In this video, I am going to be tackling tips for surviving long haul flights in economy as someone who used to regularly do 10-hour flights from Vancouver Canada which is where I’m from and Germany where I used to live. In case you’re new here, hi, I’m Christina from HappyToWander.com and this channel is all about practical travel tips from someone who’s been there done that, so be sure to like and subscribe for more practical travel videos just like this one. Alright, now let’s start with the first tip which is something that I don’t really hear people talk about a lot and that’s to change the time zone on your phone or your watch as soon as you get on the plane. So this is one of my number one tips for avoiding jet leg and that’s just to start syncing your inner body clock essentially with your destination’s time zone as soon as you possibly can. So if you do it as soon as you get in your seat basically then you’ll know okay is this a good time to be taking a nap or should I try to stay awake? Is this a good time to be snacking or having a meal? Things like that, so I find that really helps. So be sure to change the time zone as soon as you get on board. The more in sync you can get with your destination’s time zone the better.

And you can even start doing this a few days in advance, so let’s say your flight is during the day then maybe you want to make sure you’re well rested for your flight so that you’re not falling asleep. On the other hand, if you have a red-eye flight maybe you should go on a hike or do something really intensive during the day to make sure you’re tired enough for your red-eye flight so that you actually fall asleep. My next tip is to choose the right seat. Of course, choosing the right seat for your flight is going to make a world of difference, for me I love the window seat just because I get the views and you’re not disturbed as often because people don’t need to go past you to go to the toilet but in the aisle seat you do get a lot of extra perks like you get extra leg room and you can also get up, go to the bathroom or stretch in the aisle, go for a walk, whatever it is as often as you want. In addition to where you’re sitting in the row though you should also consider where you are on the plane, so some areas that I would personally avoid based on personal experience would be the first row in the section just because that’s often where parents with newborns or babies are going to be sitting just because that’s where they have the fold down tray tables for babies.
And I definitely learned this the hard way on a 10-hour flight where I was literally surrounded by babies, so keep that in mind. With the front row as well, you actually have TV screens that fold out of your seat rather than one that’s on the wall so that’s kind of annoying as well because then you can’t watch movies or TV shows during takeoff and landing which is how I missed the ending to the new Little Mermaid, so I’m still a little bit salty about that. Plus when you’re sitting in the front row, for some reason people seem to think that that’s a valid shortcut for them to get from one side of the plane to the other, so throughout the flight we had multiple people be like, “Hey, do you mind if we squeeze past?” and because I’m awkward I’d say, “Yeah, sure” but obviously that was very disruptive so overall I wouldn’t recommend choosing the front row. For other very valid reasons I would say to avoid the back row as well because those seats don’t really recline and also those tend to be very close to the toilet, so all throughout the flight you’re going to have people walking past you, you’re going to hear the toilet flushing and it’s just overall not a very pleasant experience.

Now how can you be more strategic with choosing your seats? Well one way is by loading up the seat maps in advance of your flight so that you have an idea of what the layout of the plane is so that when check-in comes and seat selection comes you can be sure to try to nab the area that you want. So once upon a time there was a really great website called Seat Guru where you could just type in your flight and it would load the seat map. Unfortunately, they’ve been bought up by TripAdvisor and now they no longer update maps so don’t use Seat Guru anymore even though a lot of websites still recommend them. Instead, a pretty good alternative that I found is called Aero Lopa, unfortunately all they have are the seat maps so you can’t just type in, you know your exact flight, and then find the maps but what you can do is easily just look up the model of the plane that you’re going to be flying on and then look up the seating chart for that plane.

