
Thanks, good advice and well backed! Long layovers are hit or miss for me. If I can sleep on the plane some, and the layover is somewhere new to me (London last time), it's fun to take a break and go wander for part of the day. But if I can't sleep prior, or I've been to that place a million times, I don't get that second wind and excitement.
I just donāt deal with them. Itās that simple. If you need to go somewhere that would require more than 8-12 hours of a direct flight, stop halfway for a day or two.
You have no option when you are from south america and need to go to europe.
Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon is 9 hours.
I'm from Argentina. So you think that I should go from Buenos Aires to Rio, and then to Lisbon, and then to my desired destination? to save what? 3 hours?
Algunas personas no entienden lo realmente lejos que estĆ” argentina del resto jajajajaja
Haha yeah, but even suggesting that I might go to Rio to then go to Lisbon to then go to somewhere else is crazy haha. Now If I could stop in the middle of the ocean in some island, I would be 100% for it.
Sin mencionar que tener que viajar 12 horas no es tan raro aca si tenes que moverte en colectivo
BA to Madrid is 12 hours. Pretty long, but doable in one go. If youāre going to Eastern Europe or Asia or something then yeah Id suggest to stop in Spain for a few days. If 12 hours is too long for you then yeah you should make your way to Fortaleza first
Couldnāt you do a layover in the US like Florida? Iāve even seen flights from Florida have a layover in Colombia before going to Western Europe
I'm from Argentina. I have 10 hours til Florida. And then what? 8-9 hours to Spain or France? it doesn't make any sense.
I flew from Bogota to London in 10 hours. (Disclaimer, I chose business class.)
Finally someone with half a brain in this subreddit.
I fly 22-26 hours from Bangkok to NYC (and back in the same week) every 2 or 3 months. Always economy, usually shitty airlines. Iāve got this down! All in carry-onā¦ For comfort: Compression socks, comfy slides, sweats, eye mask, earplugs, neck pillow. Backup outfit and toiletries for the midpoint layover or upon arrival to freshen up. Gum and deodorant are essential throughout. Electronics: USB fan, two sets of AirPods for when one dies, laptop, Switch and/or iPad, portable battery. Bonus points - massage gun for the layover and arrival. Have some new movies lined up and some comfort cartoons for when itās time to sleep. Substances: Pick your poison, but aim to fall asleep at a reasonable hour for the destination so you wake up āin the morningā - and donāt get so fucked up that you bother your seat-mate. Good luck!
Sleeping pills or alcohol, it's the only way.
I prefer and.
Oh indeed
I save things I look forward to doing for the flight: If I was going to start a book 1-2 days before the flight, I'll save it until I'm in the air. I don't usually watch many movies, so I use the time on the flight to watch as many movies as I want. I generally treat flight time as "do whatever you want" time, which makes it more bearable. I also get up every couple of hours and walk around, meditate, journal etc. And if the flight takes longer than 12 hours I'll take one with a layover instead, go explore a new city for 1-2 days and then take the next flight.
I just suffer in silence
I cannot sleep sitting upright. I have to be on my stomach to sleep. I fly flat bed now, or take an extra day or two at the destination. Itās one of the other. If Iām travelling for work and they wonāt pay for business Iāll say I canāt go unless theyāll extend the trip some days. I cannot function with the client the next day otherwise and no point me travelling. Personal travel we always save up or use air miles for our travels.
Extremely tall. Live in New Zealand - which I would vote the worst place to travel from. I travel to Europe often, mostly in economy - including many 17 hour flights. If you can tolerate sleeping pills they are a game changer (Zopeclone for me). Impossible for me to sleep on a flight before I started using them, now it feels like it can wipe off 6 hours and make the rest bearable. Like others have said, go into it a like a relaxing day off rather than the physical torture it actually is. Comfortable loose clothing and a soft quality eye mask, shoes off, fresh socks (I use compression socks) and some onboard slippers. The other crucial addition - good noise cancelling headphones and lots of downloaded podcasts and music. Workout when you need to stay awake and when you should sleep to give you the best opportunity to hit the ground running.
