How do you fly comfortably? About This Page:

[Reereef]

Hi,
I got my neck pillows. I have a good book. We have movies and games available as it's a long haul flight from the UK to Orlando.
I got a blanket for my son.
My son has his 3DS and DVD player. Colouring books and crayons. Travel connect four.
I'll have bottled water, sweets and moisturiser. I'll also have some mints.
Virgin airlines give you fleece socks, toothbrush and paste, eye mask and pen....
am I missing anything?

What do you think is a long haul essential? I'd be really interested to know?
Thanks

[HiddenMickey]

I don't think you can be all the comfortable on a long haul flight. I like all the things you are bringing though.

My DH won't eat at all when flying overseas. He feels better if he doesn't eat. And he does word search puzzle books because they keep his mind occupied but don't require constant concentration like reading.

My DS gets physcially sick the first day after flying overseas. Mostly he can't sleep sitting up and so he gets no rest. His body just can't take it. Happened to him when we flew to London a bunch of years back (sick in the car taking us from the airport to our hotel) and happened again last summer after his flight to Paris (got sick in the Louvre museum).

I hope your flight goes well for your family both here and back again.

[chezp]

I think you've got it all covered - and Virgin do a really good job of helping you to pass the time, both adults and children. I've got to be honest, while none of the airlines are great, they are the best that we've experienced. About the only other thing I can think of are an iPod (sometimes the music isn't that great on Virgin) and perhaps noise cancelling headphones, as they're more comfortable and better quality than Virgin give you.

[Tink and co.]

I think you've got it covered! I fly long haul every summer and it's not too bad. I do try and sleep as much as possible, and get up and take a lap around the aisles periodically.

[Dave Marx]

We each have our particular preferences, of course. For me, it mostly has to do with what I wear. Slip-on shoes, trousers or shorts with a bit of room to them, I have a soft, narrow fabric belt with simple plastic loop closure (great for metal detectors), knit shirt, and I keep a fleece pullover handy. A bit of something to snack on (dark chocolate, nuts, etc.), my iPad and wireless keyboard. Over-ear headphones (much more comfy than ear buds!). I move my wallet out of my back pocket. Raise the arm rest(s) if conditions allow. Recline the seatback a notch - not too much, so my rear neighbor isn't pushing back with his/her knees.

[Mystic6]

Originally Posted by Dave Marx

We each have our particular preferences, of course. For me, it mostly has to do with what I wear. Slip-on shoes, trousers or shorts with a bit of room to them, I have a soft, narrow fabric belt with simple plastic loop closure (great for metal detectors), knit shirt, and I keep a fleece pullover handy. A bit of something to snack on (dark chocolate, nuts, etc.), my iPad and wireless keyboard. Over-ear headphones (much more comfy than ear buds!). I move my wallet out of my back pocket. Raise the arm rest(s) if conditions allow. Recline the seatback a notch - not too much, so my rear neighbor isn't pushing back with his/her knees.

I could use something like that! Do you remember where you got it?

[Haleyboo99]

You got everything I would take! Like HiddenMickey said ou can't really get too comfertable on a long flight

[tinkerbell24601]

I like bringing a Disney World travel book with me to flip through, to pass the time and to get me excited about my trip.

[LizCatMom]

2 things instantly came to mind that are musts for me -- lip balm/chapstick and eye drops.

That dry air leaves me with chapped lips every time. Even DH, who ordinarily doesn't care for the feel of chapstick, will ask "Hey, did you bring your chapstick?" because he'll want to use it.

As I wear contacts, again, the culprit being dry air, I reach for my eye drops more than a few times on long distance flights.

DH also jokes that I pack enough food to feed everyone on the flight, but I am ravenous on flights for some reason! Of course, I am packing for the girls, too, so that usually means cookies, the little portable peanut butter pak, popcorn, grapes and apple slices, cheese, crackers, granola, a candy bar for DH, even a sandwich or two. Trust me, my "goodie bag" has never been taken off a flight with anything left in it. But, I still get made fun of when I'm packing it.

[Nova]

Sleeping pills. I could not even imagine being on a plane that long. No kidding the flight from Pa to Florida is long enough for me. It sounds like you have it covered. Have a nice flight. And a wonderful time at Disney

[kurtholley]

I always grab gum before leaving for the airport

[sk8mom6]

Hand sanitizer if they let you take it on.

[mechurchlady]

Definitely the hoodie jacket or a blanket for each person. I did LA to Dallas tucked under a blanket all the way. Airline Seating Charts - Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru lets you see the good and bad of airlines. Ten people on a flight can get ten different results. Some seats do not recline, some are noisy, and others are very hot or cold. Check for seats that have no storage as those require stowing toys, games, laptops, and all other items in the overhead bin during takeoff and landing.

So agree with cabins sucking the moisture out of your skin. Any busy work helps pass the time. Dave is right on the money about comfortable clothes. I wear flip flops but you can wear something that you can loosen for the flight like sneakers.

[LeddyFamily]

Longest flight I've been on was 13 hours from LAX to NZ. I did take 1/2 ambien and slept like a champ. But I was sans kids. If it were me, I'd probably stay un-influenced. That being said, my kids are very active, so if I were to be on a long haul flight, I may just take some Benadryl with me just in case they can't sleep.

[Silvercat]

You wave your arms up and down frantically and hope you can take off before you crash to the ground from the tree you just jumped out of - oh wait, that was last night's dream, and not the answer you were looking for!

Joking aside, you have it pretty much covered I think - although I would highly commend the suggestion of lip balm! The air inside your plane will be dry and cool, and will dry out your skin faster than a Dyson Hand Drier! Maybe a travel size bottle of hand lotion would be useful as well.

We just flew with Virgin last November, and the great thing they have now is the sheer choice of things to watch on the seat-back TVs. They offer loads and loads of films, and you can begin watching them whenever you like, rather than each one starting at a particular time. You can also pause, rewind, fast forward etc., which you could never do before - this means that if the stewards bring you round a drink or meal, you can just pause your film rather than miss a bit!

Lots of choice of music too, hundreds of albums of all genres to choose from, so maybe you won't need to take an MP3 player. Plus a games channel to play about 20 different games as well, so lots for the kids to do, I think.

Have a great holiday!