How does one pass 12-14 hour in flight
Sep 16, 2005, 2:07 pm
#31
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: London
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire Ambassador, Qatar Gold, Etihad Gold, TK Gold, BA Silver, Emirates Silver
Posts: 1,458
actually, for me, as I do a transpac every 6 to 8 weeks, to Jakarta/SIN, I change into my sweat pants and polo shirt once on board (I look for the larger toilets), get my book and iPod out and get comfy. I try to sleep abit, read abit, watch a few shows (I fly SQ mostly) and relax. I get up once in a while to stretch and chat with people and then get back to lounging. Been doing the 16 to 19 hours SQ nonstops from LAX and EWR lately and that's how I spend my time.
I feel great at landing if I get 5 to 8 hours of sleep onboard.
If you happen to carry a fascinating book, its all the best.
The more I fly though, and I have been doing 150k to 400k miles per year for over 10 years, I find myself wanting more privacy over sitting in "prime" seats. I seat myself anywhere where I can sit alone and stretch out. I'll take a downstairs (744) seat in the last row of C just so I can sit alone. On the A345, I sit in the back of C...it's kinda rare on UA to sit alone though...
Anyway, be comfy and try not to follow the flight tracker too much...
I feel great at landing if I get 5 to 8 hours of sleep onboard.
If you happen to carry a fascinating book, its all the best.
The more I fly though, and I have been doing 150k to 400k miles per year for over 10 years, I find myself wanting more privacy over sitting in "prime" seats. I seat myself anywhere where I can sit alone and stretch out. I'll take a downstairs (744) seat in the last row of C just so I can sit alone. On the A345, I sit in the back of C...it's kinda rare on UA to sit alone though...
Anyway, be comfy and try not to follow the flight tracker too much...
Sep 16, 2005, 5:45 pm
#32
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: airline
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by Efrem
I've always enjoyed the salon, where we discuss literature while sipping fine sherry. (Dry before dinner, sweet after - or perhaps port.) The reference library between rows 2 and 3 can be handy for resolving tricky points. Fortunately, it's quite comprehensive.
There's often a bridge game going in the rear left corner.
The hot tub toward the front has its fans, though I seldom use it because my tuxedo water-spots easily.
A few people sometimes use the darkroom, but that's fallen off with digital cameras. They may use the space for a tanning bed before long, or relocate the masseur who regularly complains about being hit by the ends of pool cues.
A few people use the business center, but not many. That's just as well, because the dart board is nearby.
There's usually a line at the ATMs before landing, so you'll want to get your destination currency early.
Enjoy your flight!
There's often a bridge game going in the rear left corner.
The hot tub toward the front has its fans, though I seldom use it because my tuxedo water-spots easily.
A few people sometimes use the darkroom, but that's fallen off with digital cameras. They may use the space for a tanning bed before long, or relocate the masseur who regularly complains about being hit by the ends of pool cues.
A few people use the business center, but not many. That's just as well, because the dart board is nearby.
There's usually a line at the ATMs before landing, so you'll want to get your destination currency early.
Enjoy your flight!
Sep 16, 2005, 9:14 pm
#34
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,856
I bring along my friend, Mr. Ambien, with me, but he is SO boring he quickly puts me to sleep. On a 10+ hour nonstop, there's time to eat the meal first. On a shorter one, you have to choose between eating the meal and Mr. Ambien!
Sep 16, 2005, 11:04 pm
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 15,788
Originally Posted by Coathanger
No, Efrem is joking!
Why would you say that? What carrier do you fly? The wife and I are flying SFO to Botswana this Christmas and they have a game-shoot on board. Of course it's paintball but there is only so much you can do at 35,000 ft.
Last edited by birdstrike; Sep 16, 2005 at 11:11 pm
Sep 16, 2005, 11:39 pm
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: El Paso, TX, USA
Programs: Kicked out of all of them
Posts: 32,554
Originally Posted by Efrem
I've always enjoyed the salon, where we discuss literature while sipping fine sherry. (Dry before dinner, sweet after - or perhaps port.) The reference library between rows 2 and 3 can be handy for resolving tricky points. Fortunately, it's quite comprehensive.
There's often a bridge game going in the rear left corner.
The hot tub toward the front has its fans, though I seldom use it because my tuxedo water-spots easily.
A few people sometimes use the darkroom, but that's fallen off with digital cameras. They may use the space for a tanning bed before long, or relocate the masseur who regularly complains about being hit by the ends of pool cues.
A few people use the business center, but not many. That's just as well, because the dart board is nearby.
There's usually a line at the ATMs before landing, so you'll want to get your destination currency early.
Enjoy your flight!
There's often a bridge game going in the rear left corner.