Usually, they will say the model of the plane on your ticket but if you can’t find that information you can just type in your flight on Google Flights as well and it’s going to tell you what the plane is somewhere in those little details. Now my next tip is to dress for comfort. Of course, comfort is subjective but generally speaking I would recommend wearing loose-fitting, comfortable clothes, so don’t wear leggings or anything super tight because that’s going to, I mean I don’t know if there’s science behind this but I found that that just makes you need to go to the bathroom more, so looser fitting clothing, preferably dress in layers as well, because from personal experience I’ve been on planes that have been like saunas and also planes that have been like ice boxes, so you never know what you’re going to get, so dressing in layers that are easy to remove is definitely key to make sure you can kind of tailor your outfit to the temperature of the plane. I would also recommend wearing breathable fabric, so stay away from any synthetics like polyester that’s not very breathable because that can make you feel really hot and on a darker note a lot of synthetic fabrics tend to be more flammable, which is obviously not something you would want on a plane. In addition to loose and comfortable clothing I would also recommend wearing something that has really deep pockets because when you’re flying and you’re at the airport oftentimes you’re going to need access to things like your phone and your passport, so I find it’s really helpful to just have a jacket with really deep pockets or something, that way even if you’re getting up to go to the bathroom or anything like that then you can make sure that your most valuable objects are with you at all times.
And for the sake of yourself and your fellow passengers, do please wear closed-toe shoes. In terms of preventing swelling in your legs a lot of people also really swear by compression socks, I personally have never needed to use them because I don’t get swelling in my ankles or anything like that but from people who do I’ve heard that it can really help, so if that’s an issue you think you might deal with on a long haul flight do definitely look into buying compression socks as well. I will be linking a lot of the best reviewed options down in the description. Now next is a super important one and that’s to bring noise-cancelling headphones. Now I honestly have no idea how I flew before I had noise cancelling headphones, they make such a big difference in terms of blocking out noise whether that’s just white airplane noise or crying babies. So, I really recommend getting a solid pair, these are the ones that I bring on every flight, they’re actually several years old but they still look brand new, they’re from Sony and they’re just so so comfortable. I personally prefer these over the ear ones because I find them just so much more comfortable for a long flight compared to earbuds and especially AirPods because those can really just fall off cuz they’re so small and they can get lost between the cracks of the seats.

Plus, do bear in mind that a lot of the entertainment systems on flights still use cabled connections, so with air pods you’re not actually going to be able to connect to the entertainment system unless you buy a third-party accessory. Luckily, these days they actually have quite a few so you can buy one like an Air Fly, for instance, that you can plug in and then that enables a Bluetooth connection with your AirPods or your wireless earbuds and then you can watch movies on the plane without needing the wire. Now on that note I would also highly recommend bringing your own entertainment on board.

So, yes, for a lot of long-haul flights generally, they will have an entertainment system on board that has a lot of different movies and TV shows and yes, it is very fun to browse through them but I personally find that one of the best ways to make sure you actually look forward to a long haul flight, rather than dread it, is by saving something special to enjoy on that flight, whether that’s a book that you’ve been meaning to read for ages or a new series that you’ve been meaning to binge, so long as you have something that you’ve really been looking forward to that mindset shift can really help you enjoy the flight a lot more. So luckily these days with most streaming services you are able to download episodes for offline viewing and I know that this is possible with Netflix and Amazon Prime, for instance, you can just download the episodes and then you can watch them on your phone or your iPad. On a similar note, you can also download Spotify playlists for offline listening and you can also of course get books on your e-reader or just bring a good old fashioned book as well. I will say it’s very important that one of the entertainment things that you bring on board is something that you tend to fall asleep to because this is going to be very helpful in getting you to fall asleep for the flight if you need to, so for me personally, I’ve noticed that I fall asleep when reading a lot more easily than when I’m watching a movie or TV show, so for every long haul flight I make sure I have a book downloaded, maybe one that’s a bit dry or something, that’ll help me fall asleep and that way you kind of have a natural sleep aid. Now if you plan on bringing your own entertainment on board another very important thing to remember is to charge your phone and also bring any necessary phone accessories on board with you.

