Wouldn't it be nice if airports had a special area whereby travelers could get enough Anesthesia before a flight but not too much so that way they would forget the entire flight. The doctor would figure out the weight and administer it. It is recommended to fast 12 hours before the flight just like preparing for a surgery. If we don't remember the surgery then why can't we not remember that 14 hour flight in coach? We would land rested and then eat soup and drink liquids after a flight which is what you would do anyways to get your body clock back.

It beats Ambien and you could have coffee before landing to take away any nausea or headaches after the anesthesia wears off.

An anesthesiologist doesn't just jab you with a needle and spend the rest of the day playing golf - patients need to be constantly monitored while they're under. That's why these docs get paid the big bucks: they've got to keep you unconscious but not dead, and the line between the two can be pretty fine. Not a state I'd like to be put into on a flight, unmonitored but hoping for the best...

Given some flights I've been on I wonder if a risk of dying is really that bad an option.

I'd extend it and be given the option of unconsciousness from the point I leave home.

Don't more people die being put under then in actual surgery?

Get a prescription sedative from your doctor. The sort used by patients who are scared of the dentist etc (benzodiazepines) but in a strong enough dose that you zonk out. Far safer than a GA and doesn't require a doctor at the airport / on board either.

Theres the minor problem of maintaining an airway. Do you propose sticking the drop down O2 masks down your throat.
I do think it would be funny to see the flight attendants demonstrate the self intubation procedure with their over exaggerated motions.

Not if you are Michael Jackson's doctor.

I thought it was self-administered and called 'booze'?

Problem is, it wouldn't cure jet lag. When you land, your body clock is still out of sync. Example: an evening TATL leaving from DFW. You get anaesthetized at 7:30 PM shortly after hitting cruising altitude and you're awakened when you land in London 7 hours later. It's 8:30 AM in London. Problem is, it's 2:30 AM back home. It's going to take your body time to adjust to that even though you had 7 hours of sleep.

A few more pitfalls: you're not moving as much so there's the Deep Vein Thrombosis hazard. Artificially-induced sleep messes up your usual dream cycle so it's an abnormal type of sleep. And if the flight is diverted and you have to get off, you may be too oblivious to move (or you may leave a carry-on in the overhead bin).

I do use Ambien once in awhile, but not often for the above reasons.

Or, if there was an emergency evacuation and you are virtually comatose...

I thought the same thing when I read the OP!

As for anesthesia for a flight, tad overkill if you ask me. Next people will be asking for a pick-me-up to combat the lethargy. Plus you will need a disclaimer to not drive while under the influence of the anesthetic.

And of course, the new FA announcement:

"We are here primarily for your safety, which includes a top up should you start to wake up before we land and oxygen should your O2 levels plummet!"

Yeah. Remember Michael Jackson. The doc took a restroom break.

That anesthetic is known to sometimes cause respiratory problems. When properly used that's not an issue--they're equipped to deal with them if problems develop. I saw what certainly looked like a ventilator in the room when my wife was having a colonoscopy.

A couple Valium and a scotch will have the same effect.

Forgetting the flight does nothing for jet lag. Anaesthesia also wouldn't change the fact that you had changed time zones. Your circadian rhythm involves more than just sleep.

Actually, research out of the University of Aukland on anesthetized honey bees shows that general anesthesia causes jet lag like symptoms because the circadian rhythm is suspended. Bees have a keen sense of time.

So you could have a general anesthetic of the right duration and have no jet lag. Problem might be in timing. If you get anesthetized at 1am for the SFO/TPE flight you'll need to be awoken at 1am TPE time in order to have no jet lag. This would be a really long anesthetic given that flight usually lands at 5-6am.

Hmmm. Maybe you could be awoken 5 hours before the flight lands and go to sleep "naturally" for the remainder of the flight.

BTW, I'm an anesthesiologist and a beekeeper.