The hot tub toward the front has its fans, though I seldom use it because my tuxedo water-spots easily.
A few people sometimes use the darkroom, but that's fallen off with digital cameras. They may use the space for a tanning bed before long, or relocate the masseur who regularly complains about being hit by the ends of pool cues.
A few people use the business center, but not many. That's just as well, because the dart board is nearby.
There's usually a line at the ATMs before landing, so you'll want to get your destination currency early.
Enjoy your flight!
If I am going to arrive at night, I stay up as much as possible (IFE), if I arrive in the morning, sleep as much as possible (tylenol PM)
Sep 17, 2005, 4:28 pm
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by jef7
Which airline
<< merrygp >>
Sep 17, 2005, 6:17 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Mileage Plus
Posts: 215
I do Everything!
To get through a West Coast US flight to Europe, I:
Drink wine in the airport bar or airline lounge before I board;
Take a big bottle of water (1.5 liter) with me and drink it along the way;
Watch movies;
Read a book and magazines/newspapers;
Eat the meals/snacks and drink wine with them (but coffee with breakfast before landing);
Sleep (I don't usually sleep on plane, but do on these flights);
Walk around;
Watch the map display showing flight path, etc.
and then I repeat the above in various order if I am bored with the one I am currently doing!
I don't change into other clothes, but wear relatively comfortable travel outfits (khakis and jerseys, etc) the entire way. I don't take off my shoes because my feet swell and I have a hard time getting them back on. BTW - Make sure you are ALWAYS wearing shoes for take-off and landing because you will need them if you have to use the emergency exits.
Most of all, you will get used to the long flight - your first will be the worst and then it will become a routine once you make the trip several times. Remember, it is OK to feel bored and to be thinking "we still have 4 hours to go!" but you will get there and be just fine.
JK-SFO
Drink wine in the airport bar or airline lounge before I board;
Take a big bottle of water (1.5 liter) with me and drink it along the way;
Watch movies;
Read a book and magazines/newspapers;
Eat the meals/snacks and drink wine with them (but coffee with breakfast before landing);
Sleep (I don't usually sleep on plane, but do on these flights);
Walk around;
Watch the map display showing flight path, etc.
and then I repeat the above in various order if I am bored with the one I am currently doing!
I don't change into other clothes, but wear relatively comfortable travel outfits (khakis and jerseys, etc) the entire way. I don't take off my shoes because my feet swell and I have a hard time getting them back on. BTW - Make sure you are ALWAYS wearing shoes for take-off and landing because you will need them if you have to use the emergency exits.
Most of all, you will get used to the long flight - your first will be the worst and then it will become a routine once you make the trip several times. Remember, it is OK to feel bored and to be thinking "we still have 4 hours to go!" but you will get there and be just fine.
JK-SFO
Sep 17, 2005, 6:31 pm
#39
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,543
I try to leave LAX as late in the day as possible in order to go to sleep at what would be my usual time. For example: The AF flt departing at 9:00 PM for CDG works very well. I eat a late lunch the afternoon of departure. On board, I'll have a cocktail, dinner, wine, read for awhile, take a low dose of Xanax, put on the headseat, listen to classical music and I am then able to sleep for 6+ hours. The cabin has to be cool in order to get a good night's rest. I have found the AF FA's good about turning down the thermostat when the cabin gets too warm. I don't eat breakfast prior to departure as it tends to mess with my digestive system right after we land. The return flight is more problematic as it leaves in the early afternoon. However, I can normally sleep because I find that I don't sleep well the night before my return, so I am really tired when I get on the plane. A few months ago on my return from VCE/CDG/LAX, I fell asleep as we were approaching Iceland and woke up over western Canada.
Sep 17, 2005, 11:01 pm
#40
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Panama City Beach, FL (ECP)
Programs: Delta PM, Alaska MVP, Hilton GoldMarriott Titanium
Posts: 780
On my last Transatlantic flights last summer I passed the time by:
-Watching a few shows on the overhead IFE, but not any of the movies (I had the watched the same movies the month before on a transcon).
-Watched the Amazing Race and Futurama on my PPC.
-Read a book.
-Talk to my seat mate
-Look out the window (when approaching canada).
-Listen to MP3 player
I can never really sleep on flights, sometimes if lucky I can get an hour in.
-Watching a few shows on the overhead IFE, but not any of the movies (I had the watched the same movies the month before on a transcon).
-Watched the Amazing Race and Futurama on my PPC.
-Read a book.
-Talk to my seat mate
-Look out the window (when approaching canada).
-Listen to MP3 player
I can never really sleep on flights, sometimes if lucky I can get an hour in.
