Learning the hacks for how to survive long flights is crucial if you love traveling, and even more crucial if you can’t afford business class, which most of us can’t.

If you manage to get a seat in business or first class you’ll probably have the best flying experience ever, and you won’t need these tips on how to survive long flights. 

For most people, long haul flights are uncomfortable and stuffy and there’s always a crying child somewhere in the cabin. You feel trapped, you can’t get any sleep, someone is kicking the back of your chair, and you forgot to pack your headphones. The food is horrible, and you might even get motion sickness. A disastrous journey like that can put you off from ever considering flying long haul in the future, no matter how much you want to see other parts of the world.

Some people haven’t been to places they’d love to visit like Bali or Japan, all because they don’t think they can do that long haul flight.

However, we do believe it’s possible to enjoy a long haul flight, whether you’re in an economy seat or higher. 

Tips on How to Survive Long Flights 

It’s all about packing your bag right and choosing your flight time appropriately, which is something a lot of people can forget in the confusion of travel planning. So, if you want to be sure you’re going to enjoy the next long haul flight you’re going on, here are tips that’ll help. 

1. The Red Eye Flight: Travel During the Night if Possible

If there’s an overnight flight to your destination, try to get you and whoever’s traveling with you a seat. When you fly long haul after the sun’s gone down, it’s much easier to have a quiet and calm flight experience – most people will be sleeping! Furthermore, the lights will be off, which greatly increases your odds of actually falling asleep in that uncomfortable airplane seat.

You can also get a few more winks in yourself, if you’ve been up for hours already and want to be sure you’re well rested when you touch down. Don’t worry about jet lag or trying to combat that right now; as long as you stay awake when you get to your destination, you’ll quickly acclimate. 

2. Grab a Window Seat

I used to always grab an aisle seat when I did my seat selection for long haul flights. I thought I needed that ability to get up and use the washroom whenever I felt like it, but I soon changed my ways so that I could finally master how to survive long flights.

You see, I realized that a window seat makes it much easier to get comfy, rest against that wall of the plane, and makes it easier to fall asleep. All you need is a good travel pillow or fluffy sweater to put under your head. 

Another thing I realized is that those people who book the aisle seats? They fully expect to have to get up and let you pee. Don’t worry about bugging them. Just book that window seat so that you can get comfy.

3. Dress for the Plane, Don’t Try to Look Good

Dress in clothes as comfortable as you can, as that’s key when it comes to how to survive long flights. It’s no good dressing in super tight jeans and a top that restricts arm movement when you’re getting on a plane. While this kind of outfit is okay for two to three hour flights, if you’re going long haul and will be sitting there for at least double the time, you’re going to get incredibly uncomfortable. 

Dress accordingly. Put on your softest and coziest clothes that will help you to stay relaxed in your seat. You might not want to opt for pajamas here, but you can pop on sweatpants and a loose, long sleeved top that won’t look out of place amongst the other passengers. 

Just like how smart people dress for their body type instead of following fashion trends, you should dress ugly for the plane to be comfy.

4. Load Up a Game or Movies on Your Laptop

If you have a laptop and a few games installed on it, make sure you pack it into your carry on bag and take it to your seat with you. That way you’ll be able to game to your heart’s content while you’re up in the air; who doesn’t love a long and relaxing gaming session when you get the chance for one? 

Whether you’ve downloaded a classic gaming suite that has solitaire and mahjong built in, or you’ve got Stardew Valley or The Sims installed, you won’t need much more than the laptop’s trackpad to play. 

Of course, you’ll want the laptop to be fully charged when you board the plane, but you may be able to plug it in to charge during the flight as well. If you’re concerned about battery life, you might want to buy a special, lower watt charging adaptor, as airplane outlets don’t tend to be too powerful. You can also buy a portable charger that you can plug in via USB. 

5. Make Sure Your Headphones are Noise Canceling

Bringing headphones on a flight is essential. If you want to watch a movie, play a game, or listen to a podcast, you can’t do so out loud. But if you want to block out as much noise as possible, make sure the headphones you pack are noise canceling. Even crying babies can be blocked with noise canceling buds! 

Enjoying a long haul flight is possible – you’ve just got to be proactive about it! Make sure you take along something you can spend hours doing, such as playing your favorite video game, or try to book the flight at night so you can sleep the majority of it away. No matter what you end up doing, long haul flights take a bit of stamina – but remember, a great destination is awaiting you on the other side.