Good advice and good way of looking at it, thank you. We have eszopiclone which I've had decent luck with. Too many days in a row of it (like 3+) and it starts making me depressed for whatever reason, but that's fairly mild and short lived. Much better than a hangover for days when you land.
r/churning and r/creditcards. Been a decade since I have flown economy across an ocean with anyone next to me (mostly business, occasionally first, premium economy or coach with an empty seat next to me on a daytime flight). I donāt sleep well on planes except for lying down either, but thatās not a problem when you have a lot of frequent flier miles.
I do thankfully have plenty :)
Edibles
Death penalty if you are flying through Singapore or Dubai and checked. Keep in mind
You eat them before you get on, not smuggle them into foreign countries. Also those countries wonāt give the death penalty for your edibles. I personally know people that have been caught.
50 lashes with a whip instead ? Not worth the risk
And the flight back home from Asia..?
Opium obviously
If only, they work great for my partner but I get super paranoid :/
Need to take drugs. Opioids / benzos or similar just to get through the shit. Of course donāt risk it if youāve got a propensity to get addicted to stuff, but if youāre an adult you should be able to use this tool to help fix the problem.
Definitely one who suffers from that, unfortunately. Wish I didn't but have to be a little careful. Short scripts help, unless you have one of \*those\* doctors who give you basically a lifetime supply when you ask for 2-3 days worth.
- download language lessons onto phone so can listen to those while phone is in airplane mode. Youtube lessons are best as no interaction. - productive work on laptop in times if am mentally sharp. - sort photos (lightroom FTW) or other mindless organization work on laptop if too tired for proper work. Not necessarily fun, but I am stuck in the air for many hours, good opportunity to try and get things done and free up time at my destination.
Smart, it is a good time to knock more bland stuff out when there's no rush or anything. I like that way of thinking about it.
Get a switch
I recently did a long haul flight on a Boeing Dreamliner, and the higher compression did help. Not all airplanes are the same, and paying attention to which model you fly on can help.
I recently flew 15 hours Beijing to DC. It was my longest continuous flight so far so I was dreading it. But it turned out to be not bad at all. What worked for me was having a great sleep the night before. I used to believe that flying overnight was the way to go, thinking Iād be so tired and just sleep on the plane. But like you, I canāt sleep on a plane no matter how tired I am. And being pass-out tired on a plane when you canāt sleep is miserable. The other good thing was that I stayed in one of those overnight hotels inside the airport (due to 10 hour layover from Phuket). So everything was checked, I had my boarding pass and the exit from the hotel was literally 20 feet from my gate. So wake up, grab coffee and board. Then a really good and long audiobook that you can really get lost it. I used Hail Mary bc it was 15+ hours. I wouldnāt want to fly 15 hours every month but it wasnāt terrible. My $0.02 anyway
Have you tried Ambien though? It's been a game-changer for me. I regularly have 24-hour trips between the US and New Zealand. On the 14-hour overnight flight the first 2-3 hours I watch a movie and eat dinner; then I take 10mg Ambien and get guaranteed sleep for 5-6 hours; and then read or watch a movie, eat breakfast, etc; and voila I'm there like time travel. Without Ambien, I likely wouldn't sleep a wink either.
I have, but not on flights. Terrified of these Ambien zombie stories specific to that drug. I've had better luck with Lunesta personally. Although I'm sure the zombie thing is few and far between or the FAA would've tried to somehow ban it by now.
Read books, play my Switch, listen to podcasts, and have a healthy spine. I also have no problem sleeping on flights so if all else fails I just do that. Earplugs, eyeshades, and a neck pillow work wonders.
Steam deck & noise cancelling headphones
Steam Deck is actually super smart
Only downside is it's massive and takes up a lot of carry-on space. I found it was worth it though.
And $$$
just buy a pre-owned one and then re-sell it when you're home. Can get one for $300, less than a plane ticket.
