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Long flight tips?


MaC410
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A neck pillow. An empty water bottle so you can fill it before you board. Snacks. Something to read or do (crossword or tablet). Headphones and a white noise app. Ear plugs. A sweater or sweatshirt.

 

Make sure to wiggle your toes and rotate your ankles often. And get up to walk the aisle every couple of hours if possible.

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Hi there. My husband and I are going to be taking a 7 hour flight to Barcelona before our Mediterranean cruise. Any tips for the flight in terms of what to bring to be comfortable for it?

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

In the larger scheme of things, 7 hrs isn't what most regular international fliers would call "long." Nonetheless, the best way to go is bizclass. Use ITA Matrix to find best options for bizclass that will not break your bank (but will spare your back!).

 

 

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After nearly a lifetime of flying (US Air Force when young, world traveler when old) we have found the only good solution. First or Business Class in lay flat seats :). As to Economy, it is a small (very small) piece of hell. For decades, DW and I would "suck it up" and fly in the cheapest coach (economy) seats and consider it the price one pays when being a world traveler. But now, we know better :).

 

Hank

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Everyone suggesting business class is correct. But most people can't afford it or have the miles to upgrade. The price for a business class ticket (paying actual full price not miles) would not be worth it unless you really have tons of money to spare. I have flown business before, it is awesome. But unfortunately we can't fly it all the time.

 

7-hours is really not that long of a flight. I suspect the flight leaves in the evening and arrives in Barcelona in the morning. The #1 thing you should focus on is trying to get some sleep. That means wearing comfortable clothes, or brining clothes to change in once you takeoff. Depending on how often you take any type of sleep supplement that would help. Don't start taking it for the first time on the flight! But if you are like me and maybe take Benadryl now and then, and are used to it and know how your body reacts to it, that is an option.

 

Make sure to drink lots of water the day of and on the flight. I would also bring some type of towel to wipe yourself with when you wake up just to get a little refreshed before landing. Bring some type of lose fitting sweater/jacket too. Make sure you have headphones incase you can't sleep as these days 90% of the planes crossing the atlantic have good personal in-flight entertainment.

 

Other than that, I really don't know. The key is try to get as much sleep as possible on the flight. Maybe try to get up early on that day so you are tired. Depending on the airline and flight times they will feed you a dinner after takeoff. If the flight is leaving later in the evening just skip that and focus on sleeping and have dinner at the airport before. They will also usually give you some type of small breakfast. That is where coffee becomes critical for me.

 

Check out your seat assignments beforehand on a website like seatguru.com

 

What airline are you flying? From where?

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Those long overnight flights to Europe are miserable. Everyone says sleep...how? Last year when I flew to Romania, I got a rash underneath where my bra was from sweating and not being able to take it off for almost 24 hours. It was awful.

 

Roz

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As others have said 7 hours is really not a long flight. If you want long try 14 or 16 hours, those are long flights. But to be more comfortable, a few things. Business Class always changes everything but most people cannot fly in Business.

 

Comfortable shoes you can slip of and comfortable cloths are the 2 biggest things. Get water once on the plane and drink lots of it. If you are awake water at least every 20 minutes, small amounts. And while many will not do don't drink alcoholic drinks, will only cause issues. You should eat some food but don't overeat. Walk around the plane, all the water will help with this and don't watch the time.

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Economy Plus. I am sure that it is not as comfortable as business class but Economy Plus much more affordable. You don't get more seat width but at least you don't have a seat in your gut when the person in front of you does a full recline.

 

BTW - 7 hours is not long. Try flying to New Zealand.

 

DON

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For some people, myself included, 7 hours is plenty long. OP, I get it. ;)

 

As mentioned, drink as much water as you can. If you are flying at night or going to be landing in the morning in your destination city, the flight crew may make you sleep to help get you accustomed to your new time zone.

 

For other tips and hints, try doing a Yahoo or Google search. There is lots of good information online.

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I wish we only had 7 hours, I think with our layover ours it just under 12. (sucks having only a medium airport, we always have to fly somewhere else first.)

 

Flying Delta leaving here mid afternoon arrive around 7:30am next day. DH can sleep anywhere, me not so much.

 

Appreciate the hints and tips.

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Hi there. Doing long O/S is flights for us Aussies is the only way. .for me it is necessary with adult children living all over the world. I did smile when I saw yours was ‘only’ 8 hours, that being said it’s a long time to sit still while fairly squished. So what to bring....definitely a horseshoe neck pillow. A warm scarf or pashmina to either wrap around or cover yourself with...the plane aircon can often be cold but don’t forget to direct it onto you when your flight starts. A choice of mints and fruit pastilles to suck. Ear plugs and eye mask to try to sleep regardless of whether it’s a night or day flight....after 8 hours you’ll be in a new time zone so Sleep does help. And a lip bal. All these things live permanently in my carryon. It’s the price we pay for seeing the world.

Oh and whilst in Barcelona you simply must walk Las Ramblas to the fresh food market to sit and have the most amazing tapas I have ever eaten. I’m envious. Enjoy.