Sep 18, 2005, 12:24 am
#41
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Peon Gold
Posts: 2,915
Long haul night flights are great, I'll pass out after dinner and sleep 7 or 8 hours. Y seats don't bother me.
However, long haul day flights are murderous. So boring, after two or three movies and 3 or 4 hours of listening to the iPod, it starts to get a little old.
However, long haul day flights are murderous. So boring, after two or three movies and 3 or 4 hours of listening to the iPod, it starts to get a little old.
Sep 18, 2005, 8:10 am
#42
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: IAD
Programs: Chase Million Miler, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,729
I have yet to do overseas flights, but I do mid-con or transcon flights quite frequently. It's a casualty of living on the west coast and travelling to the east coast/midwest quite often. I used to never sleep on anything but my own bed, but things have changed. Once asleep, however, I really do need to sleep uninterrupted. I work midnights, and rarely take redeye flights -- it makes no sense to me to get off work, go home, sleep, do whatever it is I do, go get on a plane for five or so hours, and then go to sleep when I arrive at my destination. In the last two years, I think I've been on three. In comparison, I will hit plat on NW this year. I get off of work at 0500, and am usually on the 0825 to DTW. I try to connect through DTW no matter where I'm going, because that is the longest flight I can take on NW headed eastbound. That means I get the most sleep. On the return flights, I'm typically on an early AM flight. If I "adjusted" to the time changes (harder for me to adjust to a "normal people schedule" than it is time changes, really) then yeah, I have to figure out how to kill the flight. A good DVD or book usually does the trick. If I never adjusted to the time changes (happens when I go hang out with my friends and stay out all night), I'm back to sleep on the plane again. My biggest problem is how to kill the time I hang out at LAX before my outbound departure.
Sep 18, 2005, 9:05 am
#43
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 133
I travel in comfy clothes ~ take my shoes off right away on long haul, I carry a thin pair of slippers (moosehide!! flatten down to nothing)... rest of my toilette is a hairbrush, toothbrush, face clothe and a clean pair of undies.
Music - I haul a very compact CD player around and a few favorite CD's plus a couple of homemade compilations.
Reading - I usually have at least one book on the go, and I treat myself to at least 2 new magazines for the flight plus I read the inflight magazine.
The tips about water and hydration are on target.
I also "take something" but Valerian Root instead of prescription meds, I can sleep alright on a flight. My recent CHC-LAX got me about 7.5 hours sleep...
Music - I haul a very compact CD player around and a few favorite CD's plus a couple of homemade compilations.
Reading - I usually have at least one book on the go, and I treat myself to at least 2 new magazines for the flight plus I read the inflight magazine.
The tips about water and hydration are on target.
I also "take something" but Valerian Root instead of prescription meds, I can sleep alright on a flight. My recent CHC-LAX got me about 7.5 hours sleep...
Sep 18, 2005, 12:54 pm
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: The Sunshine State
Programs: Deltaworst Peon Level, TSA "Layer 21 Club", NW WP RIP
Posts: 11,370
First One is the Worst
JK-SFO said "Most of all, you will get used to the long flight - your first will be the worst and then it will become a routine once you make the trip several times."
This is some of the best advice I have ever seen posted on FT. Of course, if it is your first time it may not sound so good.
My first Long Haul was JAX-BKK, over 20,000 miles, 12 time zones, 180 degrees of longitude. Same distance going east or west around the earth. Darn long way, however you look at it.
Four hours JAX-LAX is OK. Then 12 hours to Tokyo. After 16 hours of flying, you look at your last boarding pass and wonder "Can I force myself to get on a plane in 30 minutes?", knowing that it is ANOTHER SIX HOURS to BKK. Does NRT have a special Refugee Section for Those Who Just Cannot Take Another Flight That Long?
After making it to BKK, and just starting to cope with 12 hours of jet lag, the good news is when it hits you In Only 3 Days I get to Do That Whole 22 Hours of Flying thing All Over Again!
Wait, great news, you get a tailwind, its only 21 hours going back! (Except I love the Thai food, I don't want to leave!)
When you get ready to make the trip a second time you wonder, can I take THAT again? But about halfway to Tokyo you realize that it is so much easier this time. You know what to expect, you brought the right things(like your own refillable water bottle) to make it more comfortable. I take my shoes off at altitude(always on for takeoff and landing), as I find it more comfortable. I carry some flat slippers that I got in an unexpected Business upgrade. I don't mind walking thru the metal detector in socks, but in a lav in the plane, no way.
By the third and forth trip, you are a pro. You write your FT Trip Report enroute. You take pictures of your food to post on airlinemeals.com. You know that when you see posts on FT about those LOOONG 4 hour trips JFK-LAX, you will whack those whiners for the crybabies they are, as 4 hours is a local commute in your book. Your perspective has broadened.
