Comments on: Tips for surviving a long-haul flight

By: saurabh

saurabh — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:03:05 +0000

Well, this is a beautifully written piece..
i am slated to take my first long flight, ofcourse not like the ones for 14-18 hrs but a 9 hrs flight from Bangalore to London. These were some great tips and i am sure i would be able to sustain through this..
the major problem i face are two as i see for me, one is not being able to sleep on flights and second is the turbulence factor..
any tips on these two points!!! i was planning to catch up with my doctor to get some sleeping pills which dont have any side effects and can let me snooze for the flying time..any recommendations!!!

Thx again and thx in advance for your tipss
Luv & Regards,
Saurabh

By: maddie

maddie — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:27:34 +0000

thanks for the tips i have just been on a big flight the tips were very useful in the middle of the flight i nearly vommited but i took a bag so i was fine thanks hugely madz

By: Armil of Clinical Waste

Armil of Clinical Waste — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:21:30 +0000

Thank you for the helpful and informative tips you presented on this post. Keep this coming.

By: Bozo

Bozo — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:10:28 +0000

try flying business losers…

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:52:19 +0000

I will be revising hard on this in February! I paid $300 extra to not fly United and don’t regret it for a second haha. Meanwhile I land in NYC at 4.50pm and have a class that night at 7pm! But if I’m as off my head as last time, I’ll have plenty of energy and it won’t be a problem!

By: Freddy Escalante

Freddy Escalante — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:29:40 +0000

Thanks for the insightful tips on “long haul flying”, I’ll be making my first trip over the “pond” from Boulder, Colorado to London and then on to Paris this coming December- Do you have any interesting or inspiring places worth checking out while I’m there?

Also, just wanted to let you know I really appreciate the creativity behind work you’ve posted on “Spirinkle of Ginger”. As a local film maker here in Boulder, it’s great to see other aspiring “creative types” such as yourself, dedicating themselves towards exploring the “inner depths of possibilities”; regardless of that pestering inner voice that sometimes tries to mislead us to think that we are much smaller than we really are or are meant to be. I think, ultimately it is that simple, yet mysterious emotion of love, (love for just being a part of the creative process), that invariably keeps “creatives” like us breathing from day to day and ready to take on the next adventure, whatever that may be.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading and hearing more about your ongoing inspired thoughts and your continuing adventures.

By: Ron Larson

Ron Larson — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:33:56 +0000

I’m a California boy who has lived in Perth Western AU for many years. I’ve made the PER to LAX flight many, many times. A couple of things I found helpful.

Bring some nasal spray. The air at high altitude is very dry, like living in Las Vegas. A dry nasal system is irritating, and can make you susceptible to catching colds. You can also try a little Vaseline in the nasal cavity (but I hate that… saline nasal spray is so much better).

Bring some sanitizing wipes (or gel) and use them after leaving the lavatory. Remember, almost every passenger has touched that lavatory door and surfaces. Don’t touch anything near your face until you have used them.

Bring a small empty water bottle. Qantas 747’s have a water tap near the loo for you to fill it up. Store the bottle upright in your shoe under your seat. Use it to keep hydrated.

Invest in custom molded ear plugs. An ear doctor sells these. They take about 2 weeks to make. They are far more comfortable and effective than any ear plug you can buy over the counter. They also come in handy when you need to get some sleep in a noisy hotel. I bought mine in Perth for about AUD$60. Best investment I every made. They last years. And they really do cut out that screaming baby.

I bought a set of Bose noise cancelling headsets. I plug them into my iPod with nothing but an hour long track of waves crashing on the beach. Very relaxing.

Get your doctor to give you some Temazepam. It is much better than a stiff drink and will allow you to get some real sleep on the flight without feeling stupid or groggy like a sleeping pill does.

I’m a big guy, 6-3, 220 lbs, with a back injury from being hit by a car. My salvation for surviving 23 hours cramped in a Qantas coach seat? The Nada Chair Slouch Buster. It is tiny, highly portable back brace that allows me to sleep for 10 hours in the plane without slouching or screwing up my back. I can fall sound asleep while sitting upright with proper posture. It folds up inside itself to the size of a paperback book. If I didn’t have it, I would not be able to walk when arriving in LAX. (http://www.nadachair.com/slouchbuster.html)

Get the window seat. It has a little more width, and no one crawls over you to use the loo.

And Ella is correct about avoiding United. Their FA’s are very angry (rightly so too) and it shows. I had to take United once and the FA’s were older than my grandma. They seemed angry that any hope of every retiring evaporated a long time ago. So they are condemned to endure longs trans-Pacific flights for crap pay until they are either dead or disabled.

By: Jaded_Tech

Jaded_Tech — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:13:12 +0000

Flying for me has for the most part never been an issue, as soon as the plane takes off, I just tend to pass out for the rest of the flight, doesn’t really matter what time of the day it is.
The only time that I had troubles sleeping was when I flew from Edmonton, Alberta to the UK, I may not be 6′7″ (201cm) or 6′11″ (211cm) like a friend of mine, but at 6′1″ (185cm) I couldn’t get comfortable on the plain I was on and the couple to my right were both drinking Alcohol, of which I’m allergic to. so that was the only flight I was never able to sleep on.
And Airplane food don’t get me started I can never eat the stuff because I have to worry if it contains eggs. which is a good thing that I can pass out once the plane is off the runway.

By: Mark Duval

Mark Duval — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:06:02 +0000

@rushmc But Sprite IS lemonade :p

By: Ella

Ella — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:55:59 +0000

Brice: Holy crud, that’s amazing! What a story to tell! Did they do the whole “Is anyone on board a doctor? Then come at once!” announcement? And what nationality does that make the baby?

Alex: I really dig the Meditation Oasis podcasts.

Vince: I’m just playing hard to get ;o)