6 Tips on How to Survive Long Haul Flights

July 25, 2019 New York, NY, USA

Long haul flights don't have to be an uncomfortable experience. Here are here are some helpful tricks that'll make your experience more enjoyable!

How to Survive a Long Haul Flight.

Traveling is exciting and fun, but for many travelers, the flying part of the journey can be super daunting. Let's just face it, long flights are not fun at all. A long flight for you may look different for somebody else. For myself, I define a long flight to be more than fifteen hours. Those are more of my more brutal flights that I don't look forward to. If you love to travel and new adventures, we suck it up and do what we got to do to get to our final destination. Over the years I found ways to make my flight experience more bearable even when being seated in economy!

Make Yourself Tired.

One of my go to tricks to surviving a long haul flight is making myself extremely tired. I can't be the only one who waits to last minute to do my packing and going around like a headless chicken doing last minute errands right? With that alone you find yourself exerting your energy but to take it a step further a day or two before my actual flight, I either go to sleep later than usual and wake up earlier than usual or do a real intense workout. Why I do this you may be asking? Well it's pretty simple, by the time I actually get on my flight all I want to do is sleep. Sleeping majority of the flight is key for me, it makes time go by so fast! I've been on long flights where I'm wide awake and I look at the time and it feels like time is going by extra slow and we're not even half way through the flight. I hate that anxious feeling of wanting to get off a flight but knowing theres so many hours left to go. So what has been working for me for the past couple of years is draining my energy mentally and physically before a flight so I can just recuperate while I'm up in the air.

Booking Process.

So this tip is for the booking process but this all depends on your personal preferences on how you like to fly. I have never experienced first-class seats on a flight but I'm putting out into the universe that hopefully one day I get to experience that luxury side of the plane. On the long flights that I've taken that are more than 15 hours, I've always sat in economy and survived! My trick for this is booking a aisle seat in the middle row. I found that the planes used for those long flights are much bigger than the regular planes and I find them to be comfortable even in economy. Don't get me wrong, I love a good window seat. I'm the person always snapping photos from the incredible view that you get to witness from a window seat but I only book window seats for shorter flights. For long flights the middle row of the plane is spacious, especially if you have an aisle seat. You get to stretch out our legs and not feel restricted. You're able to go to the bathroom however many times you like and walk around. It's very important to get your circulation going especially for those long flights.

Being Comfortable is Key.

I'm definitely not one of those people who dresses up to go to the airport. More props to you if you do but it's just not me. Comfort is key especially for long flights whatever that means to you. I tend to dress in more loose clothing to feel less restricted and this is what works for me. I also can't fly without my neck pillow since I'm prone to getting stiff necks. By bringing my neck pillow with me on long flight it just makes sleeping more comfortable and I'm less cranky by the time I get to end my destination. Another must have for me is bringing a hoodie sweater on my carry-on just in case I get cold while we're up in the air. Bring whatever makes you comfortable on your carryon whether it's a sleeping mask, fuzzy socks, comfy shoes, your own blanket, or noise cancelling headphones.

Backup Entertainment Options.

Majority of the time your flight does supply you with entertainment. I like to think ahead and bring some back up option just in case if for whatever reason my screen isn't working or there's no entertainment at all on the flight. It would really be a long flight if you had zero entertainment to help distract you. I like to download a few podcast episodes before boarding my flight so I can catch up and listen to a few while in the air. If you're into gaming or have a favorite game app make sure you're able to play it on your phone without WiFi. If you have anxiety there's many meditation apps you can listen to on your phone. If you're into a certain Netflix series or movie you can actually download them to your phone before your flight. Don't forget to download music so you can relax and listen to your favorite songs. Always make sure to bring a fully charged phone so you can enjoy your electronic devices but also a power bank to recharge your devices during your flight!

Stock Up on Snacks.

I'm a snacker during my day to day so it's no different for a long flight. For the most part, long flights provide many meals depending on the airlines and where you're flying to. I don't usually feel that hungry after having the meals provided on the flight but I still pack snacks in my carryon just in case! I love bringing cliff bars, cookies, dried fruit, chips, or candy. Whatever you like to munch on bring it on your carryon if it's allowed. This tip doesn't only apply for long flights but for short flights as well. We all know short flights don't provide that much or anything really especially if you're flying on a budget airline. They literally charge you for breathing at this point haha so don't forget to stock up on your snacks!

Refreshen Up.

After a long flight we all need to re-freshen up no ifs, buts, or exceptions! I always bring a mini toothpaste and tooth brush on my carry-on to brush my teeth before getting off my flight. It's been a while since you last brush your teeth especially if you are on those 15+ hours flights flying through different time zones and being up in the air for lots of hours. Don't be that person with bad breath talking closely to people, no one wants to be around that. I also bring face wipes to help re-freshen my skin and a small travel friendly perfume roller to feel less icky. If you have strong body odor, please bring deodorant or any spray to help control it. No one likes smelling bad body odor. Everyone on that flight is feeling the same way and just wants to get to their end destination. So to hold yourself over until you get to your hotel where you can take a shower definitely bring things in your carry-on that will help you feel re-freshened.

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