Flying to a long-haul destination is your quickest route to enjoy the bounty of the US, solve the mysteries of Africa, fall in love with the Orient, and get rich with the (metaphorical) gold of Latin America.
There’s just one problem – it’s not the quickest route at all. There are the hours spent waiting for your connecting flight, the endless wandering through airports, and the missed flight, courtesy of a lost piece of luggage.
The worst stretch, however, are the hours spent at 40,000 feet. Especially if you’re flying economy, you will have to bend your body at unnatural angles to squeeze into the confined space of your seat. And to make matters worse, your next-seat neighbour looks like a heavyweight boxer who, with your every attempt at grabbing 20 winks (no chance of getting the full complement of 40), inches that little bit closer. At some point, he gets so close that you even get to share your in-flight meal.
There are two solutions to surviving your long-haul ordeal. The first is to treat yourself to a business class ticket. But if your budget doesn’t stretch that far, there are ways of making your 10-hour flight as comfortable as possible.
Smart seat
Even on economy, you can still get a seat that’s better than the rest. For extra leg room, you can book an aisle or exit row. Avoid seats that are near the lavatories as there will be plenty of passenger traffic and you will not be able to sleep. Also, consider the advantages and disadvantages of a window seat – while you get to enjoy the view and neighbouring passengers will not have to crush your toes to get to the lavatory, you will have to do the toe-crushing if it’s your turn to go.
Let me entertain me
There’s only so much watching out of the window that you can do – at some point, all the clouds will start looking the same. Having something to entertain you will help give you the illusion that time is passing by quicker than it actually is.
A pair of noise-cancelling headphones connected to your favourite tracks is a good idea – just don’t get too engaged and start singing along, as you will make the other passengers’ life a misery. A good book also offers plenty of engagement. Choose your titles wisely – you will not be able to concentrate enough to read a philosophical treatise, but a rollicking detective drama by Jo Nesbo, Martin Cruz Smith or Henning Mankell will keep your mind busy.
A tablet gives you the best of three worlds: you can listen to music, read books or even watch a movie. And if you’re hooked on Candy Crush Saga or an Angry Birds episode, you will have enough time to struggle with all the difficulty levels.
Move it
On long flights, it’s important to keep your blood circulation going to prevent aching and, worse, deep vein thrombosis. If you are sitting for a long period of time, blood flows more slowly and collects in the legs when they are hanging down. In turn, blood flowing slowly is more likely to form a clot.
To prevent this, you can do some in-seat exercises such as stretching your arms and circling your ankles. Pull one knee up, hold it there for 15 seconds, and then pull up the other knee. You can also get up and walk up and down the aisle, or retire to the back to do some stretching.
Wet, wet, wet
The air in a plane is very dry and may dehydrate you. To protect yourself, drink plenty of water. You can use eye drops whenever your eyes feel dry and moisturise your skin with a good moisturiser. You can also consider using saline nasal gel if you feel uncomfortable breathing dry air.
Get fresh
If you’re flying business, you get a small amenity bag that contains toothbrush and toothpaste, moisturiser, and everything that you need to freshen up after a long flight. On first class, some airlines even have beds and showers. But since you’re flying economy, you have to stick to the boy scout motto: be prepared. And that means packing your own amenity bag with a fluffy facecloth, toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm and moisturiser. When the plane starts making its descent, retire to the lavatory and wake up your skin.