Worse, you dream and plan for 1.Upgrades and 2.What you are going to do with all those miles you are racking up. After a 22 hour trip, you start to consider a 10 hour hop to Europe a short flight, short enough to make a weekend trip to Europe a neat thing to buy with your FF miles.
Worst of all, you become a Mileage Junkie. You find that it only takes One 20,000 mile trip to Asia per year plus one or two domestic flights to make 25,000 Miles and ELITE! Now you get a 50% bonus on that next trip! More More!!!
It is not polite to kick an airline when they are down, but you look forward to making the MRs jealous:
This spring work paid for a consolidator ticket for JAX-SIN, but it came with full FF miles. I made sure of that. No way I am sitting for 44 hours for no miles. I had a double miles offer in place, 50 % Silver Elite bonus, a Refer a Friend hit, and to run up the total I spent $20 for the Supersize. One trip, over 56,000 miles(plus another 500 on another plan from the hotel). I just traded 50,000 miles for a trip to Europe.
Buy one $900 trip to Asia, get a free $1100 ticket to Europe? No Wonder (Name Withheld to protect those who declared bankruptcy this week) is broke!
This is some of the best advice I have ever seen posted on FT. Of course, if it is your first time it may not sound so good.
My first Long Haul was JAX-BKK, over 20,000 miles, 12 time zones, 180 degrees of longitude. Same distance going east or west around the earth. Darn long way, however you look at it.
Four hours JAX-LAX is OK. Then 12 hours to Tokyo. After 16 hours of flying, you look at your last boarding pass and wonder "Can I force myself to get on a plane in 30 minutes?", knowing that it is ANOTHER SIX HOURS to BKK. Does NRT have a special Refugee Section for Those Who Just Cannot Take Another Flight That Long?
After making it to BKK, and just starting to cope with 12 hours of jet lag, the good news is when it hits you In Only 3 Days I get to Do That Whole 22 Hours of Flying thing All Over Again!
Wait, great news, you get a tailwind, its only 21 hours going back! (Except I love the Thai food, I don't want to leave!)When you get ready to make the trip a second time you wonder, can I take THAT again? But about halfway to Tokyo you realize that it is so much easier this time. You know what to expect, you brought the right things(like your own refillable water bottle) to make it more comfortable. I take my shoes off at altitude(always on for takeoff and landing), as I find it more comfortable. I carry some flat slippers that I got in an unexpected Business upgrade. I don't mind walking thru the metal detector in socks, but in a lav in the plane, no way.
By the third and forth trip, you are a pro. You write your FT Trip Report enroute. You take pictures of your food to post on airlinemeals.com. You know that when you see posts on FT about those LOOONG 4 hour trips JFK-LAX, you will whack those whiners for the crybabies they are, as 4 hours is a local commute in your book. Your perspective has broadened.
Worse, you dream and plan for 1.Upgrades and 2.What you are going to do with all those miles you are racking up. After a 22 hour trip, you start to consider a 10 hour hop to Europe a short flight, short enough to make a weekend trip to Europe a neat thing to buy with your FF miles.
Worst of all, you become a Mileage Junkie. You find that it only takes One 20,000 mile trip to Asia per year plus one or two domestic flights to make 25,000 Miles and ELITE! Now you get a 50% bonus on that next trip! More More!!!
It is not polite to kick an airline when they are down, but you look forward to making the MRs jealous:
This spring work paid for a consolidator ticket for JAX-SIN, but it came with full FF miles. I made sure of that. No way I am sitting for 44 hours for no miles. I had a double miles offer in place, 50 % Silver Elite bonus, a Refer a Friend hit, and to run up the total I spent $20 for the Supersize. One trip, over 56,000 miles(plus another 500 on another plan from the hotel). I just traded 50,000 miles for a trip to Europe.
Buy one $900 trip to Asia, get a free $1100 ticket to Europe? No Wonder (Name Withheld to protect those who declared bankruptcy this week) is broke!
Sep 18, 2005, 2:51 pm
#45
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,543
Flaflyer What a great assessment of the mind-set of the truly long distance flyer. I especially loved your take on those who whine about those domestic transcons. When I am 4 hours from my destination, en route to HKG or SYD I feel as if I have to start preparing for my arrival. I also agree the more one flies these long hauls, the more cavalier we become. LAX/LHR, 9-1/2 hours, easy, really easy. LAX/CDG, 10 hours, would do it in a heartbeat to top off some miles. When we had a home on Maui, we thought nothing of flying over for a 3 day weekend, after all, it was just a 5 hour flight.