Trapped in airplane, please send neck pillow.
January 11, 2011 5:38 PM   Subscribe

Tricks for flying 24,000 miles in 4 days?

Mrs. range is flying from Boston to Singapore and back in a 4-day span. That's 40 hours in airplanes, 30 hours actually in Singapore. While there she (in theory) has actual work to accomplish. What are your favorite tricks/techniques/gear for dealing with this scenario?

In particular we're looking for ideas for the flight itself -- all legs are in economy -- though stuff to do for jetlag would also be welcome.
posted by range to Travel & Transportation (18 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've done the US-SE Asia flight countless times, it's never fun (unless you're in business class) but I don't think it's that bad either. Get a seat in an exit row if you can. Sometimes it costs a bit more (I paid an extra $200 for one way) but there are no seats in front of you and you can stretch your legs completely out (and even prop them up on your carry-on bag) -- this is almost as good as business class. Most trans-Pacific airlines these days have plenty of movies on demand, but obviously a laptop or iPod with a bunch of movies you have been wanting to see is great. Also, stay awake for as long as you can up until the flight leaves. Hopefully then you'll be able to sleep most of the flight and wake up as you're landing. Walk around the airplane periodically to stretch your muscles.
posted by banishedimmortal at 6:01 PM on January 11, 2011


Sleeping pills. Lots of them. Sleeping through most of the flight is the best thing. Come to think of it, they also help with jetlag. Stay up late the night before, take some sleeping pills before your flight leaves, and sleep through most of it. But don't take Ambien, because you might sleepwalk and freak everyone out.

If you sleep on a plane and take off your shoes, your feet will swell so big you might not be able to get the shoes back on. So don't do that.

Neck pillows come in two varieties: the inflatable ones that suck, and the huge bulky ones that are comfortable. Either way, they generally have annoying surfaces, so wear a shirt with a collar or be prepared for rubbing and chafing at some point.

Also, if you wear contacts, don't wear them on the plane. Wear your glasses so your eyes don't dry out in that recycled dry air. And bring lip balm for the same reason.
posted by twblalock at 6:02 PM on January 11, 2011


A lot of it depends on what carrier she's flying. How comfortable the seats are, how good the in-flight entertainment is. Go to seatguru.com and pick decent seats for her carrier/flights.

Regardless, I would buy a a pair of 'ok' noise cancelling headphones. Sure, the Bose are really nice - I've used them and they are in fact better - but I have a pair of Able Planet that I got from woot for about $60 that take AAA batteries. You wouldn't think it makes a difference, but it really really does. Cutting the incessant drone of the engines makes a world of difference.

If the flight isn't on a carrier that has good in-flight entertainment (video on demand in economy), I'd get something like Amazon Unbox on the laptop or iTunes. You can get a whole season of TV or a few movies for $10-$20 and it'll make the trip go quicker. Generally international carriers (ANA, Singapore) have good in-flight VOD in coach, United and American do not.

From personal experience (Economy from Chicago to Singapore and back in a week): the flight out isn't bad. It's in 'daytime' - you take off and land the same calendar day - so all you have to do is deal with the boredom by reading or watching movies and maybe take a catnap or two. The way back was not pleasant - two overnight flights, one to Tokyo and one to Chicago from there. I'm not sure what the trip to Boston is like, but I think a good rule of thumb if the flight times are the same is: stay awake on the outbound as much as you can and crash when you land, deal with the return flight as best as you can, but you'll be napping during the day. I had no problems adjusting to the jetlag that way; it felt like a really long day on the way over there, but since I managed to push through, going to bed at 11pm Singapore time felt right.
posted by true at 6:05 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


Stick with really basic foods: water, crackers, you know you body best so pick out what never upsets you. Now is not the time to see if airline coffee agrees with you. Also don't take any pills you are not familiar with!

Travel light: surely this won't be a problem as I assume you need nothing but a backpack?

Bring things to do that you look forward to, not work you dread:
the trip is a great opportunity to do something a little selfish, like read a whole book, or try your first graphic novel, or watch the first two seasons of The Wire.

Great headphones: Just get some, even if you never plug them into anything and only use them for silence.

Comfortable clothing: for me this would be jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.