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Hi there. Doing long O/S is flights for us Aussies is the only way. ��.for me it is necessary with adult children living all over the world. I did smile when I saw yours was ‘only’ 8 hours, that being said it’s a long time to sit still while fairly squished. So what to bring....definitely a horseshoe neck pillow. A warm scarf or pashmina to either wrap around or cover yourself with...the plane aircon can often be cold but don’t forget to direct it onto you when your flight starts. A choice of mints and fruit pastilles to suck. Ear plugs and eye mask to try to sleep regardless of whether it’s a night or day flight....after 8 hours you’ll be in a new time zone so Sleep does help. And a lip bal. All these things live permanently in my carryon. It’s the price we pay for seeing the world.

Oh and whilst in Barcelona you simply must walk Las Ramblas to the fresh food market to sit and have the most amazing tapas I have ever eaten. I’m envious. Enjoy.

 

Hadn't thought about lip balm, or mints to suck on, Adding to list.

Thanks, Sandi

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After nearly a lifetime of flying (US Air Force when young, world traveler when old) we have found the only good solution. First or Business Class in lay flat seats :). As to Economy, it is a small (very small) piece of hell. For decades, DW and I would "suck it up" and fly in the cheapest coach (economy) seats and consider it the price one pays when being a world traveler. But now, we know better :).

 

Hank

I'm envious of you being able to afford that option! I don't currently fly enough to ring up enough points for upgrades and such, but perhaps once every couple of years. I look forward to the day when we can fly like you, Hank!

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Hi there. My husband and I are going to be taking a 7 hour flight to Barcelona before our Mediterranean cruise. Any tips for the flight in terms of what to bring to be comfortable for it?

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

 

Hope you're planning on arriving a day or two (at least) in advance. For one thing, never cut it too close in case something goes wrong. But also, Barcelona is the most awesome city!! Easy to get around, gorgeous architecture and great food.

 

Don't know your ages...but once you start getting a little older, sitting on a plane for a long time CAN increase likelihood of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), basically a clot in your legs. Painful, and if it breaks loose, you're talking about a stroke. It's not an issue for most people...but it is still a GREAT idea to try to get up and walk around a little every few hours. Not only does it feel good to stretch...it's good for you.

 

I can't sleep worth a hill of beans on flights...but do bring some things like neck pillow, a shawl, etc. to make yourself a bit more comfortable. If you have a tablet, download some movies in advance. Netflix and Prime allow you to download stuff to keep for offline viewing.

 

Finally, when you DO arrive and go check into your hotel: assuming you haven't arrived at night, don't succumb to the temptation to take a nap. You got to fight the jet lag beast right away! We always just put our suitcases in the room, get washed up (the old cold water in the face trick) and head out. Start eating meals that are time appropriate. We ALWAYS get a second wind after we've been underway for just a bit. A little food (no alcohol at first) and some strolling in the outdoors will do wonders for you. In our experience, by the next morning, we are pretty much on Europe time. HIGHLY recommended. (Jet lag is always rougher coming back...in part because the vacation is over.)

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Having crossed the pond several times from California we found a useful trick that works well for us. first we try to find a day flight from BOS, JFK, IAD or ATL to our European destination or a convenient connecting city then plan our travel around that flight. United has a day flight from either JFK or IAD that leaves around 9:00am and arrives at LHR at around 9:00pm London time.

 

We fly a red eye from LAX the night before then board the London flight. We usually snooze away most of the London piece because of the sleep lost on the red eye.

 

That gets us to London where we can either stay a night in London in a nearby hotel or catch a late flight to our destination. We did that for a Barcelona sailing several years ago and the connection left LHR at around 10:00pm or so and got us into BCN around midnight. Thoroughly exhausted we grabbed a taxi for the short trip into town and checked into our Las Ramblas hotel and enjoyed a nice long sleep.

 

We also have an 8:00pm rule. If we have to arrive in a city in the morning we schedule activities to keep us awake until 8:00pm local time. One activity is a city bus tour where we take turns drowsing off and actually do see something of the city.

 

Once 8:00pm hits we crash and get a good nights' sleep.

 

That approach has worked for us everywhere from Rome, Malaga, Frankfort, Paris, etc. as well as Singapore, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Cairns and Bangkok.

 

I heard a great line from a comedian who said he understands why the population of Australia keeps growing; Folks who endure the 13 hour trip from the USA decide to stay rather than having to endure the trip back.

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I'm envious of you being able to afford that option! I don't currently fly enough to ring up enough points for upgrades and such, but perhaps once every couple of years. I look forward to the day when we can fly like you, Hank!

 

For about the first 7 decades of my life I suffered in coach (and worse..if you count a C130). But now, in the twilight of my life (don't you love these terms) I figure we deserve some comfort. The first leg of our next flight is over 15 hours! No way am I doing that in economy...or I will not make my next birthday.

 

Hank

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We also have an 8:00pm rule. If we have to arrive in a city in the morning we schedule activities to keep us awake until 8:00pm local time. One activity is a city bus tour where we take turns drowsing off and actually do see something of the city.

 

Once 8:00pm hits we crash and get a good nights' sleep.

 

DH and I were just talking about that after I mentioned this thread to him. I hadn't set a time on it, like 8PM but did tell him we had to stay up all day. Nice to have my feeling on how to deal with it confirmed.

 

Thanks

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Everyone has offered really greAt tips. May I also suggest lubricated eye drops? Not medicated. I often find that my eyes really feel dry on flights.

 

Have a lovely time on your vacation. We sail next May on Princess Rome/Barcelona.

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