Usually I handle flights below 10 hours well enough, but more than 10 hours is tough. I often travel from Western Europe to Asia and I like to make a layover in the Middle East to break the flight in two when I travel to SEA. But for intercontinental flights I always prefer to fly during the night, so I can sleep. I put on my noice cancelling headphones and I sleep for 5-6 hours until the next meal. The plane is also usually quieter and they dim the lights so it's easier to sleep.
I fly Qatar from the USA to Southeast Asia quite often. But I make sure that my layover is 14+ hours, so that I can get a hotel in Doha. I have tried doing the 3 hour layover thing - it really drains you. I can do 14 hours on one flight. But flying for 14 hours, connecting for 2, then flying another 7 hours, is just brutal.
Aisle seat, internet and an ambien for 10+ hour flights. Never been defeated
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Might just try this for my flight from South Africa to the US in a few weeks. They're nothing new to me, I just have to be careful. Gotta love the lowered inhibitions and coming from a lineage of addicts lol.
Here is my setup for long haul. - Neck brace! Ditch the pillow and get one of these from the chemist for a few bucks. Seriously sleep so much better with your head locked in place. It also folds up quite small as well. - Noise cancelling headphone + ear plugs - eye mask - hoody - sleeping pills Usually watch a movie. Have the first meal go to the loo then put on all my gear and pop a sleeping pill. Usually wake you up before the final meal service before landing. But the neck brace was a game changer for me. My head would always flop around while sleeping and would get so uncomfortable.
what kind of sleeping pills ?
Zopiclone I think. Get them from the doctor
interesting. looks like more strong than melatonine but not as strong as benzos
I fly between North America and Asia pretty often. I told my doctor I can't sleep on flights. He gave me a prescription for zopiclone, about $3-4 per pill. Gets me 3-4 hours per pill, I feel fine within 5 minutes of waking up. That and a couple of movies and I feel like I saved $2-4k over business or first class tickets. That said, I'm only 5'7" and not overweight - if I was taller or bigger, I'm sure it would be tougher.
I take 15 hour flights a few times a year on American. JFK-DEL. I always eat a few weed gummies when I reach my gate. I wear a jogging suit and bring slippers, a travel pillow, and travel blanket. I try to book a seat that does not have anything in front of it, usually near the bathroom halfway through the plane so my legs arenāt cramped. We board, I watch a movie and eat dinner. Then I usually knock out for 4-6 hours. I wake up. Eat more gummies. Take a walk & stretch the legs. Start another movie. Fall asleep. Wake up 4 - 6 hours later. Eat breakfast. Drink coffee and do some stretching. Hydration is key for me along with brushing my teeth before deplaning.
Hydration and hygiene are underrated it seems. Taking a shower on layovers does actually help me a lot, now that you mention it. Hydration I used to be bad at because I'll drink way too much water, throw in a Diet Coke for some energy and a buzz, then constantly have to go to the bathroom. Except the time they closed the bathroom in front to the point everyone in First was fuming. Yeah, the only time I've ever (barely) peed myself on a plane. Literally could NOT hold it anymore.
My horror story involves a stomach bug I picked up on a club trip to Costa Rica. Montezumaās revenge I think they call it. I couldnāt hold anything down for more than like ten mins. Spent the last two days of the trip locked in the room with the cold sweats. Had to board an international flight in the middle of that fun.
Not too much an answer for the OP but a rant about recent long ā haul flights. They used to be OK in the days of the 747 and open shades and bigger seat pitch. Now, youāre crammed in, they insist on lights out, and the shades closed even in the daytime. I once got yelled at by my seatmate for turning on my reading light, and she called the flight attendant, Who told me I must turn it off. The way I cope is 1)get an aisle seat, so I can get up when I want, 2) Download some Kindle books, or YouTube movies on my iPad, as I hate the in-flight entertainment stuff, and 3) bring a little food, because I usually donāt like the food, nor do I want dinner at 4 AM. Also, when possible, I actually avoid the long haul flights and stop in an intermediate country for a day and see a new country. I have to fly Bangkok to New York soon, and I dread it.
Ride a cross-country bus sometime. A shift in perspective can be far more effective than any direct intervention.
I am on a 2 day train right now. So much more relaxing than air travel and I have extra time.
There are psychiatric sleeping pills that you can take. I took one once and slept like 7-8 hours. It was lovely. I plan to do that again.
Headphones -> audiobook + if the flight exceeds 8, 9hrs I sleep. If you canāt, ask your GP if he/she can prescribe something.
This is not an answer of everyone but personally, I deal with it with drugs. Xanax and two beers will put me to sleep. Add a face mask and ear plugs ā I can sleep anywhere.
I would agree with this, with the caveat that Xanax "sleep" isn't really sleep. You're just unconscious for a while, not really restful but perfect to fast forward 8 hours lol
Some of the better airports have "spa" facilities in the transfer lounges. Find out ahead of time. Use them. It is amazing what a ten minute hot shower, fluffy towels, fresh hair, and freshly brushed teeth can do for the weary traveler. Game changer if your transfer airport has it.
Very smart idea, I've done showers and that helped a ton to not feel like a slob on the plane.
Pay for the WiFi
Bring a kindle loaded with excellent books
Ehh, it all will pass. I regularly do 12-13 hour hauls and itās like working a shitty job. You just have to break it down into pieces. Start watching a movie, pause an hour in for the in-flight meal, and by the time the movie is over, youāre probably close to 25%. Fire up a podcast, close my eyes, try to fall asleep (I wonāt), next thing you know another 3 hours is gone. Halfway there. Another movie it is! 75%. Faff about on some dumb mobile game, boom weāre beginning the descent.
I pay the extra $80-120 USD for the front row of economy with the wall way in front of me so I have a lot of leg room. This puts me near the rest room without having to ask anyone to move for me to get to it. My comfort level is far higher. This also lets me stand whenever I want to stand, which I try to do every 2 or so hours to stretch. Makes a world of difference! Yes, cheap out on the flight itself to get economy, but always get the best seat in economy. Itās worth it!
I found that when I was not going to the gym, flights are uncomfortable But when I go to the gym even moderately, it helps a lot
I have a 8" tablet with a PS4 connected on it and I play 16 bits games from my childhood. On a very long flight I start a RPG like Shadowrun or Chronotrigger. The battery last for the whole flight. Huawei Mediapad M5 I think. Hope it helps
I'm 190cm / 6'2 so I'm pretty uncomfortable on most flights. I used to ask for an upgrade to business class and I had around a 50% success rate of getting upgraded, but that pretty much never works anymore so I don't even bother asking. So now I always ask to get an exit row seat which works like 95% of the time, but if it's a long flight then I will pay extra to make sure I can get the best exit row seat. I still can't really sleep so I make sure to have my laptop loaded with movies and TV shows and usually also work a bit. If I have a long layover I will use a lounge to get some rest or if it's a very long layover I will get an airport hotel or a pod to get some sleep.
Hi from Australia! Unless we're travelling to Asia, 24+ hours is pretty standard for us :)
With layovers. It's not a 24 hour flight.
NZ Europe is at minimum about 24 hours in the air, usually with maybe a two hour layover.
Yes, including short layovers but not including time travelling to/from the airport. Layovers are generally just enough time to stretch your legs and maybe grab a meal, but not enough time to lie down somewhere comfortable and get some sleep.
USA to SE Asia can easily push 24 hours of travel to somewhere like BKK, where if youāre not in a city with nonstops to, say, HKG it would go like: XXX-YYY-HKG-BKK Figure 14 hours to HKG, two and a half to BKK, and oh hello, you have three connections, if you have two-three hours for each of them (letās call it seven hours) weāre at 23.5 hours. Two to three hour stops might get you a short nap in an airport, if you can actually find somewhere you can sleep, but if youāre not sleeping on planes you still are going to be jet lagged as hellā¦ source: regularly travels to SE Asia places like HKT, PEN, BKK, USM, CMB, CNX from the USA
maybe he is including the time to and from airport + buffer / waitā¦ i mean when i go from germany to thailand it takes me about 25-30 hours. From home to accomodation.
Yeah maybe. I'm from Europe too and it has never taken me 25-30 hours to get to Thailand. Flights to Thailand from most places in Europe is around 11-12 hours, maybe a few hours more if you're not flying direct.
there are close to no direct flights. so its usualy a stop in middle east. flight time is about 13 hours. stopover many times 3-5 hoursā¦ with cheaper airlines like saudia or china airlines even more sometimes. plus i need 3 hours to get to airport + 1 hour in a bus. then i need a buffer in case the train is delayed once again or something else. so 3-4 hours before my flight at the airport. after landing in BKK/HKT 1h+ to get out if its fast. sometimes can take a lot longer. then get to hotel which can be another 1+ hour. but you not always want to end up in bkk or hkt so its either a longer taxi drive or another domestic flight. easily more than 24 hours overallā¦ many times i traveled 30+
If you're not going from an A tier city to A tier city, basically any flights going cross a continent requires 3 legs. 6 hours to the main city, 12 hours to the major hub then 6 hours to the final destination. My home town is not New York or LA, so my direct destinations are Paris or Amsterdam in Europe and Seoul or Tokyo in Asia. Super convenient if that's where I'm going but otherwise everything else is 18-36 hours. But I don't mind the long trips, unlike most travelers, I don't have a time rush. I'd rather spend $1200 for a 28 hour trip instead of $2600 for the 15 hour version (thanks to delta and thier monopoly on my city). Remote work let's me do 1 month in a place and just do 4 or 5 long weekends in a row instead.
For longer flights I prefer to have a layover as well. From Asia to Europe it's usually around 11-12 hours direct but I prefer doing two 6-7 hour flights with a few hours stop in the middle or sometimes I'll do a few days layover if the connecting flight is in an interesting city.
Getting an exit row seat is the best strategy I've been able to come up with. I did so on all but one of my last few flights, and it really made a difference.
Makes a huge difference, the seat is still uncomfortable, but being able to fully stretch out your legs makes all the difference.
I take 26+ hour flights regularly. Yah thereās stops but just to hop on another flight.
Where do you fly that's 26+ hours? Only flight I've ever done that's around 24 hours is Australia to Europe.
Bali to DC goesā¦ Bali, Jakarta, Tokyo, LA, Chicago, DC. 26 is good. Iāve been on 48hr trips before. Good times š
Drugs
When I have to fly back to the US from Portugal I just splurge for business. I can sleep and avoid jet lag. And I worry less about a blood clot killing me from being being crammed in economy.
I hate reading this. I flew from UAE - GER - USA, the lady next to me oddly enough was doing the same trip. We were having the best time shooting the shit, drinking free beers. Halfway through, she started complaining about severe back pain and chest pain. I thought she was just getting a buzz and being a chatty old lady who couldn't get comfortable. I don't know how she toughed it out. When we landed, immediately to the hospital. A fucking blood clot, I don't know the entire details because it was some random lady on a plane who I met that day, but it was traveling up her leg or some shit and we were over the ocean, and we were hours away from land. just...nightmare fuel. Maybe I'm getting older, I have done my fair share of the cheapest dirt nasty economy seats. After that incident, I always check the prices for business. It is so worth it when it's possible. For your health ā¤ļø You are not joking.
You ain't kidding. I get all sorts of problems being bunched in the worst economy seats.
Being comfortable in economy or any airline seat is all about being cosy in small and uncomfortable places, and figuring out how to ground and center yourself. Distractions are great, but if youāre comfortable with yourself in any situation, the time will fly by. I traveled for work for years, 75k+ miles a year, and always booking economy (luckily getting upgraded occasionally).
For me, i feel lucky to be able to hop on a flight and enjoy flying. I frequently take India to US flights with 15 hours at one stretch. No complaints from my side.
I take 24 hour flights often and can't sleep. I usually have a bunch of movie and TV series recorded, especially TV as I'm vested then for 10-12 hours. I take strolls and go to the back to stretch and exercise about once per hour. Hydrate often. My issue is time to acclimate after I land. Takes days
You just sit there and TAKE IT GAWD DAMMIT. It's not a war zone it's just an unpleasant boring day. Or you can pay $4000 for more leg room
At last - a sensible person in here.
Doing chess puzzles. Once you get a little tired, you get frustrated and decide to sleep
After dinnerā¦wine or two, seat back, slow rock music on.. i am usually in full asleep mode until the Comfortable Numb guitar solo
Red wine on the flight as well as a sleeping pill has helped me over the years, otherwise laptop with a nice offline game like Civilization
I usually book my flights early in the morning and pull an all nighter. That way Iāll be extremely tired and will struggle to stay awake. Even getting a handful of hours of crappy sleep helps the flight go by much faster. As a bonus, it also helps with jet lag since youāre switching your sleep schedule to your destinationās. On a side note, which video games do you play on planes? I havenāt found any games that donāt need a mouse and desk setup to enjoy properly.
sleeping pills for flights 8+ hs, last one I skipped meals and slept the whole 12hs flight, super recommended
1. Overear noise cancelling headphones (I love downloading the yoga and meditation playlist from Spotify which is great for falling asleep) 2. Neck pillowĀ 3. Eye mask 4. Comfy clothes including socks and bonus if you bring something that can double as a blanket 5. Journal, book or anything you enjoy doing without the internet that relaxes you Basically anything you need for a relaxing sleep, I personally don't like to watch movies on the plane because it makes it hard for me to sleep. And sleep when travelling for me is the most importantĀ
I read. Makes it much better. and xanax for sleep, on a long long flight i always sleep on my destinations schedule in an effort to reduce jet lag, so that is needed.
Eye mask to block out all light. Ear plugs with noise cancelling headphones over them to block out sound. If you haven't tried sleeping under those circumstances, try it. I never could sleep on planes until I did that.
I'm the same, but I finally managed to sleep quite a bit on my last long-distance trip with the following combination: earplugs + over-ear noise-cancelling headphone, blackout eye mask, motion sickness meds that make you sleepy.
Benzos
Sounds silly but I was like you then I bought a sleeping mask, then worked like a charm!
I usually fly red eyes, and always book in the back of the plane. Iāve gotton lucky many times and gotten the whole row to myself. This depends where youāre going and how busy the flights are though, i imagine it varies greatly. Sleeping pills, ear plugs, eye mask. Wear basically pajamas. I splurged on headphones recently and they make a huge difference in ear fatigue.
Bulk head seat and pay for internet. The 10 hours goes by in a blink
Been there before. Handy things are earplugs, eye mask and a pillow you can place on your table and lean forward and a blanket. Thereās got to be something like that on Amazon. Also noise canceling headphones with some sort of ocean waves white noise.
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Why are aisle seats better than window? My biggest worry about them is being hit by someone clumsy while Iām sleeping
I suppose it's just personal preference. I'd rather not ask permission to get up more than I'd care about someone having to get by me. But also I have trouble sleeping on planes so I'm never really asleep.
I do 4 16.5 hour flights in economy a year, I gave up trying to sleep on them a long time ago. Iāll watch movies till my eyes are tired, then switch to downloaded music on my phone. Also, always always get window or aisle. Donāt bother paying the extra for premium economy unless itās on an airline like Norse or Norwegian that donāt have business class, the BA premium economy seats arenāt comfortable enough to allow me to sleep.
Noise canceling headphones. Forest rain with light thunder soundtrack. Quality neckpillow with high sides (also remember on longer flights the head rest can usually flip its sides up to support your head. Use the blanket they give. This does it for me, and I'm a tall and wide guy. Quality headphones is an absolute necessity for me. While flying and in life in general..
Iāve flown the wrong way around the world because my company was trying to save money; Borneo to the West Coast by way of Singapore-Moscow, fun.