Sleeping: A lot of international flights leave at night and some people try to go to bed when they normally would in their home timezone. I prefer to stay up reading as long as possible, for me this just ensures I'll get great sleep which is hard to come by on the plane.
posted by 2bucksplus at 6:07 PM on January 11, 2011


Oh, and if she happens to be there soon: If the Patriots beat the Jets this weekend I'm going to owe someone in Singapore breakfast at the office. If she's a Pats fan I'd be happy to eat incremental Boston crow and buy her breakfast if she'll drop his off at the office :)
posted by true at 6:07 PM on January 11, 2011


"... all legs are in economy ..."

The one thing I wouldn't advise (sorry for your wife).

Of practical benefit, pack 6 to 10 very wet terry cloth wash cloths in carry on, in quality ZipLock sandwich bags, and use them, one by one, every 2 hours to hydrate/clean her face and hands. The flight crew might even consent to warm them for her, in the kitchen microwaves, but unless she's on Singapore Air, or Korean Air, she might not be able to request that they provide her with fresh hot towels of theirs.

Prepare for the time jump to Singapore, in advance, by doing her best to reset body biorhythm to Singapore time, 3-4 days in advance, perhaps via diet, and other regimens. (Note that the U.S. Air Force tested the Jet Lag Diet, and thought it was bunk. I've tried it, several times, in flights from Boston to Japan, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Australia, and I thought it helped considerably. YMMV.)

Working on the other end of 18+ hour East-to-West flight means she'll have to sleep on the plane, to function at all on the other end. See a doctor for prescription strength sleep aids (but avoid long cycle sleep medications like Ambien), and take along self-tested ear plugs, and, if needed, sleep mask. But ask seat mates and flight attendants to wake her, every 4 hours, or so, for brief water intake and use of face cloths/skin moisturizer and walk about, to help advance body clocks, and keep from developing DVT in long seating periods. Eat little, if anything, on the plane, but try to keeping urinating/defecating as much as possible.

Treat her like a conquering goddess, if/when she gets home in one piece.

I used to do those routes, out of Boston, when Pan Am was still flying 747SP aircraft, 4 to 6 times a year, and I think those God-awful 14 to 16 hour non-stops have wound up costing me 10 years of my lifespan.
posted by paulsc at 6:15 PM on January 11, 2011


For that much economy flying in that short a timespan, seconding on the noise-cancelling headphones, adding some soft earplugs, and also suggesting some low-compression support stockings.

I am sort of obsessive about cleanliness, so for overseas flights I like to bring a less-than-3-ounce container of hand sanitizer, a damp washcloth in a ziploc, a change of underthings, and a toothbrush. (If she's flying Singapore Air, they bring around hot cloths with meals, obviating the washcloth.)
posted by gingerest at 6:23 PM on January 11, 2011


For long flights I'm partial to Ativan (generic name: lorazepam). It's an anti-anxiety med, but it's also a muscle relaxant. I like it because it is sleep inducing but it doesn't knock you out, and at least for me there's no hangover effect. Best of all, when I'm awake, I think, "I'm so comfortable I don't want to move a muscle."

FWIW, my doctor enthusiastically agreed that this drug is good for long distance air travel.

(Forget 5mg. Go for ten. Then take two, but not until you're safely in the air. This from a 6', 180 lb guy.)

I also load up my iPhone with movies, since I seldom like what airlines tend to show.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 6:30 PM on January 11, 2011


Walking around frequently - more than seems necessary - helps with long flights. If you wait until you realize you really need to stretch your legs, it's too late.

Also seconding to take a buttload of some kind of benzo.
posted by J. Wilson at 6:46 PM on January 11, 2011


Unfortunately, I've done this. Singapore and back in 4 days - one day at home and then back to Vietnam.

As amazing as this sounds, if you can sleep, these flights are actually better than the shorter European flights where just about everyone I know is just settling down for a nice nap when they start to serve breakfast and land. The time difference (for me) is also easier to adjust to since 12 hours is a big shift, if you sleep on the plane you wake rested (or mostly so) and start the day. If you can make it through the day you are home free. Coming back is harder for me to adjust, it usually takes a wasted day of recovery. Just for her state of mind, understanding that longer is not always harder might be beneficial.

Sleeping is the key. Try to be well fed before getting on the plane and try to sleep through any poorly planed (time wise) meal services. I'm surprised at all of the suggestions for using sleep aids - the people who I know who do things like this regularly don't rely on any artificial means. If she tries something, make sure she tests it out to make sure it works well for her first at home.

