The Beyonder Guide to making long flights comfortable

The Beyonder Guide to making long flights comfortable

Long flights can get a tad tiring… and boring… and inconvenient… and expensive… Here are some tips that I use on my long solo trips (which happen a bit too often)… These work for me and I hasten to add, may not work for you. Use the ones that you think may be good for you and ignore the rest. And please, please, don’t judge me for some of my travel habits… 😉

• Travel light, Pack tight has always been my basic rule. It helps that I am not the selfie-kind – neither do I have the face to look good on pics nor do I want to see myself smiling beatifically in front of a supremely beautiful monument or landscape to spoil the beauty that nature or some bright human has taken effort to bring out… However, even if you like to take along a lot of clothes and need to look good in your pics, with some thought, you can optimize the space in your backpack or suitcase…
  • Lay out anything bulky (jacket, sweatshirt, etc) at the bottom before packing the rest.
  • Then place anything that can wrinkle over this
  • Now “roll” tightly for the rest like T-shirts, pants, tracks, etc.
  • Ideally use separate zip pouches for underwear, socks, gloves, etc and shove them in where there is space – makes the damn things easier to find later…
  • Line the bag/ suitcase with a garbage liner to ensure if you are caught in rain, the water doesn’t seep in through the seams to ruin the clothes
  • Carry perfumes etc in smaller bottles to save space and prevent damage
• I once had my checked-in luggage misplaced in Iceland and had to suffer with a light jacket and other weather-inappropriate clothing till they got my luggage delivered to me… Took a couple of days, dressing like an over-confident jerk in Reykjavik and severe discomfort to self… Since then, I always carry clothing for a couple of days at the destination in my carry-on. You should too – nothing much, maybe a couple of shirts/T-shirts, warm jacket (if the destination is a cold place), essential toiletries (toothbrush, paste, deodorants, wet wipes, etc.) and underwear. They are also good to freshen up and feel fresh in the airplane/airport loo. Oh, and I like to carry slippers – helps the feet breathe as they can swell on long flights due to inactivity.
• Gamble with your seat choice and try out what works for you. In case you are traveling as a couple, book the window and aisle seats. If the flight is not full, chances are folks may not opt for a middle seat between strangers. And if it is indeed full and there is person in the middle of the two of you, he/she will bless you for exchanging an aisle/ window for the middle… In case you are solo, choose the seats above the wings – lesser turbulence. Its cooler in the front and warmer at the rear. So, depending on what kind of temperature you like, choose your seats. I am a bit tall so prefer the aisle seats – the flexibility to stretch my legs into the passage makes up for the loss of outside view and the inconvenience in case I have co-passengers next to me who are frequent loo-goers. And on long flights, don’t be anywhere near the loos – unless you like smiling politely and having polite conversations with random distressed folks waiting impatiently for their turn at the loo.
  • In case none of this works, and you end up with a lousy seat, sign up on one of the websites and set up a seat alert. If someone changes his/her seat or cancels, they will send you an alert and you can swoop-in hawk-like… 😉
• I always mark my luggage as Fragile. Maybe there’s nothing fragile in it, but it certainly avoids damage to the bag due to rough handling and more often than not, it gets placed on top of the pile of luggage and hence comes out sooner at the luggage retrieval point… I think… Try it.
• Resist the temptation to tank up on the free drinks – avoid carbonated drinks, avoid ice and avoid gassy food. Reason being carbonated drinks add to the amount of air that goes. And what goes in must come out. So, burps and other forms of expelling air will happen. Also, the changes in altitude can cause the air inside to bloat your intestines… Even more discomfort. Say no to ice because it typically comes from the water tank which may not be cleaned too frequently. Plus, no ice in the glass = more drink in the glass… 😉
• Dress comfortably in loose cottons or linens and preferably wear layers of clothing. Benefits are less sweatiness, more flexibility to stretch, ability to change clothes to be comfortable whatever the temperature in the plane. Reember, these are long flights. Oh, and that much less in your luggage to pack and possibly pay for…
• I always keep the air on with the vent open above my seat – I fancy that the air forms a curtain around me and avoids the germs which must be flying thick and fast in the plane. Plus, it keeps the skin from getting too dry. And if it gets too cold, I use one of the layers…
• Do not sleep as the plane is taking-off or landing – the ears can’t regulate air pressure with rapid altitude changes. Plus, chew gum or use ear plugs. Avoids ear pain, clogging and difficulty to hear in and after the flight.
• Babies travel, they cry… Friends travel and they will be boisterous… Free booze can increase cheer and conversation noise levels… Travelers can cough persistently… No law against all these. But these are long flights and patience can wear thin… I carry noise-cancelling headphones to block out the noise. Silicone earplugs also work.
• I carry disinfectant wipes for myself and to wipe down the surfaces of the tray tables, handles etc. near me. I may seem like a chap with OCD or something and gather some curious glances at times, but it’s better than falling sick from the infections later – these areas aren’t cleaned after every flight given the tight schedules the maintenance folk have to maintain… Oh, and I don’t use the airline blankets unless they come out of a plastic bag – they are a veritable oasis for germs to settle in since they probably aren’t washed too often. If it gets too cold, I use one of the jackets.
