Pre Flight Decisions

When booking flights choose ones to help yourself.  Choose flight times that work with your body clock.  If you sleep well then fly as much as you can overnight and if you struggle to sleep on a plane then consider flying during daylight hours, arriving in the evening, so you can go straight to bed.  If a 12+ hour flight is not for you, why not break the journey up into shorter flights, making it easier for you.  Also when you fly west to east you chase the night time making sleep easier to come by but flying east to west you are chasing the daylight making it more difficult.  So if you are going to break a journey up then do it when heading west.   There is no denying that money buys you comfort on most airlines, so if you can upgrade to Premium, Business or even First then do it, even on the harder flights.  If you need to be in economy then purchase a gel spongey hexagonal seat cushion.  They are small and light and get placed on the seat and you sit on them - they can provide a lot of comfort.

Safety

A client once got Deep Veined Thrombosis DVT  on a flight and it involved a hospital stay and ruined a honeymoon, so please wear compression socks on every flight of 4 hours or more and get up and exercise as you can to keep your circulation flowing. There are also exercises you can do in your seat to help this so check the inflight magazine for details.  Also, when in your seat, please keep your seatbelt loosely attached, but stay connected.   

Hydration and screentime

Drink regular water by sipping it. If you drink too quickly  it will make you go to the loo more. If you are sat in the middle or window seat and one of your neighbours gets out of their seat, take the opportunity and do the same. Use the facilities and get some exercise by walking up and down the cabin. Also avoid too much alcohol or caffein as it can dehydrate you.  Food tastes different 30,000 ft, so eat regularly and have snacks.   Don’t  watch any screen too much at take-off or landing,  as this can make you feel queasy as the feeling of movement is at it’s highest.  Treat a flight as a night in and not as an opportunity to binge every episode or film on the system.

Getting Comfy

Wear loose, comfortable clothes and while upgrades are almost non-existent these days, dress casually smart at it may just help.  Carry something warm with you in case the cabin gets chilly and wear comfortable socks over your flight socks, to keep your feet warm. 

In my attempt to get as comfy as possible on a flight, I have purchased many different styles of travel pillow, from basic flat ones, U-shaped ones, J -Shaped ones, wrap around your neck ones and even a massive one where you put your arms through and planted your face in it.  There is a good chance that one will work for you, but everyone is different, so I do advise trying different ones, to hopefully find one that works well for you. Another thing that I have found that works is a foot cradle. This is like a sling which attaches round the table and allows your feet to be off the ground.

Do what you love and stick with it.

When flying long haul, I have a kindle, chilled music on my mobile and flat ear buds with me and I check what films and TV are available.  Once at cruising height, I start with a film, usually followed by a meal, after which I will read. When I start to feel tired, I will put on my eye mask and earbuds and play my relaxing music, to help me drift off to sleep.  When I wake, I do some light exercises and then go back to the screen to watch something else and then read some more until I’m tired again.  It’s a routine and I keep doing it until we are about to land. 

Doing the above works well for me and I hope for you too and I wish you well on any long haul flights you take in the future.