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Tips for Long Haul Flights |
Tips for Long Hall Flights - Part I
I am planning a trip to visit family in Australia, Australia is a very popular location for holidays despite the fact it's the other side of the planet! The trouble is that travelling that far can be stressful and extremely uncomfortable so I've looked into some tips that can hopefully make the flight a bit more bearable, maybe even enjoyable.
Firstly I, like many others, have family in Australia and they live on the outskirts of Sydney, which is a bit of a bonus since I won't need to arrange accommodation due to me getting the spare room, also Sydney is one of the greatest cities to visit in Australia mainly due to the world famous Opera House and Bridge.
So that's one less thing to worry about, now it's just a matter of getting the flight out the way, I've travelled to America in the past spending over nine hours in a tin can and it wasn't exactly comfortable (I'm quite tall and so leg room was a problem) so you can understand my apprehension at the prospect of the flight to Sydney. This is when I started looking up some tips and helpful information on how to ease the stress of the long flight.
First of all with flights to Sydney you aren't going to be flying straight there, the majority of flights need to have a stopover in either Singapore or Taiwan, which is no bad thing as it gives me a chance to see some Far Eastern countries on the trip, when arranging the flight it is normally a predetermined location and not something I can change, although by comparing different flight companies I could easily choose my pit-stop country. Most flight companies insist my flight goes from home in Manchester down to London's Heathrow then onwards and eastwards!
In order to make sure I'm not going to be spending the flight contorted in their cramped seats I'm planning on enquiring about seat locations, some airlines allow you to select your seat yourself; especially since people are now booking their own flights without the travel agent who used to make sure families were seated together. I am going to see firstly how much leg room there is on these flights, since I've heard in the news and TV adverts that legroom has been improved recently, failing that maybe I'll look into getting one of the seats at the front near the door, despite my concerns a la Fight Club I think I'll be able to handle the responsibility of opening the door if we land in the sea if only just to get a chance to stretch my legs out!
Once I've chosen that then there's the date of the flight, the main point to remember if all the TV shows have taught me is get there early, I don't want to be one of those fools that turn up ten minutes before the flight's due to take off and end up being told you're too late. So I plan to get there around 2 hours before the time given on the ticket, mainly due to the fact I live not far from Manchester airport but know full well that there's always traffic and the possibility of the car breaking down. So getting to the airport early is no bad thing, I've got a book and an iPod to keep me company anyway.
In the second part of my guide I'll be covering the other things to consider when taking a long haul flight specifically flights to Sydney in Australia, such as keeping yourself hydrated but not needing to go to the toilet every five minutes as well as how to deal with jetlag.
Tips for Long Haul Flights - Part II
In the previous part of this article I covered what steps you can take to ensure your long haul flight to Australia is a stress-free and comfortable experience. As I mentioned, I am shortly going to be planning a holiday to visit family in Sydney and so I've got a lot of planning and preparing to do, in doing so I've come across a bunch of helpful tips to make sure your long haul journey isn't going to make your trip regrettable, this next part continues with how to spend time whilst on the plane.
Assuming there's no delays or cancellations I'll be boarding the plane and in no time I'll be on the flight heading east, this is probably the worst part of the trip, having to stay seated for the good part of a day, I'm not an overly active person normally but I still appreciate being able to get up and take a stroll outside. This is obviously not an option unless I sprout wings, although there's a list of smaller exercises you can do whilst sat on a plane in order to keep the circulation going and reducing the risk of a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).
As well as this the pressurised cabin is going to really make me uncomfortable due to my contact lenses, the air is really dry in a plane so I think I'll be taking them out before the flight, the dryness of the air will also mean that you're left dehydrated. Being dehydrated is the greatest problem on a plane, it is not unknown for people to not realise and end up fainting or passing out. Although drinks like coffee and alcohol are free it isn't advisable since these drinks are considered as diuretics, meaning you're going to be up and down going to the toilet all through the flight.
Going to the toilet is obviously an expected occurrence but if you've ever had to endure an airplane's toilet in the past you'll know they're not the most pleasant facility in the world, so the less I need to go the better, it is advised that drinking plenty of water prior to flying keeps you hydrated and having some water in a bottle during your flights is a good idea especially since you'll be on the plane for a long time.
Aside from the in-flight entertainment which always seems to involve an episode of Only Fools and Horses that I've seen a thousand times and a film that I probably would have never seen if given the choice there's not much else on offer. Luckily I've got a few options since I plan to bring my PSP and iPod to while away the time, some flights even have electrical outlets in the seat but this tends to be a feature of business or first class travel, so if the flight has sockets then I won't need to worry about batteries running out. I've always got a book which I've been meaning to work my way through so I'm a bit spoiled for choice in the entertainment department.
One thing I don't want to do when I get there is feel like I need to take a nap, by then I should be wide awake and ready to do some sightseeing, especially in Singapore so I don't think I'll spend too much time playing music and games and get some shut eye. I've heard from some travel tipsters that setting your watch to the local time of where you're going and sleeping according to that time is a great way to avoid jetlag; this is something I'm going to try out since I don't want to get into Singapore and end up sleeping whilst my connecting flight takes off.
So if I follow the advice I've found out about and do some preparation then hopefully I'll have a fairly pleasant flight. Contrary to popular belief it's possible to get cheap flights to Sydney these days and coupled with the fact that I won't need to pay accommodation this should work out as a pretty thrifty holiday. |
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