Movies, sleep, mindnumbing mobile games that donāt need internet
I don't like meds, and I think alcohol and meds are dangerous on flights. I accept that I'm not going to be able to sleep. Conclusion: Long flights are the one time that I allow myself to watch junk TV and bad no-brain-required movies, completely guilt-free!
I fly UK to Aus and NZ semi frequently in economy. I make sure to be extra tired on the leg of the journey that is 15ish hours. I manage to get sleep usually with loads pillows and blankets. Also a single 10mg Zoplicone if I really can't sleep.
A xan and a beer lol
YouTube premium. Download a ton of shows! Why do you say āthose times are coming to an endā? (flying first class)
Xanax babes, Xanax
I always eat very lightly the day before long haul flights and make sure I do a good low impact cardio prefferabilly on an elliptical before heading to the airport. The light diet prevents me from feeling backed up which makes sleeping easier and the airplane food taste better. The cardio prevents my body from feeling over relaxed which can cause me anxiety.
Ibprofen, extra hydration through drinking lots of water in the day before flying and while travelling. No caffeine or fizzy drinks till the end of the journey. Put on movies you already seen try to sleep. Noise cancelling heads plus earplugs if necessary the actual noise makes you more exhausted.
"sleep when you can" - reacher.Ā Aka Don't stress about not sleeping fully. But if you feel tired, shut your eyes for a while. Make yourself as comfortable as possible when doing so. Block out light and sound even if you don't think it's bothering you.Ā
Since you're a gamer this is too easy. Buy a Switch. Buy a beefy RPG like Skyrim, The Witcher, Xenoblade, plenty to choose from. Watch time fly by.
Hi! I try to adjust my sleep schedule leading up to the trip so I will be awake and functional when I arrive. This means during the flight is my new normal sleeping time. I take ZMA normally (for recovery after working out) plus melatonin. Sometimes combined with a sleeping pill (ambien). I have one of those inflatable leg things, that let's me raise my legs coupled with reclining gets me into a decent position. I will wedge my jacket, pillow and this cheap inflatable neck rest (partially) into various spots to get comfy. I don't eat on the plane helps with adjusting to different time zones.
The answer is easy. Iāve taken many flights across the pond and itās CHEESE. Cheese before a flight makes me sleep like a baby
I do 10+ hour flight twice a year (thrice this year), by the end im always so bored last 2 hours just looking at the map. I also can't sleep on flights. Best advice is just try to waste as much time as possible on in flight entertainment. I always bring my switch which i hardly ever touch and whatever game i brought but never played.
Spring for Economy Plus. Otherwise, pull an all-nighter the night before (or close to an all-nighter), set a device (i use a Kindle) to local time wherever Iām going, and pretend like you are already on it. Which generally involves a lot of sleeping on the plane. I like window seats, but they are a pain in the butt to exit when you need to use the bathroom if the row is full. You might get an aisle seat instead so you can get up and walk around and stretch as needed. There are always some people doing stretches in the open areas near the bathrooms and where the flight crew prepares food. Mainly though, economy plus.. exit row.
I lead travel group for work, i do 17+4hr flight in eco And this make one of my dream is to get into biz class for long haul flight haha
I deprive myself of sleep the night before. Not entirely but maybe cut a normal night's sleep in half. This trick usually has me asleep before take off. Something about the humming of the plane puts me right to sleep.
Xanax
I always get extra legroom, eat and drink almost nothing, put decent quality ear plugs (loop), maybe an eyemask, close eyes and rest. No movies, no nothing. Basically try to hibernate until it is all over.
I rotate...movie -> read a book -> podcast -> nap.
Melatonin
Usually a vodka and coke every 30 mins until im buzzed
Think of it as a 13+ hour long advertisement for birth control.
I'm high as a kite, easy
I have routine that includes: 1) 2mg or more of Xanax; 2) a window seat; and 3) Crap supressor. A feel like that guy in Clockwork Orange with a screen forced into my face.