Surviving Long-Haul Flights in 2022

Welcome back to the PreParture blog. Last week we gave you smart tips on how to pack your luggage with confidence before your vacation. This week, we’re focusing on surviving long-haul flights. We know just how tough they can be. Whether you’re a seasoned flyer or not, stepping on board any flight that’ll be in transit for longer than a few hours can be a cramped and claustrophobic experience. But it doesn’t have to be hellish. Here are our tips for surviving long-haul flights in 2022.

Dress the Part

Have you ever seen those people who seem to dress up for their flights? I’m talking the ladies who totter on board in their high heels and glossed lips, and the gents who’ve got their brand new sneakers on and their hair gelled in some luxurious bouffant. When you’re flying long haul – substance and comfort definitely comes over style.

Layering is a newer technique that you may have seen some of your favorite travel influencers get behind, and we love it too. It invloves all your favorite basic pieces layered over one another to keep you warm, cool, comfy, and feeling calm.

Choose your favorite leggings or jogging bottoms, and pair them with your comfiest sneakers going. Make sure you pop on a pair of luxuriously soft socks too, so you don’t have to brave itchy feet. on your top, choose a tank top as your bottom layer, a flannel shirt or a light jumper or cardigan over the top, and a snuggly hoodie for your top layer. Overall, you’ll be able to undress when it becomes too warm onboard, and cover up when there’s a chill in the air or you want to get some hard earned rest. For you outer layer (which you’ll wear in the airport before you board), a lightweight rain jacket, or a scarf to keep you warm when you’re in the fresh air will finish off your outfit.

Pack the Essentials (and ONLY the Essentials)

A carry-on is an essential part of flying long-haul. This is the piece of luggage that’ll hold your entertainment, work, and any medication or cleaning supplies that’ll keep you happy when you’re cruising at 35,000ft.

In there, you should have everything that’ll keep you clean or keep you entertained on your flight. This could look like:

• Your laptop with a pre-downloaded game on it that you can play during your flight/or offline work documents that you can attend to
• a bag of all your essential creams and cleaning fluids that’ll help you stay fresh on your journey

Tip: Decanter your larger bottles of creams into smaller tubs to fit neatly into your luggage, or switch to wipes rather than following your normal full skincare routine (unless the switch will make you break out of course).

Remember a Spare Pair of Undies

Look, it seems really random, but long haul flights can be hell for your hygiene, or just your general feeling of cleanliness. Taking a spare pair of pants and socks is a brilliant, and small way to ensure you feel your best 10 hours after take off. Before arrival, you can nip to the toilet and swap out your dirty pants for a pair of clean ones. You’ll feel fresh and ready for landing immediately. Stow your dirty pair of unmentionables in a air-tight bag that you can pop back into your carry-on case, and don’t forget to add it to your dirty washing pile after you land.

Bring Comfortable Headphones or Ear Plugs

A plane is a tin can of sound from the moment you begin your taxi to the landing strip. And if you’re going to be putting up with 10 or more hours of it, it’s nice to get some down time too, right?

A lot of airlines will provide you with headphones, so you can plug into their entertainment systems, but they’re not always the most comfortable things to have stuck inside your ears for a long time (and they’re not always the best quality either). So, if you’ve invested in some comfortable headphones recently, don’t forget to include them in your carry-on.

The same goes for ear plugs. Switching off completely is difficult, even with soft, padded headphones, so don’t be afraid to take some ear plugs along for the ride. This’ll help you grab a bit of rest when you need it most (most handy when you’re traveling for work!), or just when you’ve had enough of the other passengers.

Be Nice to the Stewards & Stewardesses

Being a nice passenger will get you further than you think when you’re on a long haul flight. Don’t forget the amount of angry and relentlessly annoying passengers these people have to put up with when they’re doing their job (you’ve seen it happen, we know you have!).

A smile and a kind word goes a long way when you’re all locked inside the same metal tube, and who knows, you may even get a few extra cookies with your morning tea or coffee 😉.

An extra tip we have for nervous flyers; always give your stewards and stewardesses a heads up if you’re a nervous passenger. They’ll be happy to help you if you feel unwell or scared during the flight, and will often give you a drink to calm your nerves (before the rest of the passengers).

Those are our 5 top tips for surviving long haul flights in 2022. What do you think of them? Can you think of any more that can make your plane journey even smoother sailing? Let us know in the comments.

Need some extra inspiration? Check out this post and discover the reasons you should be traveling for your mental health, this post for ten free things to do in Dubrovnik, Croatia, or this post to find out which 5 beaches are deemed as the most beautiful in Europe.