skye1

Mr. Ambien is my friend as well . Nothing greater than finishing a meal early in the flight, closing your eyes, then the "seats must be upright for landing" is the next thing you hear.

IceTrojan

Now... is it weird that I can fall asleep before the plane even leaves the gate, and not even wake up to the *thud* that is the landing? (Well, on 2-4 hour flights, not 14 )

I usually wake up to the rustle of pax moving and overhead doors opening... no one's had to wake me up yet

WRCSolberg

How about not having to take Ambien and still achieveing the desired effect?

I love being 21.......

thelittlevoice

Try a direct flight Bangkok - New York! 17 hours...I got a good sleep in total of 15 hours. Once I got to NY in the morning, I took a shower and got out exploring right away

Rampo

I feel compelled to add my own kudos to Flaflyer's great description of that first LONG flight. The first time I flew from DCA to BKK I thought I was going to go insane on the 12+ hours DTW-NRT leg (NW cattlecar). I remember the depression I felt at Narita when faced with the final 6-hour leg (which I now call "The Hop") from NRT to BKK. After several years of flying that route (almost always on AA) it actually has become fairly routine, always trying for business upgrades but finding economy (on AA's 777s, at least) tolerable. I don't even mind the 6 hours each way on JALways economy - I'm usually so tired on those flights that I conk out right after the meal. These days I find that I'm actually looking forward to trying out Thai Air's JFK-BKK nonstop this November. But I'm going to miss my typical Narita layover meal of udon with tempura washed down with a Kirin or two.

HomerJ

...drink, and take a sleeping pill and wake up an hour before I arrive...all the stuff I'm usually to busy to do...I go out of my way to get my work done before i board so i dont have to do any on board.

balima

Read, read and more reading! Ah, just the time to have uninterrupted reading! Read more America!

Sydny

Not one person mentioned buying a consolidator Business Class tkt....not much more than the cattle car.......and most long-haul metal have been retrofitted with BEDS! If I'm on a 12+ hr flight, ie: LGH - JNB, there is no doubt in my mind that my body will sleep while supine, and I'll wake refreshed and manageable!

MrSydney

Now that i can afford I will only fly long haul in J and Y is the pits these days-
and I fly quality airlines eg:NZ, SQ, BA ( no american carrier would be deemed 'quality' IMHO)

I usually drink, read a book,nap, chat to the FAs, walking around the entire plane (if its a daylight fight).

My longest ever flight was LHR -LAX - AKL- SYD on Air New Zealand in Y Great flights and i only slept for 4 hours. I would not do it again though,

Sydny

As I said in my last note, if you can get a consolidator J ticket on a popular European airliner, BA, VQ, AF, etc., most have been retrofitted with beds, proper or not, they manage to lay back enough so the body can sleep for a number of hours prior to arrival. Just remember, for every hour of travel, there is a day of jet lag to make up.......in other words, if it takes you 5 hours, or there is a 5-hour time change, it will take you 5 days for your circadian rhythm to catch up.