So what I mean by that is, of course, have your phone fully charged because you’re going to need it throughout the flight but also make sure you have a charging cable and also a portable charger if you can. And the reason I say that is because having a portable charger I find it just more reliable a lot of the time, bear in mind a lot of planes actually still use the old-fashioned USB-A cable ports and so if you have a newer phone and you use a USB-C charging cable, you’re going to need an adapter for it to fit, so just keep that in mind, overall I feel like having your own portable charger is less hassle. It’s also fewer wires just like coming out of the screen. And if you’re planning on watching movies the whole time on your phone and you don’t want to just be holding it the whole time then I would also consider bringing any necessary accessories, like maybe a case that props it up or you can use one of the many different life hacks these days that are available for mounting your phone. So I’ve seen one recently where basically you take your phone and then you take one of the vomit bags from the plane, you slip it into your phone case and then you use the tray table to kind of clip it up, so that’s another hack that you can use but do keep in mind that you should at minimum have a charging cable for your phone because if you’re using it throughout the flight it’s probably going to die, which is not great because you’ll need it on the other side.

Now my next tip is to pack whatever it is you need to sleep. So one of my greatest superpowers in life is that I am able to just fall asleep anywhere and I’m always very grateful for that whenever a long haul flight comes along. That said, some people do need more specific conditions to fall asleep, so if you are one of those people, don’t be proud, take note of all the things that you need to fall asleep and make sure that you have them with you on the plane, whether that’s a comfy travel pillow, a cozy travel blanket or maybe a mask for blocking out the light, if those are things that you need in order to fall asleep, make sure that you have them with you. These days they actually do make quite a few special accessories as well for the plane, like foot hammocks to prop your feet up and also travel pillows in all crazy sorts of designs. I personally don’t feel like they’re necessary but again I can fall asleep anywhere so if that’s something that you might be interested in, again, I’ll drop links for those in the description.

Now if you need some extra help I’ve also heard some people swear by melatonin as well. In addition to sleep essentials I would also recommend you bring your own snacks. And that’s just because airplane food is hit and miss, and you can bring pretty much anything you want across security so long as it doesn’t exceed that 100 mil liquid restriction, so don’t bring any tubs of salad dressing on board, for instance, but that’s pretty much it, you can bring other snacks and it’s going to be way cheaper for you to bring them from home rather than purchasing them at the airport or on board the flight. Just remember to be considerate, of course, and not bring anything that’s going to smell too much just for the sake of your neighbors. Another thing would be to bring self-care or beauty items as needed.

So this is going to vary for each person but I think everybody has their bare minimum of what they need in order to not feel icky. So whatever that bare minimum looks like for you, make sure you have the necessary items to take care of it. So for me, those two things are breath mints and deodorant. So long as I have those two things then I can feel reasonably okay to exist out in public. Sometimes, if I remember, I’ll also wear a panty liner so that way when I get to my destination I can just swap that out and feel 100% fresh.
Now those are my bare essentials but for some people, they might be a bit more extreme like, they need to make sure they brush their teeth before they go to sleep, things like that, so in those cases make sure you have the necessary items to take care of those hygiene requirements. Luckily, these days they make a lot of special products explicitly for this purpose, like portable toothbrushes that you don’t need water for, for instance, so definitely be sure to look into those. If you’re prone to headaches or other kinds of ailments do also make sure you are bringing any necessary medication on board as well, some people swear by having a mini pharmacy with them on board, with things like allergy pills, headache tablets, things like that. So definitely bring those if you think you might need them. As well as sanitizer wipes if you feel like you want to make sure the tray tables and the seats are clean for your flight.

