I leave Saturday for Africa ( https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/5350040805/p/1) and have a direct flight from Seattle to Doha (Qatar) that will be 14 hours, then another 5 hours to Nairobi.

Longest flight I’ve taken in recent years is the 6 hour hop to Hawaii, was probably in a C130 for longer from Japan to the Philippines, but that was long enough ago for the details to be erased from memory.


Any tips for surviving the long flight?

I heard compression socks help. I booked aisle seats and plan to be up and moving around every 60-90 minutes (knee replacement 3 1/2 months ago requires this).

I have good noise cancelling headphones and plenty of reading material and video downloaded to my iPad.


Any other suggestions? And I hear drinks are free when you fly international, that might help

does your seat come with a USB charging outlet?

bring your own bottle of water (purchase post TSA) and some candy bars

Download (MP3 etc.) your favorite songs to your phone.

My last long haul was the 9hrs from IAH to Gatwick in London, and I was 16, so quite a different experience.
All my recent hops have been 4hrs or fewer, to LAX or MAF from IAH.

Sounds like you've got a good plan.
Only thing I'd add, is try to sleep when it's night at your destination, have heard that really helps with jet lag.

Not sure which airline you're flying, but hopefully you've got individual screens.
Caught a couple good films [Ferrari, Oppenheimer, and a recorded Queens of the Stone Age concert] on my trip back/forth to CA over the past couple weeks.

Sleep. Take something that makes you drowsy. That can kill a LOT of time on a flight.

I think this is where airline attendants really excel. They are very good about making sure every need is met, bringing extras and accommodating to the best of their abilities.
I always bring earphones and iPad with chargers, but they have movies for free, complementary drinks typically (if that’s your vibe) and really good meals. Bring a book if the electronics fail, some snacks just in case, and as someone said, water. I don’t think I’ve ever brought compression socks, but that’s a great idea. Enjoy! These are usually a different class of passenger- you should have a lovely flight.

Depending on the airline and your height, you may out pay for increased legroom.

I had a flight on delta last year that was 14hrs. Definitely worth the upgrade to premium plus or whatever its called on various flights. It was more legroom, less crowded, and had perks.

But best of all it had leg support with good leanback not affecting those behind me. I'm 6 1" in my 50's with long legs. I had no discomfort issues.

Compressions socks have already be mentioned. We used them on our trip to Kenya and they helped a lot. My only regret is that we didn't take our Therma-A-Rest inflatable seat cushions. I'll never fly without them again. 24 hours to get home and my butt was sore for a a week!

Get a sleep mask for your eyes. It will help you relax when you're ready and block any visible.

Regular foam ear plugs also may switch up from headphones.

Gum - keeps you busy and allows your ears to clear.

Enjoy

Cheers~

If you can find 3 or 4 empty seats in a row after takeoff and move to them, being able to lie down to sleep makes for a much more comfortable flight. Did that years ago on a 747 from Florida to Australia but that only works on a big, partly full plane.

Book Business Class and get shit hammered.

For a flight that long, I'd pay for business class, after about the 6hr mark, being able to extend yourself makes the extra cost worth it.

If you're having sleep problems, take melatonin and bring ear-plugs. Having a physical book handy helps when your eyes get tired of staring at a screen. Grab it from a used bookstore, then leave it behind or, at your hotel.

Download the movies/shows you want on your device. Make sure you have a spare set of earphones/earbuds, nothing worse than when the audio craps-out on a long flight. I nearly had a heart attack when my knee snapped the earphone jack while it was still plugged-in...luckily I was able to get the broken piece out. After that I swore to switch to bluetooth audio.

Make sure you also have the necessary cables for charging, a power bank is nice back-up.

Hydrate, drink lots of fluids, piss a bunch. Force yourself to go to the head, which also forces you to walk-around and move your fluids.

I always pack some snacks...usally some trail mix, gummy bears, small chocolates and 1-2 bags of chips.

On my many flights to the Orient, I would set my mind to the destination time so a 6pm departure was 6 am there.
So I would stay awake on the flight untilit was 9pm there and go to sleep. wake upin what is their morning and be good to go upon arrival.

The same goes for trips to Europe.
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I flew nonstop from Phoenix to Frankfurt last week, 10 hrs and change. I checked in online the second it opened 24 hrs. before departure time. Business class offer popped up for a reasonable price and I pounced. Other than lots and lots of turbulence, it was a really enjoyable flight. I took a Xanax after dinner and was able to get in a few hours of sleep, which I never do on planes. I've done Newark to Hong Kong nonstop in coach a few times and that really sucks.

It sounds like you have a grip on what to do. Make sure you get up and move around to keep the blood flowing. Bring a good book or device to keep you entertained, although their inflight stuff is pretty decent by itself. I like to bring some snacks or fruit. Earplugs or noise canceling headphones. I fly to Taiwan almost every year which ends up being 22-28 hours so I feel your pain.

Don’t take your footwear off for a long period of time.

If your feet swell up you may not be able to get your footwear back on.

Not sure if compression socks would prevent foot swelling.

quote:

Book Business Class and get shit hammered.

I wish, last flight to Athens was $13k for BC, no can do. I can't sleep on flights, I might sneak in 20 minutes but that's it. I can't get comfortable, I'm 6'2" and 250 lbs. I use compression socks, noise cancelling headphones and have tried several different neck pillows. An isle seat at the minimum, an emergency exit row is even better but often gets you near a toilet which can be awful after a 300 lb boomer destroys it

I have tried getting lit but that doesn't work either

So I just sit there and watch movies, get up every couple of hours to use the bathroom whether I ned to or not

Start adjusting to the new time zone. Your body can do about 1 hr per day, so start setting your alarm clock progressively earlier. And go to bed earlier too.

As soon as you get on the airplane, set your watch and your phone clock to your arrival time zone. Mentally think as if you are already on that zone. Try to sleep per that zone.

Stay very well hydrated!

Bring lots of snacks that you like.

Get a filtered water bottle such as Life Straw. Fill it from the water fountain after you go through TSA. It will filter out bad tastes and germs. You can use it at your destination, too.

The wife and I are taking an overnight flight JFK to Shannon Ireland… in early August . I purchased a pair of TRTL neck supports to see if we can get better sleep. Will report back on how well they worked.

But on my many overnight flights, I’ve found that an eye mask and foam ear plugs help me STAY asleep when extraneous noises and lights would normally wake me up. I also bring my own fleece jacket and fleece blanket because I usually fly in the window seat and the hull can get rather chilly at night at 35,000 feet.

Noise cancelling headphones and an inflatable neck pillow. Have fun!

I always take my own Insulated (Yeti type) water bottle filled with ice as TSA does allow this. Then fill with water on the terminal side.
On long flights (usually departing in evenings) I stay awake with movies or such until they serve dinner. Have a couple glasses of wine with dinner and then pop a Dramamine. That usually gets me at least 4 hours of sleep.