You are currently viewing How to survive a long haul flight

How to survive a long haul flight

The Quintessential Guide for acing a long flight journey

Introduction

As interesting as reaching the awaited destination sounds, the journey does not necessarily meet the expectations. Because of the variable nature of services and also individual demands, air travel is often a tricky business. Meanwhile, the long flights are a whole new deal to cope with altogether. For the regular users, the business, or travel class per se, it can be just another day at the office.

However, for the non-frequent or the first-timers, it is equally challenging to sustain these long flights with a smile. It may be because of medical complications, personal needs, lack of planning, or even sheer monotony. Whatever makes for a bad experience during a long flight is also detrimental to your future willingness to travel.

On the contrary, traveling has to be more about survival. The very essence of travel also rests in the ability of the passengers to relish the time spent in the sky. The chance to meet new people and also gain the related pros is a lucrative enough change. Despite all the fluctuations in prices and customer demands, airliners always try to make it the best possible output. Hence, with the right mix of planning and also the interest level, acing the long flights is very much possible and doable.

Long Haul Flight.jpeg

The right DO’s to happily spend a long flight journey

The right choice of doable things does not need rocket science. These things come right from the one’s clarity of their body and also physiological requirements during travel. Moreover, the other important idea is also to cut down monotony to beat the travel blues. While everything else gets set, comfort has to be at the pivotal point of the planning. All this goes on to ensure that the transition is smooth and also viable.

Hence, what gets the fluids going and the motivation skyrocketing for the long flight journey is these few essential points:

On-Time check-in with the right carryon

The idea of getting a strong start is applicable everywhere. When you reach your travel embarkation point late, it sets the mood off due to the hassle and inconvenience that comes your way. What follows is a flight full of grudges and also anger to make it worst.

To avoid that, always choose to get there before time. An hour spent at the airport might seem boring, but it is also essential to familiarize the senses with what awaits further. It will help the person in smiling through all the checks and be prepared for the journey. The right things to make the act possible are:

  • A printed ticket to avoid the line hassle for ticket counters
  • Priority check-in with an early booking or early arrival at the counter
  • Segregating the luggage in the right manner as per the airliner rules
  • Politeness during interactions with the staff and officials to prevent unnecessary altercations
  • Keeping the light carry-on to make sure there is no extra load while going in or coming out

Travel Pouch.jpeg

Comfortable and Spacious Clothes

Certain long flights have a flight time between 12-20 hours. Including the check-in and the check-out hassle, it becomes almost a day, to give or take. While the idea at the start to keep up with the “fashion trends”, it vanishes pretty quickly when discomfort sets in. Moreover, the cramped spaces for the economy class and the long queues and layovers can also be a bothering factor.

Certain examples of compatible clothing are:

  • Track pants and T-shirts
  • Pullovers (For mild to cold weathers)
  • Sneakers or crocs (for proper leg safety with comfortable movement)
  • Hairbands or clutches for messy hairs
  • Wrist bands or headbands for the sweaty candidates

Hence, choose the perfect pair of casual clothing you have. Not necessarily the shabby ones, but the one that also allows breathing space. The idea is to keep just the right mix of comfort and also the surety of keeping your belongings safe. Always choose for clothing that is not vulgar or too revealing as certain countries take that as an offense to their customs or beliefs.

The perfect travel pouch

It may sound the ironical cliché, but travel pouches never run out of trend. Because of the lack of user awareness and the laziness, these pouches are a lifesaver. Not only do they help to organize but also to memorize. An empty pocket in a travel pouch is all that you need to remind you of the missing block.

The right trick is to keep the pouch small and also compactly filled up. This means eliminating the wrong ones and also keeping just the essential element. Nobody would need shaving cream or aftershave mid-flight, right? Hence, a checklist for the right selections can help to organize a person’s travel pouch for the conquest.

  • Small lip balm or moisturizer helps to beat dry skin or lip cracks (Make sure to follow the travel tool guideline, do not over-carry)
  • A small soap paper is also advisable for people with good cleaning habits
  • Hand sanitizer makes the right companion for a healthy stay during the long haul
  • Personal toilet roll or seat cover paper to ensure good hygiene practice during washroom usage
  • Other personal items that do not contradict the safety list of regulations.

Cervical Pillow and the Right Earplugs

These 2 items find a special mention to cover up the travel woes of frequent flyers. The main issue here are two essential side-effects of air travel:

  • Generic Seat posture makes most of the people strain their neck during an attempt to sleep. Meanwhile, a long flight also needs the necessity to sleep for a majority part
  • The pressure gradient during the rapid incline or decline is tremendous. However, you might not even be aware of being someone who feels the pain. The nerves can get pressurized and make for a painful and discomforting experience.

Hence, to avoid these, the cervical pillow and earplugs work wonders. While the pillow takes care of the neck strain and arch, the earplugs avoid the pain factor. Many airliners provide these during travel, but it is better to ensure your end with them.

Cervical Pillow

Fueling the creative Self

A long and tedious flight can often hit the nerve buttons. While there are entertainment screens, they also have stale content at times. The alternative is to utilize the same time to fuel the creator inside of you. A person can use this chance to make sure they get some creative ideas flowing. For example:

  • Carry a pen and a planner to sort further ventures and come up with interesting ideas
  • Keep the right novel or biography to inspire the creator or dreamer within for the realities of life
  • The right mix of paperwork to get the pending tasks done in the free-time itself without further ado

The notion of “desperate times make a good reader” might sound unorthodox, but trying these tricks is most effective.

The right gadgets

Well, the 21st century is quite the age of gadgets and everyone knows it. Hence, there is no point in trying to spend a long flight while keeping a steely determination to avoid tech help. Meanwhile, the right pick and the correct gadgets will make life easy and also entertaining during the travel and layovers. The right mix for the essential ones makes the carryon small and also a smooth passage through the check-in.

  • Cellphone remains the first pick in the essential category. Not that anyone would forget their cellphone before a long flight, but just to be double sure about the idea!
  • Kindle/Reading Devices are also important for people with readers. Moreover, they keep the interest buds tinkling too.
  • Headphone/Ear pods will always be the right companion to cancel the loud baby cries or the chatty co-passenger! They also make for a good sleep companion to help through the long route.

Earphone and accessories.jpg

Essentially avoidable DON’T’s for the long haul flights

Dwelling into negative attributes never makes for a happy journey. However, ignoring them is also quite the wrong thing for a frequent flyer. Hence, a small idea of the DON’T’s will definitely be helpful to the prospective long flight passengers too.

  • Avoid being rude to the airliner staff or the custom or airport authorities for a smoother pre-flight and post-flight experience
  • Do not be offensive or disturbing to the co-passengers if the concerned person is unwilling for a chat or interaction.
  • The airline cabin crew is a person’s best friend. It is not their fault if the seat is cramped or the AC is a little less powerful. Cooperate with them while they do their duty.
  • Missing the compulsory papers is never the right thing to do. These also include immigration forms and personal documents.
  • Cultural and ethical considerations to every nationality and religious belief will prove to be useful. This helps in a better understanding of people you’re going to spend the air-time with too.

A long flight and the waiting experience

Contrary to popular belief, long flights are not quite the foes. However, a person’s inability to plan it through also leads to the debacle. Make sure to follow the right steps and go for a smoother journey transition. Moreover, a personal understanding of one’s inherent needs and nature also makes the task easy. Reach out to yourself and make the big fly-day into just another regular task.

Leave a Reply