13 hour plane flight!!!?

Show all answers

7LovelySins

Yes we have answered this before...
Here is the answer I gave to a question similar to this:
"Funny you ask, in less than a month I'll be on a 16 hour flight. Many of the suggestions of books and magazines are great but only if you're into that sort of thing. --It still tends to get boring.
Best bet is to bring plenty of your favorite snacks, portable music player, and games.
I also always count on trying to get as much sleep as possible on long flights. Remember to bring ear plugs, eye cover/night shades, and a jacket (sometimes planes can get pretty chilly!). You also might want to bring slippers or 'spa socks' to change into while you relax in your seat.
One more thing, be sure to get up and walk around every now and then on your flight--keep your circulation flowing!
Good luck and have a nice flight."
Hopefully this information is helpful to you!

NOLA guy

More than about 6 hours in an airplane is really tough, especially if you are in economy class. The result is usually called "jet lag".

The time change is part of "jet lag", but only part. For example, people experience jet lag when traveling from North America to South America even when they don't change time zones. Dehydration caused by dry air in the cabin is as important as the time change, and dehydration can be cumulative + aggravated by your environment/activities before the flight. Jet lag can be much worse on the return leg of a relatively short trip because you never really recovered from the lag incurred on the first leg. It can also be aggravated by what you do between trips.

I have not found anything that eliminates jet lag, but staying hydrated helps reduce it. Water and non-carbonated liquids are best. Avoid drinking a lot of anything with caffeine, including colas. Lots of alcohol also aggravates the dehydration and you may have a hangover before the end of a long flight.

Wear clothing that is comfortable. Especially avoid tight clothing or shoes - your body will swell during a long flight.

Sleeping on the flight (even if it isn't very good sleep) also helps. The seats are MUCH, MUCH better in business and first class on long distance flights so upgrade if you can. If you can't upgrade, select a window seat so you can pile extra pillows & blankets against the interior of the cabin to lean against for a bit of extra comfort. A sleep mask (like www.mindfold.com) and earplugs may help you sleep.

You can choose to take something to help you sleep on the plane, but try it first. Many sleep aids can make you groggy long after you need to wake up. I just use aspirin.

Get up and walk around every few hours. Do some stretching exercises - there is usually room by the exterior doors.

Airlines really try to provide good in-flight entertainment on long distance flights. The airlineâ€™s website may list the films & music available and may even give the menu. However, you canâ€™t absolutely cont on the in-flight entertainment.

Bring one or more books that you have started and know you like. It is really annoying to open a new book on a flight and realize you don't find it interesting. Things like an I-Pod, Gameboy or PSP, MP3 player, and non-electronic options like crossword puzzles are a good idea.

If you have a long layover during the trip, check with the airline(s) to see if you can purchase ($25 to $50) a 1-day pass to their airport lounge. Lounges offer a comfortable, safe place to wait between flights and refreshments are included in the membership. Some lounges even have showers (a Godsend after a long flight). Delta's Crown Room and United's Red Carpet Club are examples.

You may be wasted when you get to your destination, even if you fly business or first class. Don't schedule anything important the day you get there. At least try to avoid driving a car - take taxis.

Speed your body's adjustment to local time by living on the local schedule: Stay awake until local bedtime at your destination and stay in bed until local morning. If you absolutely must take a nap make sure you don't sleep more than 3 hours. Eat meals at the normal local time. And so on.

It still takes me 1 day per hour of time change to fully adjust (a 7 hour time difference takes me a full week to get over).

pjallittle

We've done this one, bring along your own bags of munchies, a good book, maybe a handheld game and a washcloth in a baggie so you can go to the restroom and get a nice cool towel on your face and neck, it's very refreshing.

Be prepared for a great time, Old Istanbul is where all the really old sites are found, the people are super friendly and many of them speak English.

The food is good, you'll see lots of unusual dishes.

Shesu

Depending on the airline, you should get at least 2 movies and most now have an interactive system in the seat backs so that you can chose what you want to watch, they also usually have several recorded TV shows and audio channels to chose from.

Bright eyes

Gameboy (if you have one) other electronics
A book/magazine
You may think it weird but I can find hours of fun sharpening pencils O.o

Happy Feet

Depending of the air company, you will have 2 meals, and surely a movie or 2. You can bring a good book to read.
Enjoy your flight
Gilbert

Chivon

bring like 6 DVD's. Watch 'em all. it'll help time go by or makeyou fall asleep for the plane ride

Grand pa

Learn some chair excercises .. some thing to read

Lamiae

You can chat it up with the person next to you, and do it "Fight Club" style... The Single Serving Friend... It's been said but, a really good, long book. I recommend "Velocity" by Dean Koontz, or "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz. A laptop that has a battery that will stand up to hours upon hours of DVD play, or just buy multiple batteries for it and charge them all before you leave, and then get the movies "Frank Herbert's Dune" and "Children of Dune" put out by the Sci-Fi channel. The whole series will last roughly 10 hours. "Dune" is about 6 hours long, I believe its about 6 DVD's long, and "Children of Dune" is about 4 hours long, about 2 DVD's. Or get the entire "Star Wars" series, episodes 1 through 6, that should last a while...

My last suggestion would be to not sleep for like 24 to 36 hours before you leave and then you will sleep through the entire flight...

Good luck and Enjoy Istanbul

Munchie

Laptop w/dvd player, dvds, ipod, magazines or a good long book.

tess

sleeping pill, book, mp3 player,

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: