Sleep? Drink? Get back ache?
Going out (to US), I read and rest. Coming home, I sleep. Don't be tempted by the siren calls of the entertainment on a night flight home. I'm only up now due to jet lag from last night 😉
I struggle with being kept still, I get slightly claustrophobic if I can't move about much even for 2-3 hour flights, 9 hour looks to be painful. But I've booked it now!
Depends on who you are flying with, and which 'class' you're in.
Usually I'm laid out flat on a bed 🙂
😀 BA, "cattle class"
Sleep through take off
Drink a little GnT
Eat the food
Fall asleep watching a film (Cowboys and Aliens was sleep inducing this week)
Get more sleep
Wake up
Get off plane
I travel a lot and it gets easier and easier to sleep on planes. Sometimes I just put the iPod on shuffle and go to sleep listening to that as it drowns out the cattle.
Currently I am sat in the 1st Class lounge in San Fran waiting for the terminally late BA flight to arrive and whisk me home. I will sleep most of the flight.
I struggle to sleep in a quiet bedroom with the lights off 😀
Looks like little blue phenergan pills look like the solution!
I can sleep standing up.
Business class is much better than cattle it's fair to say. I've got a nice bed waiting for me - facing backwards, which is better. What ****s me off is they turn the temperature right up to make you sleep - but it gets too hot.
Make sure it the correct little blue pills that you buy, otherwise you will be up all night!!
(Thankyouverymuch)
Well I'm stuck here in san Fran too, so hoping to get some kip as its. Delayed 4 ****n hours...
Get DVT
At least its BA and you'll get a decent G&T.
Fidget, scratch try and sleep, get a sore neck. Get really really bored, watch some crap movies on a terrible screen.
I try not to fly long haul!
For 9 hours get an isle seat !
Nothing worse than being trapped against the window for 9 hrs
On way there i take my ipad and watch movies and play games
The good news is the more you fly the easier it gets to sleep and get comfy !
On way back head phones on red wine down the gulet and wake up at heathrow 🙂
To the guys stuck in sf - be glad it aint lax ! Hole !!
For 9 hours get an isle seat !Nothing worse than being trapped against the window for 9 hrs
I do quite the opposite. Much better that you be the one who chooses when to do the disturbing IMO
Depends when and where, but usually a mix of sleep, drink, read, watch a film or work. As others have said, business class certainly helps! 🙂
16 years I've been flying regularly for work now and I still don't sleep well even on the flat beds. Noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs are good for long haul flights.
I generally sleep on flights, regardless of duration, but I think I'm one of the lucky few who can do so.
If it's a day-time flight and I'm not dog-tired when I get on I'll generally eat a bit of food and watch a film, otherwise it's noise-blocking earphones, neck pillow and eye-blanket and out for the count.
I always go for a window seat and moderate my fluid intake to ensure that if I use the toilet before I get on, and just after I get off, I won't need to get up during the flight. This isn't necessarily a policy I encourage, but it works for me.
Cheers, Rich
Got this in two weeks. Last time had mbr, singletrack and a book. Watched a couple of films, played the onboard games
I do quite the opposite. Much better that you be the one who chooses when to do the disturbing IMO
As do I.
I also get stuck into the bloody marys.
Get yourself a handheld games console. Priceless in these situations.
PSVita?
I do a 12hr flight a few times a year and there is nothing worse than getting on the plane, having a few beers, some food watch a couple of films, read for a while and then realise your not even halfway yet! (it may be a 12hr flight but my door to door time is around 23hrs!)
I tend to struggle to sleep on flights, although it can be dependant on when I fly, from the UK going East it's easier to sleep if it's an evening flight but tends to mess you up for a few days as you arrive out there the following evening.
Coming back they are morning flights so you end up with 2 options, either hit the bars for an all nighter and hit the plane knackered and slightly pissed which means you sleep well, or hope there is a good selection of films and you have a few books to keep you going for about 11 of the 12 hours (as I really struggle to sleep in that instance).
The main thing for me though are noise cancelling headphones, they make a huge difference, a kindle with a big selection of books and a few films on the laptop just in case the choices on the plane are poor.
Always have an aisle seat, that way you can get up and walk around if needs be, window seats can sometimes feel a bit cramped for a long haul flight.
I do quite the opposite. Much better that you be the one who chooses when to do the disturbing IMO
As do I.
Luckily on long haul I don't usually have to mix with inconsiderate riff raff. 🙂
Tablet is a better bet, imo. Films, tv shows, games and music. All on top of what's on the IFE. I worked my way through everything I could have wanted to watch on BA's IFE one month last year. Having my tablet, and noise cancellers, was ideal!
isle seat here too. It means I can stretch my legs out, but that's easy for me on a plane as I'm 5'4", loads of room. Watch a film, catch up on sleep, read books, play music have a glass of wine or two. I only remember one time struggling to keep my sanity when the passengers next to me were one parent having to look after an 18month old and a two and half year old, on a 15 or something hour flight from Madrid to Lima. I was glad to get off that plane.
Kev
"Always have an aisle seat, that way you can get up and walk around if needs be, window seats can sometimes feel a bit cramped for a long haul flight."
at 6 ft 3 just the ability to stretch my legs into the isle is worth the disruption and the ability to get up and walk about when you want on a long haul without being the c**t that wakes everyone in your row up on a regular basis
noise cancelers are worth weight in gold - even the cheap sony ones i have.
I fly long-haul cattle-class about 10 times a year. 🙁
I always try to do what will make the jet lag easier. Going west, I try to stay awake to make sure that I sleep through the night. Going east, I sleep -- earplugs and an eye mask are priceless.
Luckily on long haul I don't usually have to mix with inconsiderate riff raff.
Well, as there are far more non-aisle seats on planes than aisle seats, that's quite a lot of inconsiderate riffraff 🙄
Does the Mile High Club count if one is alone in the toilet?
I do long haul about once or twice a month (a mixture of Business and Economy class, depending on the client).
I take on my MBP/Books (kindle recently), lots of music, work etc etc....and I never touch any of it.
Something weird happens to me when I get on a plane. I have no motivation to do anything other than sit there, bored senseless.
One of the most unpleasant ways to travel IMO, even in Business class. Not many alternatives though if you need to get somewhere in under a week though ha ha! 🙂
Wait until you're the last person to board the flight. Claim nerves if the staff at the gate ask you. Then walk in casually and claim the row with the most empty seats = bed, lounge etc. In the good old days you could get into business class this way. Not so now, but in cattle-class they don't care what seat number you were originally given. Then do whatever you want for 9 hours. Apparently the people who stand at the back and chat to cabin crew are loathed by said cabin crew, despite thinking they're being sociable and friendly.
Earplugs with noise canceling headphone over the top and a Burton Sleeper for the flight back
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/the-picolax-thread-returns/ ]Take this to read pure STW Gold[/url]
I've been on civilian long haul flights, and have managed a combination of drinking, eating, dozing and reading for the 9 or more hours it takes to get to where ever I am heading. If the alcohol is free, then more drinking earlier on means less eating and more sleeping.
On the military flights there is no drinking, so I read, eat and doze.
Both of said types are hampered by the lack of legroom for my 6' 5" frame in cattle class, so a lot of the time I wake up with a sore neck, or when I am am knocked into by either a trolley-dolly or a squaddie going to the bog. The only option is to tie my head to the head rest and attempt to sleep sitting up.
I don't sleep on planes so can sympathise. Don't drink too much alchohol or you'll get dehydrated and feel crap. Keep topping yourself up with water.
Try to get an aisle seat in the centre block - only one person inside you to have to move for assuming its 3-4-3 seating.
Good book and an iPad or similar
Double vodka and coke when they first offer drinks, and after first meal. Then sleep and drunken stupor until you're nearly there,then just coke to rehydrate.
I find coke wakes me up for a little while then I zoom back off to sleep - if it doesn't have that effect,maybe replace first two with g+t, the drunken stupor is the important bit.
I'm a good sleeper though, which probably helps.
Joe
Drink.
9 hours of complimentary booze. Beer and a whisky chaser. Win.
A hoodie with a built in pillow....awesome!
If you can check in online do it as soon as you can, pay the extra to pick a seat, and chose one without any seats in front of you - much more leg room. On flights to and from DC i did this and was the best £20 i ever spent.