• Drink, Drink, Drink. Water, I mean. 😉 Keeping yourself hydrated is super-important. In the flight, of course, and also during the days leading up to the flight. My thumb-rule is 300 ml of water for every hour of flying time. Maybe you will be a frequent visitor to the loo, but you will feel fresher for it.
• Walk around in the flight, do stretches while sitting – basically get the blood circulation up. It helps in many ways – health-wise, striking up conversations with interesting folks, getting extra drinks or food at the pantry, avoiding forced conversations with boring co-passenger neighbors, etc…
• Jet lag can be a mess and can potentially shave a day from the trip. The best way to avoid this is to jog outside the hotel the first thing in the morning. The Sun kind-of signals to the body the new bio-clock and the jet-lag goes…
• Many-a-times the flight gets cancelled after reaching the airport. And then there is a long line at the counter to rebook the next flight out. Instead of standing in line, figure the airport customer service number and call them. They can rebook and you can grin triumphantly at the folks standing in line patiently…
• If you have a choice on the timing of the flight to take, choose the morning. That’s my thumb rule because I have realized they most often have lesser turbulence. Possibly because most storms and winds happen in the afternoon/ evening due to the earth heating up through the day and causing the hot air to rise… Not sure, but it seems to work for me…
• When searching online for cheap flights, always turn on “Private Browsing”. Many booking sites keep track of your browsing and show you rising prices to ensure you buy quickly on impulse, believing the rates are going up. Avoid it.
• Keep your devices (phone, tablet, kindle, etc) juiced up for long flights, depending on the duration. Sometimes the flights don’t have USB charging points at the seats. If the charging points at the airports seem all taken, use the USB charging ports on the TVs around showing ridiculous news channels with anchors looking silly on mute mode. Most of them have USB ports behind the display which many folks may not know about. As a double precaution, carry a fully-charged power bank for your devices to charge on-the-go if required.
• Now to cost-reduction… The food and snacks can be notoriously over-priced. I always carry some munches with me for those hungry times at airports. I also carry a water bottle (non-plastic) to fill water in after security check – most airports have water dispensers. And an empty travel mug with some tea-bags – normally the flight attendants are happy to fill the mug with hot water and voila, I have my tea ready! Coffee-lovers, works for you too – just put the coffee grounds in the tea infuser.
• I carry my own entertainment. Too often there is no entertainment worth the name on some of the flights that I take. So, my reading device is filled, the music is selected and stored and the movies set up just waiting for me before the flight. And pre-load it – there may not be free wifi everywhere. Spend time doing this – it’s worth the effort. If you don’t, you may have to depend on eavesdropping on conversations of stranger-co-passengers – admittedly they can be fairly amusing but you will have no control on it since sometimes you may be stuck with a bunch of business-types who just quietly drink themselves to sleep…
• Hey, did you know frozen liquids are permitted on flights? You can actually bring a bottle of say, frozen coffee through security… They have to be frozen solid when you go through security. And your flight has to be long enough for the drink to defrost… 😉 I have never used it, but maybe you want to…
• Use technology and the facilities it provides, especially Google. Download Google Maps of the destination offline. After all there may or may not be wifi when you land at the destination airport – downloading may help find the nearest convenience store or coffee shop or smoking area or whatever you are desperate for when you land….
• Another of my thumb-rules is, when entering security lines, turn left. Most folks are right-handed and hence turn towards the right. The left-hand line mostly has lesser people. Again, a thumb-rule of mine that I think works. Try it…
• I have never lost my travel papers during travel, but am mortified at the prospect. So, I always scan a copy of my passport, visa, hotel vouchers, tickets, insurance, etc., and email the scans to myself. I hope I never need it, but just in case I do…
• Finally, recce all the facilities that an airport offers especially if you have transit time there – wifi, lounges you can use, smoking rooms, entertainment… And explore… And in case you figure that you have a lounge to access in the place, head there first to have a drink (or 2 or 3), a bite and some peaceful-me-time before the adrenalin-rush of the flight…

Fly safe, be excited about it and if there seems to be nothing to be excited about on the long flight, try harder – you will come up with something… 😉

If by some strange chance, the inflight entertainment is lousy, your devices are out of power, the booze isn’t being served and you aren’t feeling sleepy, just sit back and have meaningful, intimate conversations with your neighbors (strangers or otherwise) in a loud voice – maybe a poor unfortunate stranger-co-traveler with no entertainment options can be helped… You may end up with a snub, but what’s life without a spot of risk? At the very least, you will earn some good Karma… 😉