Lewis King

Take a pen. I always forget and then have to beg cabin crew before filling in landing cards!

pacenotes

Does anyone have any recommendations for a small pillow for the small of my back?

I have everything down to a tee just a small bit of back pain from no back support.

MiraculousM

In all honesty, while a lot of people bash them, i would look into blow up pillows- i use neck ones over the memory foam ones etc because i can decide how full they are so i would look on amazon for a blow up lumbar pillow.

orbitmic

I do still have multiple long haul Y flights every year. In a way, I almost keep some on purpose to make sure I don't become blasé and remember my luck when flying J or (less often but still regularly) F.

The first and most important thing when flying long haul Y is to remember why you are doing it. Are you going on holiday? If so just be happy that you are going to wonderful NYC for a weekend rather than whining that you will be stuck in a small space. Are you going for work? Then again, focus on the reason why you are travelling rather than your fear of discomfort.

Second, count your blessings! LHR-JFK (day flight) in Y is much nicer than JFK-LHR (assuming one of the night flights). Conversely, JFK-LHR (frequently 6 hours or less in the air) is short, almost a US domestic flight basically. I've done AKL-DOH in Y (18 hours and that was as part of a Y return to New Zealand with less than 48 hours there between my arrival and my departure!!), and an East Coast TATL is a piece of cake in comparison.

Third, enjoy the small pleasures and try to remember the child in you who hopefully used to find flying exciting. Have a look out of the window and realise how beautiful the world is seen from a bird's eye perspective, be curious about what the meal will feature, try to find a film you've wanted to watch for weeks, have a look at people around you and wonder what their story is, bring a great book or some arrow words, whatever gets you going really.

Fourth, online check in early to try and get a seat you like. I'm a window guy, some people prefer aisles, what do you like best? Even without status, if you check in at t-24 there is a good chance you'll get the type of seats you want. Prioritise what matters to you too: further front? You will be out of the plane faster with less queue at immigration. Further back? You are a lot more likely to have an empty middle seat in the plane isn't full as most people intuitively choose to sit towards the front.

Fifth, bring an empty bottle to fill with water before your flight (or if you are an occasional flyer and/or care less about the environment just buy bottles instead).

Sixth, do your own comfort kit. I like brushing my teeth after a meal so carry a proper toothbrush and toothpaste as what's provided even in J and F is not very good, I also bring flying socks. I do not tend to change into pyjamas in Y (I do in F and in J even if it means bringing my own) but I do try to wear comfy clothes.

Seventh, instead of thinking of what you "don't" have, try to think of what you can do more easily in Y than in J or F. People around you will likely be a lot happier and excited to travel than is usually the case in J and F, how about letting them "contaminating" you with their enthusiasm? And if it comes naturally, take a walk to the galley and give yourself a chance of a nice chat with the crew, etc. It's often younger, more junior crew members serving Y and they can really be great fun to talk to as well (not that the more senior ones are not fun in any way).

Row9

Grab a hamper (really a small zipped bag, but the food inside is great) from Fortnum and Mason in T5 to eat on board. Usually less than £20.

bisonrav

Mikey Mike Mike

T5 is good for food - just use a credit card so when the bill arrives, it somehow appears less painful. (all expensive). I find Pret pretty good for food including salads for a take away, but try and eat at the Wetherspoons at the north end of the terminal as they have 3 or 4 cask IPAs available. Definitely buy a large water - I set myself a goal to drink the full bottle before landing to deal with dehydration and to counter a couple of cans of Tribute Ale I may have indulged on the aircraft.

I am mortally offended (assuming 55 is middle aged) by Corporate Wage Slave's comment about men in CW cluttering the aisle getting everything out of their bag. I now admit to being one of those men - but I have improved with a "man bag" which includes the headphones, notebook and pen, phone chip, meds etc etc so it's all in one place)
I am 56 next wednesday and on an upgrade into biz (a birthday present to self for 765 bucks - which I thought was pretty good!!) between LHR and YYZ spending half of my birthday with family in London and the other half (with the time difference assisting) with Mr Mikey Mike Mike in Toronto. Can I have a cake please with fake candles??