For an overnight flight I get into the ninja sleep suit at the first opportunity, have dinner then watch a film or go to the bar followed by bed when I feel tired. Come to think of it there isn't much else to do, luckily I'm easily pleased 🙂
I drink as much wine as they'll give me, watch a film, put on an eye mask and ear plugs, and go to sleep. Works a treat.
I find it's the other way, the more I fly the less I enjoy it / am able to tolerate it - mind you our company has gone from Business Class to Premium to Economy over the years and an overnight flight in economy is just miserable no matter what.
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Sorted.
Having said that, what I do on long haul flights is try to entertain and distract small children the entire time. Let me tell you, a few goes at that and you'll WISH for nothing to do, seriously.
No, fails on one (almost certainly two) criteria:Does the Mile High Club count if one is alone in the toilet?
~ with someone new
~ not with the crew
~ not in the loo
[i]Much better that you be the one who chooses when to do the disturbing IMO[/i]
this.
Tip: Double dose of nightnurse and couple of large glasses of red - Sleep like a baby 😉
Neck a couple of piritins (or whatever the drowsy ones are called)
My ex works for virgin, when I've been on flights with her I couldn't believe the idiots who'd stand in the gally trying to talk to the crew whilst they were trying to eat/drink! Luckily I could be very rude to them and make them leave
Sleep like a baby
You wake up screaming at regular intervals and soil yourself during the night?
Flying longhaul west I only sleep if I'm feeling particularly tired otherwise, it's the kindle/cycling mags + ipod or movie.
Flying longhaul east as soon as the food has been served I try my best to get some kip. Noise cancelling headphones and face mask. I can sleep most places and everything from 5 across the middle row East China airlines, to first class BA in the last year. TBH I don't find business/first allows me to sleep better, just better food.
You wake up screaming at regular intervals and soil yourself during the night?
...Only on long-haul flights. I've managed to get all that under control now when I'm at home. 😀
If I were to ask? I can actually sleep that long hour of travel. Eat some snacks, drink as well. Back pain will surely strike of course!
9 hour flight? 30mg of diazepam, a glass of wine and a movie.
just got back from Orlando so from experience:
on the way - try and entertain overexcited 5 and 7 year olds with no concept of how long a 9 hour is.
On the way back - marvel at how much space a 5yo and 7yo can take up between them while they sleep.
Get ripped on cheap booze from the duty free, a heavy scotch usually does me well.
Wake up an hour before landing.
Job done.
Champagne, nuts, canapes, a glass or two of good wine, a nice meal, a movie, do a bit of celeb spotting (very few TBH) ask the crew to make uo my bed and get some sleep, ask not to be waken until the very last moment. Oh the joys of First Class travel, a nice management "perk" 😀
The main thing is to ensure that you're not on a flight to or from a destination where anyone with children would want to go. (San Fran and Dallas flights noticeably much better than Vegas and Orlando flights).
I like havin to sit next to the aisle and get batterred with carts full of perfume that nobody ever buys.
Did a 13 half hour flight from Manchester to Singapore Via Munich. First hour was easily dispatched by nosying out the window etc then from the Munich leg i spent time listening to my Ipod, managed to read most of a book and next min i know the sun is rising and we are an hour from Singapore. I find window seats are the best, due to being able to rest your head on the window.
Get a seat as far forward as possible to reduce the noise fatigue. Also, they actively encourage you to walk about a bit (seat belt signs off permitting) And being a twin aisle Aircraft on most Aircrafts, you can stand behind a Row of seats at the back near the toilets.
Most uncomfrotable Aircraft was a 747 - 400 as it was very cramped, however the 777 300 was a very spacious Aircraft with lovely seat pitch, even in cattle class.
Flew Business class tho on the way back from Perth to Singapore and Back to Manchester.
I take valium - lots of it*. Suppresses the inevitable air-rage due to intense boredom.
*Doctor was amazed when I revealed how much I can consume and still function 
Although, I overdid it once and passed out before take-off and landed in Japan with feet so swollen I couldn't get my shoes on!
Drink and watch lots of movies 🙂