10 TIPS ON HOW TO SURVIVE A LONG FLIGHT

We’ve all been there, we sit online browsing through flights hours on end, again and again, calculating what’s the shortest time I can be on a plane for the cheapest price. You finally find one that’s “tolerable”, click, enter your credit card and you just booked yourself a flight halfway around the world. Then you forget about that flight for 4ish months and about two weeks before your flight you realize CRAP, halfway around the world really means halfway around the world and a 10+ hour flight. So you panic not only because you have to pack for a vacation halfway around the world, but you also hate flying too! Well… I’m here to give you 10 tips how to survive a long flight and how to make them more tolerable. So that’s one less thing you don’t have to worry about, and you can enjoy your vacation!

Ask to be seated in the back

This is one of my favorite hacks when flying. When you go to check in at the counter ask them to seat you all the way in the back. People usually want to sit up from so they can get off the plane quicker, but you’ll be smart and sit in the back. The back is usually less crowded and I’ve scored full rows to myself by doing this. Even if you can’t score a full row, there are usually empty seats around and there’s more wiggle room to move around and pick a seat of your choosing.

Catch up on your beauty rest + consider a sleeping aid

Because I travel so much, people always think that I’m jet legged since I change time zones so much. But tell you the truth I rarely get jet lagged. This is because I sleep on my long flights to pass up the time zone. When you do this make sure you calculate how much sleep you need. What I like to do is look at the time of my arrival and work backward. If I land in the middle of the day I know I have to get some sleep so I can stay up when I land and go to bed at a normal time. But if I land in the evening I know I can’t sleep too long because then I’ll be up all night. Calculate it the right way and you can completely avoid jet lag.

You might have problems sleeping on planes though. I’m the complete opposite, I actually suffer from insomnia, but on flights I can sleep, must have something to do with being thousands of feet up in the air. But if you’re not as lucky, consider taking a natural sleeping aid so you can catch up on your sleep. Be careful though, test out how you react to the sleep aid before you fly, sleeping pills do act differently in your body at a higher altitude.

Bring something to do

You’re going to be on this plane for 10+ hours. Bring something fun to do to entertain yourself. Most long flights do have in-flight entertainment now which is amazing, but I’ve also been on flights where I’ve watched all of the movies, or my tv screen doesn’t work. I like to download a couple movies from Netflix onto my phone and download a book or two onto my kindle I also make sure that my laptop is fully charged so I can get at least a couple hours of work done.

Stay hydrated

I can’t stress enough how important water is while you travel. Traveling, in general, dehydrates you, but when you’re up thousands of feet above ground where the air is extra dry will dehydrate you even more. What I like to do is bring a refillable water bottle with me, fill it up at the airport, and purchase another bottle of water at the airport. This eliminates having to ask the flight attendant for water every 30 minutes.

Bring snacks

I’m a HUGE snacker!!! I’m pretty much eating all day every day, and the same goes while I’m traveling. Let’s face it the food on the flights suck, and airport food gets pricey. So bring some TSA friendly snacks and eat whenever you get hungry. Some of my favorites snacks to bring on board include the RX Bars, Orchard Valley Nut Mix, Veggie Crisps, Mini Lara Bars, and Sahale Snacks Nut Blends.

Befriend the crew

The crewmembers deal with difficult people all day long, the last thing they want is another person being difficult. A simple thank you and smile goes a long way. But the extra mile is even better. When I purchase my snacks to bring on board I usually bring a few extras and give them to the crewmembers. They’re stuck eating airplane food most of the time too, so they really appreciate it. I know a few people who have also make goodie-bags for the crewmembers. If you do this it will definitely be appreciated, might even score you an upgrade or other special treatment.

Wear comfortable clothes

I’ve literally seen some women get on a 10+ hour flight in full makeup, heels, and dresses. Like woman WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? Be comfortable!!! You’re going to be stuck in this tube for the next 10+ hours, don’t you want to be as comfortable as possible? Your body naturally swells up while you travel also, so wearing loose clothes won’t leave you gasping for air at the end of your flight.

Bring a scarf

Flights get cold! Something about being so high off the ground that they just need to crank the air up on every single flight you ever take. Bring a scarf and layer up. Scarves are great too because you can use them as a blanket, as a pillow, put it over your face when you sleep, and when you’re traveling they’re great to cover your shoulders at churches/temples.

Move! Move! Move! (and do a little happy dance)

You are on that plane for 10+ hours, that is a long time to be sitting in a tiny little seat for so long. So stand up, walk the isles, move around a little in your seat, or put on some great music and do a little dance in your seat.

Keep all of your essentials on you. You are there for a long time so you’ll probably want to freshen up. I always keep a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, and deodorant with me on a long flight.

Xoxo Ania Travels 💜