I have been traveling overnight, overseas and long haul flight for my entire life, so for me it’s “easy” to survive this type of flights. But there are surely some tips that have helped me throughout the way. I will be sharing them with you, and hoping they will work as well as they have worked for me.
When you are traveling internationally, it’s always recommended to arrive 3 hours ahead at the airport. This is an important , you don’t want to be that person that is running through the airport to get to their gate. So be on time!
Seat Selection
A couple airlines charge you for seat selection. I don’t feel the necessity of paying for this. If you really don’t care were you are sitting or you are traveling alone, it’s not a big deal. And there is usually someone who is open to changing seats with you, if it’s necessary.
From my experience it’s better to seat on the aisle or in the middle seat (if you are traveling with someone). During long flights, most people sleep, and if your sitting at the window and you want to go to bathroom or just have a small walk around the plane, you have to wake the person, and that is very awkward (mostly if you are shy as me).
Seat guru is a good source to know which are best/worst seats of your plane.
Outfit
Having a comfy outfit during the flight is extremely important. Your seat is already uncomfortable enough, you don’t need to seat for 7 or more hours in a tight, not so confortable outfit.
I usually fly with some leggings, a t-shirt and cardigan. Comfortable and stylish.
Read more about my favorite outfits pieces on my blog post.
Whenever I’m at my seat, I take my shoes and socks off and put on my cozy thick socks, which I also use as shoes during the flight. They actually get dirty, but at least I stay comfortable.
Travel Neck Pillow
This is a must!! I can’t travel without my neck pillow. It helps my neck to no hang for hours while I sleep. Some people feel that if you seat on the window seat, that you don’t need it, but I don’t agree. I have sat down of the window for a lot of flights and still need my neck pillow.
Food
Normally, when I have to travel, I have an upset stomach and I don’t eat much. This is due my “fear of flying”. During my last trip, this fear went away, I was feeling very relaxed and I even enjoyed the turbulence (first time I’ve ever said that). And of course I was hungry and wanted to eat. To have a full stomach during the flight, we had dinner at the airport. Due to this we arrived 4 hours before to the airport, so we could enjoy our food.
Having a meal before departure is a very good option for many reasons. One being, you won’t need much food, at least in the beginning of the flight. Second, airplane food, regularly, is not so good, so if you get a not so tasty pasta on the plane, you won’t need it ‘cause you had a very good piece of meat at the airport.
Still, I recommend that you buy some sweet and salty snacks, these flights are long.
Water
Water is important everyday, so in the plane it’s even more important. I usually buy the biggest bottle of water, so I have enough for all the flight. I have seen people bringing their own empty water bottle and filling it up with the water fountains at the airport, but I surely don’t know how clean the water is. Also, some airlines (KLM, Air France, that I know of) pass water glasses around every couple hours, so you can take that, but for me it’s not enough.
But the point is to stay hydrated, with water, not soda, juices or alcohol.
I never drink alcohol before or during the flight, I recommend you do the same thing. Important to know that 1 drink inflight = 2 drinks on land.