Now some people take self-care on the plane to the extreme, I personally am not one of these people but I’ve seen loads of videos of people who would do sheet masks on the flight, just to keep their skin hydrated, or they’ll put their hair in like heatless curl contraptions so that when they arrive then they can just like undo it and then have a bouncy blowout as soon as they arrive in their destination, so no shame in that if that’s what you want to do to feel fresh and ready for your destination, just keep in mind that you should be bringing those on board with you if you think that’s going to enhance your in-flight experience. So another important tip is to keep all your absolute essentials as close to you as possible on the flight. So a lot of people just throw everything they want in the overhead compartment and then as they need it they’ll get up and then rummage through the bag just to find what they need but for me, personally, this isn’t very convenient, so I always prefer to just have the most necessary items, my absolute essentials that I’ll need on the plane, I’ll keep that in my personal item and that way it’s just going to always be in front of me and I don’t need to keep getting up to go through my bag. If you would prefer additional leg room though, when you don’t want to keep an entire bag underneath the seat in front of you, then another thing you might want to do is just have a little belt bag or a fanny pack or something that can hold all your essentials like your passport and your phone and that way when you get on board you can just take that out of your carry-on, put that up in the compartment above and then just keep that smaller bag with you on the flight. Now another must is to stay hydrated.

So, of course, being dehydrated is not nice especially not if you’re on a plane because that can cause a lot of issues besides feeling thirsty, you know that can also lead to headaches and just general feelings of not feeling very good. But if you’re afraid of consuming too much liquid sometimes you will sacrifice water, so what are some tricks that you can use to stay hydrated on the plane without needing to get up and use the toilet every few seconds? So the first one is to be choosy with the kind of water that you actually bring on board with you. Bear in mind, of course, that hydration isn’t just about consuming water, it’s also about how your body absorbs that water, a process which is guided by electrolytes, which includes minerals like sodium, potassium and calcium that are found in a lot of mineral waters. So the type of water you drink can actually make a huge difference in terms of how hydrated you feel. Water that has more minerals and electrolytes, for instance, will make you feel more hydrated per sip compared to a water that doesn’t have any minerals. So that’s why a lot of experts will recommend drinking a high-quality water with a lot of minerals for flights rather than drinking whatever water you can get. Fiji Water, for instance, is a really popular brand that many people swear by. You can, of course, also purchase electrolyte packs that you can add into your water for some more flavor and, of course, an electrolyte boost. A much less scientific hack though is I like to bring a little pack of mints or of candies so that I can have something that helps with a dry mouth without needing to drink water constantly and it’s just yummy.

Now my next tip is to make sure you prep your space before you fall asleep, so obviously, if you manage to fall asleep on a plane the last thing you want to do is get interrupted, but there are a lot of instances when a flight attendant might have to come and wake you up so, you want to make sure you take care of any of those possible scenarios before you actually fall asleep. So a few of them include making sure your seat belt is visible, so if you have a blanket make sure you buckle your seat belt over the blanket, that way if the seat belt sign comes on and they’re making sure that people have their seat belts on they don’t need to wake you up to make sure that you have your seat belt on under the blanket. Another thing is making sure your tray table is up and also that your window is closed because generally for long-haul flights they like to make sure that that window is closed for certain bits of the flight to kind of simulate night time and darkness. Now the next tip is simple and that’s to not forget to stretch. So obviously when you’re sitting in one seat for a long time your body can get really tight, so if you feel any tightness just don’t forget to do a few stretches in your seat, so sometimes I feel like even just like moving my wrists around, moving my ankles around, doing neck rolls, that can really help.

There’s a ton of YouTube videos out there that show you how you can do stretches in your seat or in the aisle so be sure to look those up. Now finally, don’t forget to be a good flight neighbor. If you’re stuck on a 10 plus hour flight the last thing you want to make is enemies. So I get that you want to be comfortable but remember everyone around you wants to be comfortable as well, so before you do anything on your flight do be sure to look at your surroundings, kind of read the room a little bit and consider the people around you as well. So a big example of this would be, let’s say you’re on a flight and the person behind you is really tall. In that case maybe reclining your seat is, if that’s going to make their entire flight completely miserable, I personally wouldn’t do it. And also be mindful of things like personal space as well especially with jackets or your belongings. All right, thanks for watching, be sure to leave any more tips in the comments . Bye!

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