Earplugs. Get the kind hunters use.. The funny shaped orange ones you squeeze together and insert into your ear canal. This will definitely help with sleeping, and I believe also reduces the fatiguing effect of the low drown of the engines.

Water. Get a bottle (or two) at the airport to drink when you wake up during the flight. Also the nice airlines usually have flight attendants walking the aisles with water periodically, take advantage of this. If you keep hydrated you will sleep better, and feel better when you awake...
posted by NoDef at 6:50 PM on January 11, 2011


Mrs. range is flying from Boston to Singapore and back in a 4-day span.

Where is she transiting? If it's at Los Angeles or somewhere on the West Coast, that makes things a little easier, but if it's at JFK with the next leg a non-stop to Singapore, it could be rough.
posted by armage at 9:21 PM on January 11, 2011


Yeah, I am seconding the concern over DVT from being stuck in a coach seat for such a long period. She should research how to minimize the risk (or at least look at this, and if there's any pain or swelling of the legs it will be essential to get to a hospital.
posted by crapmatic at 9:25 PM on January 11, 2011


I beg your wife not to take more than the recommended dose of any benzodiazepine, especially if she's never taken one before. Seriously, I'm begging. People's reactions to benzos are very personalized and what makes one person just kinda sorta relaxed will make another person totally snowed in a bad way. Height and weight have nothing to do with it.

And like others have said, test any and all sleep aids at home before you take them on the plane. The last thing you want to do is have a bad reaction to a med while on a 16 hour flight.
posted by jesourie at 9:32 PM on January 11, 2011


Sleep as much as possible. If she can't sleep at all (I haven't been able to on my last few trans-pacific flights), just watch dumb brainless movies, get up a million times and walk around, drink all sorts of water. Go to the bathroom a lot. Power through and then just sleep once you get to the hotel for the first night. I am blithely assuming that she won't get in until late in the evening--if this isn't the case I would encourage trying to sleep more.

I have found that jetlag isn't as bad when I actually have stuff to do. If she has work to do when she is there, she'll probably be able to power through--the first whole day is actually generally pretty good for me, until around 9:30 or so. It's when I'm traveling to vacation that I have a hard time adjusting.

Earplugs and iPad are my current necessary items. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones can be good, but mine hurt my ears after a while, so I need the earplugs for the off-times.
posted by that girl at 9:49 PM on January 11, 2011


I just got back from a sh@$t ton of international travel. The lifesavers were an ipad-- absolutely essential -- I loaded it up with like ten novels and free movies-- and a standard pillow. My husband thought I was crazy but the pillow was the only way I could sleep.
posted by bananafish at 10:38 PM on January 11, 2011


Best answer: I do this length of trip quite frequently, and always in economy (ah, the joys of working for a NGO).

Set your clock to the destination time as soon as you take off. I usually stay up for the first hour or two, eat the first meal, watch a movie, and then try to get to sleep as soon as possible. I refuse to work on the flight. It's more important to rest so that the 2-3 days on the ground is productive. On a good flight, I can manage about 8 hours sleep in a 12 hour segment.

I take a Benadryl with the meal to assist with sleep, a litre of water that I sip throughout the flight, a blow up neck cushion that is flat in the back which supports my neck as I sleep, and noise-canceling headphones. I have a playlist called 'sleep' that I listen to on most flights that I am so familiar with that I just doze off with it in the background.

On arrival, stay up to 11pm, no matter what. If fortunate to stay somewhere with a gym, use it on arrival, or go for a walk. Singapore is fantastic for walking.
posted by wingless_angel at 3:37 AM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]


If you haven't already booked the tickets try to get them from a non-us based airline. They tend to have much better air crafts and better service. (Singapore airlines, Emirates, etc...)

Try to get a seat in an exit row

I always remove shoes and haven't experienced any swelling

I have a neck pillow with some microfiber bead (or something like that) and it's super comfortable. Got it from either JCPenny or Sears

I've done US-SE Asia journey so many time but always stayed few weeks. Having work to be done as soon as she gets there is going to be an issue with a jet lag. So try sleeping pills.
posted by WizKid at 10:00 AM on January 12, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks to everybody for the great ideas. I will confess the major motivation here -- I do this kind of trip for work (Dulles > Beijing direct, round trip in 3 days) but my sponsor springs for business class while hers won't, so anytime I think of a good idea she ends up hitting me. I think a lot of this is going to come in handy for her. Thanks!
posted by range at 10:54 AM on January 12, 2011


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