The Ultimate Long (or short) Flight Survival Guide
When I say I’ve been a traveler since day one what I mean was my first plane ride happened when I was ten days old. My family moved overseas only a couple years later. Since then I’ve spend a fair amount of time up in the air.
All this time spent at 30,000 feet means I’ve picked up a few tricks to making it more bearable. And I’m here to share them with you.
Start by packing wisely. The key to a successful flight is all about being prepared for whatever lies ahead. Your carry on should have plenty of snacks for the flight, and an empty water bottle you can fill up after you pass through TSA. Snacks are vitally important because time is an allusion once you’ve walked through security and relying on whatever candy you think you can find at the newsstand inside the airport is not your best bet. Bringing filling snacks you already know you like that you picked up before you left, that’s a winning idea.
I always order the vegan meal option ahead of time on any flight that’s long enough to provide food, too. If you’re thinking that doesn’t make sense for you because you’re not vegan, ask yourself if what they serve on a plane really constitutes as ‘meat’ in the first place. Everything they use to preserve their food on a plane means loads of sodium which will lead to that icky bloated feeling you always seem to get when you fly. Hence, the vegan meal.
Ordering the specialty meal also means they make yours first and hand deliver it while the rest of your cabin mates have to wait for the trolley to make its way down the plane. The specialty meal is always piping hot when they hand it to you.
Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. All that dry, recycled air you’re pummeled with on the plane is going to wreak havoc on your skin. Combat that with all the water! That’s what your empty water bottle is for! You can fill it up as soon as you’re though security at any of the water fountains in the airport. And the flight attendants will keep filling it for you once you’re on the plane.
Snacks aren’t the only thing I keep in my bag, though. My carry-on always has a pashmina I can use as a blanket if I get extra cold. That and my mini memory foam pillow are total game changers on the plane. Regardless of if I’m planning on sleeping or not. Always best to err on the side of caution and bring things you know will help you feel more comfortable.
Get some sleep! This is your moment to try and catch up on some sleep! I know that seems easy for me to say when I’ve got extra leg room even in the tiniest seat. But if you’ve got some melatonin gummies in your carry on then even the tallest among us can actually catch some Z’s on the flight. I have personally tested this theory with a group of friends on a fourteen hour flight, and no matter how much they felt they were too tall for the seat, they were all able to sleep after taking some melatonin. Remember, time is an allusion when you’re traveling and any chance you have to make up on some sleep will help you to hit the ground running when you arrive at your final destination.
Depending on how long your flight is you’ll probably be sitting quite a while. That means the blood flow is going to be restricted in your legs. After a flight from JFK to Israel a few years ago my feet and ankles were totally swollen from the lack of blood flow! Now I never get on a flight without compression socks on. I’ve got short little ones and ones that go all the way up to my knee and they never fail to keep the blood pumping, regardless of how long I have to sit.
As any petite person will tell you, it’s hard on your knees when our feet swing while we sit for long periods of time. This is no less true when up in the air. Because of this, I tend to wear a wedge or heeled boot for this reason. But that means I can’t stroll onto the plane in sweats. Not that I’d want to. I’ve always been taught that dressing well is a form of good manners. Manners are still required while soaring among the clouds. Not only that, but I guarantee you’ll get better service when you’re well dressed, regardless of where on the plane your seat actually is. Whenever I wear a dress people always offer to carry my bag for me; it’s a pretty nice perk. And I’m not talking about wearing any old dress on the flight, people, I’m talking super cozy, feels-like-I’m-wearing-a-blanket sweater dress. You don’t have to be uncomfortable to look classy, and you don’t have to look sloppy to be comfy.
This next one sounds a little crazy. but hear me out, bring a face mask. A sheet mask, not the messy kind you spread on yourself and have to wash off. Keep it simple here, people.
You know that icky feeling your face gets after you fly? Like you’ve just rubbed sandpaper all over it? Doing a face mask halfway through the flight eliminates that feeling entirely. And don’t worry about your seat mate thinking you look crazy, odds are you’ll never see them again. I actually always pack extra face masks and offer them to whomever I sit next to. And no one, not a single person, regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity, has ever turned me down. It’s a great bonding moment.
I got off a 14 hour flight recently and ran into a friend at the airport on my way home. He was shocked I’d just gotten off the plane because I looked so fresh he’d thought I was at the beginning of my trip rather than then end. That’s the power of being prepared for your flight. You’re able to hit the streets running as soon as you land.
Xo,
Kate
What are your best on-flight tricks?