- Insider spoke to 5 flight attendants who gave recommendation on the best way to survive a long-haul flight.
- One flight attendant does not neglect to pack a face masks, eye masks, and noise-canceling headphones.
- One other stated that red-eye flights are the optimum time to journey lengthy distances.
Whereas faraway locations can appear to be a dream, getting there can typically really feel like a nightmare. Insider spoke to 5 flight attendants who shared their finest suggestions for surviving a long-haul flight.
Between a cramped airplane cabin, little legroom, and airplane meals, long-haul flights can really feel daunting.
However flight attendants agreed that there are methods vacationers could make these prolonged flights somewhat simpler.
From what to pack to when to fly, Insider spoke to 5 flight attendants who shared their finest suggestions for surviving long-haul flights.
A number of the flight attendants who spoke to Insider for this text requested to omit full names and stay nameless for privateness causes. Insider verified these people’ employment as flight attendants with pay stubs and ID badges.
A flight attendant who works long-haul flights out of Europe stated she by no means forgets to pack a face masks — however not for the explanation you may suppose.
Karen, a flight attendant who works transatlantic flights out of Norway and posts content material below the username @karenvaje, is well-accustomed to the challenges of long-haul flights.
And one of many greatest obstacles when she travels lengthy distances is feeling uncovered whereas she sleeps.
She joked that her mouth usually hangs broad open as she drifts out and in of sleep — a sense she does not like.
To beat this, Karen stated she now all the time packs a face masks.
“I came upon throughout the pandemic that I like sporting a masks,” she stated.
A face masks paired with an eye fixed masks and noise-canceling headphones is her supreme mixture for getting sleep on an extended flight.
“You sleep so a lot better,” she stated. “I can sleep by a complete combat so long as I simply really feel lined. So packing a masks, for me, is my finest piece of recommendation.”
One other flight attendant advised skipping daytime flights and choosing red-eyes.
London, who has labored as a flight attendant for 4 years and shares her life on TikTok below the username @londonkaizen, instructed Insider that she’s ceaselessly touring between Boston and Los Angeles.
The almost seven-hour flight means she’s had some follow with lengthy journey instances. And from her expertise, she’s realized that red-eye flights are the neatest ones to e book.
“This fashion, it aligns together with your sleep schedule,” she stated. “You might be getting relaxation at evening, after which everytime you get to your vacation spot, you are up and able to go about your day.”
Plus, she stated the late-night flights are usually quieter and infrequently contain fewer households, and subsequently fewer crying kids onboard.
By reserving a red-eye, long-haul flight, London added that it is helped her combat jet lag and maximize time in new locations.
One flight attendant stated she packs gadgets that prioritize sleep.
Demi, a flight attendant in her first yr of flying who goes by @deardemdiary on TikTok, instructed Insider that sleep is her prime precedence on any long-haul flight.
And to perform that, she stated she makes room in her private bag for gadgets that may assist her catch some Zs.
“My finest recommendation can be to sleep,” Demi stated. “Convey headphones and a neck pillow.”
If you cannot sleep, Demi suggests studying a e book or watching a film. She’s “even seen folks crocheting,” she stated.
A flight attendant suggested passengers to carry their very own leisure as an alternative of counting on an airplane’s screens.
Liz, a flight attendant for Southwest who shares her way of life on her TikTok account @wanderlizst, by no means forgets to have playlists and films downloaded earlier than a long-haul flight.
Whereas passengers may be capable of sleep for a few of the flight time, sleeping for everything of a long-haul flight is unlikely. To occupy that point, Liz stated she all the time boards a long-haul flight with music, motion pictures, TV exhibits, and books downloaded on her telephone.
That method she will be able to occupy any time she is not sleeping with the content material she enjoys — particularly for the reason that airplane may not have one thing she desires to observe.
Plus, WiFi typically prices additional on flights, so Liz saves cash by having media downloaded earlier than stepping onto the airplane.
Lastly, one flight attendant urged vacationers to not neglect a reusable water bottle.
Leanna, a flight attendant who goes by @leannacoy on TikTok, instructed Insider her key to surviving lengthy flights is staying hydrated.
As Insider has beforehand reported, flying dehydrates you. Airplanes have dry cabins, which causes passengers to lose water at a better charge than regular. With this in thoughts, the Aerospace Medical Affiliation advises vacationers to drink not less than 8 ounces of water for each hour they’re within the air.
In an effort to achieve that objective, Leanna stated she all the time packs an empty reusable water bottle.
“Once I’m touring, I all the time carry my reusable water bottle,” she stated. “This fashion you do not have to pay for water on the airport and you do not have to maintain getting just a bit cup of water from flight attendants.”
And staying hydrated on long-haul flights has its advantages. Each the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical College state that staying hydrated is one solution to forestall jet lag.