Mikey Mike Mike

I forget to add - flying coach is fine!! You land at the same time and get off five mins after the folk at the pointy end! I've just had to do two emergency runs to London due to family illness and ended up on AC against my judgement! It really showed how BA has improved it's LH offering in all classes over the last year. I can't speak for the American carriers to east coast to compare to AC, but I do think that generally BA is now leading the way for legacy carriers. Silly things like a choice of 2 reds or white wines, 4 courses, better IFE content (though the older smaller screens are terrible - bring reading glasses!), ice cream, and the winner for me - doing a drinks run before a main meal. Perhaps it's ritual for me, but a drink and nibbles before lunch or dinner is the correct way to run a service. (others just plonk the meal down straight off and get grumpy when you ask for an aperitif AND wine.
Enjoy - and as others have said - go with the flow and enjoy some downtime

gustavmahler

I make sure that I have a few things close to hand when boarding. I keep my cables in the case with my headphones, and make sure I have my passport, kindle and/or ipad, and a bottle of water when I sit down. It will fit in the seat-back pocket and then you don't have to keep getting up and down. Stick your headphones on and close your eyes, and you won't even notice everyone else boarding. I always have water (whatever cabin) and snacks.

freQ

flatlander

Mostly what c-w-s said, even if he is a very inexperienced economy traveller.

If you're tall, bring something to support your neck since your head will be higher than the head rest and so you can't rest you head on the headrest. A wadded-up fleece often works better than any travel pillow because you can re-fold it to a suitable size and thickness.

Overnight: get a window seat, use the aforementioned padding to sleep in the seat/wall corner. Daytime: choose window or aisle as you prefer.

The arm rests are often hard, your elbows can hurt after a while if you have long arms. Use sleeves of the fleece to pad the arm rest when leaning your elbows on them.

Remember there's a coat hook (small metal button, comes out on a stem when you pull it) embedded in the upper side of most seats in front of you. Use it to hang things off, like jackets, small bags, etc.

If your backup IFE uses a lot of power (eg, tablet playing films) bring a power pack to keep it running the whole flight.

bigwalrus

The only strategy that's worked for me on an overnight Y is to get to a nice, comfortable level of inebriation such that I fall asleep before takeoff and wake up an hour before landing.

Sadly this has only happened a couple of times. Usually I have brief 30 second bursts of sleep, arrive at LHR exhausted and then sleep for the entire journey back to NCL. There's something about an overly warm plane, a cramped, enclosed space with no leg room that sends me instantly to sleep.

RGS5526

I know that cabin air is fairly dry, and that there is authoritative advice out there about avoiding dehydration, but I disagree with the frequent remarks above about taking your own bottles of water. The cabin crew usually come round with (plastic) glasses of water every hour or so, and personally I find this adequate. When I do visit the washroom, I find that the beer comes out looking no darker than when it went in. If it is darker, then perhaps I should be drinking more water.

If you do indulge in water, or other liquids, go easy on them towards the end of the flight. It can be very uncomfortable if you find you need the toilet after the cabin is being secured for landing, 20 minutes before the end of the flight and possibly as much time again, or more, to get from the runway to the gate and off the plane into into the terminal.

I like window seats, preferring to climb over other people at a time of my choice to being climbed over at a time chosen by someone else.

kbooks66

Long Haul trips on BA are really not that bad. People who regularly fly in business have become spoiled and they make it seem like it is intolerable.

The only real tips I have with you is to bring a comfortable pillow and good pair of headphones. They will give you free earbuds on the flight, but they are not the best quality. Generally the provide sufficient food and usually have snacks in the galley in between meal services, but maybe a snack could be helpful. Regardless they have a pretty good selection of movies I always manage to keep myself busy.

headforflights

good noice headphonse
and Amex platinum to get access to Plaza Lounge at T5