dalehill

84fiero

I've often wondered about those folks as well! Although I can focus for a long time on something, I couldn't do literally nothing for that long...I'd fall asleep after awhile.

DenverBrian

I always carry up to a dozen books. In the Kindle app on my phone. That and a large battery brick can keep me going up to five days.

gaobest

jrl767

imo, first and foremost, "no IFE" =/= "emergency"

I'm with javabytes and Toshbaf ... look out the window, watch the world go by (topography, other aircraft, stars, clouds, distant and not-always-distant lightning, occasionally the Aurora Borealis)

nk15

This would be more common in coach, I feel, where there is not much comfort or meaningful stimulation. You can't sleep comfortably, can't get very comfortable in general, maybe interrupted by other passengers, everything is cramped, just waiting for the flight to be over. Other situations may be that the person is anxious about flying or something else in their life, maybe queasy or sick, bored, lonely, or depressed, or just thinking about something. Or nothing. Maybe it's an opportunity to relax and think of nothing, just be, with no need to respond to anything. But most likely the person is just bored waiting for the flight to be over, and none of the distraction options seems attractive enough to make the effort to engage in or they are not prepared with any of these options. Or some people may not feel like that they can concentrate or be comfortable enough on a plane to read or watch a movie.

Lastly, the person may be tired but can't sleep or concentrate/interested in doing anything meaningful either, so they are just zoning out staring blankly ahead waiting for the flight to be over...Or they are just comfortable being with themselves and their thoughts...

nk15

That would worry me a bit, reminiscent of Swissair 111....

nk15

Ask the FA to come and talk to you and keep you company, because there is no IFE, and it's the airline's fault, and they have to take some responsibility for their failures...

bitterproffit

Can't speak for anyone else, but I learned to do this back in the day before electronics. You are stuck in a middle seat, its hot, its uncomfortable, you don't have a book, the window shade is drawn, so what do you do?

I go to my happy place. The same place I go when I am at the dentist getting a root canal.

I daydream.

I do it now when I am flying on a long trip in J and nothing is interesting on the IFE. I just daydream.

Usually its about where I have been, or where I am going, or my last trip, or my encounters with people along the way.

Sometimes its mulling over a specific problem at work or with someone in my life. Or replaying something nice that happened.

Its very relaxing. And with ubiquitous electronic distractions, I think its becoming a rare activity. I try to make time for it when I travel.

DCAFly

Maybe they're just trying to hold it until the fasten seat belts sign goes off and they can use the bathroom.

RustyC

The mark of a true introvert is being able to do an entire 13+ hour trans-pac flight either without switching on the IFE or leaving it on "Flight Plan" the whole time.

I still bring mostly dead-tree reading product, but only stuff I can jettison while on the trip. I have a way of using up the entire allowance on the return.

fairhsa

You have never learned the art of day-dreaming? You don't need books or video, you just create stories in your head in full colour with sound and live in them. No external stimulation required. Hours of entertainment.

DCAFly

Good point, but I save my daydreaming for the office.

nk15

I think it depends if you fly J or Y on long haul flights. If I fly J TPAC I find that the flights are too short and I didn't have enough time to get all the sleep, work, food, or movies I wanted, and wish the flight was longer, lol. If I am in Y, it is torture all the way, lol...

yyznomad

No IFE?
Scotch and doze off. That's what I do without IFE.

or rather, that's my IFE.