For some people, a five-hour flight feels like pretty close to forever. I’m not one of those people, but I do know that those people would not know what to do with themselves if the length of that already-too-long five-hour flight happened to, say, triple.
Since I’m writing this from less than halfway through a 14-hour flight to Hong Kong, I figured I’d share some tips on how to survive it without looking like you really didn’t survive anything at all.
My go-to routine is pretty much: sleep, eat, watch a movie, read, repeat. And maybe even repeat again. If you forget the whole part about being squished up with six inches of legroom and the annoying elbow wars with the person next to you for who’s going to dominate the arm rest—it sounds kind of like a Saturday well spent, really.
Here are my tips for getting through a very, very long flight.
Sleep
First, let me preface this by saying I’m one of those people who has no problem at all sleeping on planes. There’s been times I’ve been asleep before takeoff and awoke wondering whether we’d left yet. There have also been times I’ve slept through nine hours of a 10-hour flight and woke with just enough time to catch the last meal and get ready to land. I know, I know, non-plane-sleepers you hate me. But I’ve also been awake for the bulk of this flight, so I can make a legitimate case for knowing how to survive it.
If you can sleep, try. And if you can control it, it’s best to sleep as close to what’s going to be sleep time in the place you’re headed, which will help get you on track to beat jetlag before you even get there. If the bobbing neck thing doesn’t work for you and neither do most subpar neck pillows, this Trtl Travel Pillow might be my greatest gift to you. It holds your head and neck just like you’ve always wanted it to be held on a plane. Try it, you might like it.
Watch three movies
So, Cathay Pacific is winning right now because the first movie on the new releases screen is none other than Black Panther, which I will be watching at some point over the next eight hours.
The thing is, if you think of this 14-hour flight like a Netflix binging Saturday, you’ll get through it no problem. And in some cases it might even be better than your Saturday situation at home, because unless you’re very lucky, no one is likely bringing three square meals right to your couch and then making the mess disappear when you’re done.
For me, watching movies (at least three) is the best way to kill time on these flights. Plus, I never make the time to watch movies when I’m at home, so it’s the best time to catch up on all the things people have been talking about while I watch them with glazed over eyes because I still haven’t seen it.
Make sure you catch every meal
My Spidey senses typically don’t fail me when it comes to food. I can be in a deep, deep sleep and in the middle of a very detailed senseless dream, and somehow still manage to wake up right before the food cart gets to me. My brain obviously knows me.
Eating every meal not only helps to pass the time, it keeps you energized and fueled so you don’t end up haggard by the time these 14-hours are up. Also, on these good international flights, the desert can be legit Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and no one wants to miss that.
Use this magical face spray
The thing about flying that contributes the most to the hot-mess look that befalls most travelers is the fact that the weird air in the plane is sucking all the moisture from your skin.
To counter that, the best thing to do is say yes every single time they offer you water, which is also good because it will force you to get up for the restroom, which means you’ll be stretching your legs and keeping the blood flowing too. All good things for getting through it, I promise.
But for an extra shot at getting your glow on in the most extenuating circumstances, there’s Evian facial spray. This little message in a bottle has come to tell your skin everything’s going to be alright. One quick spray feels fresh like you’ve stepped into the misters in Las Vegas on a too-hot day, and it leaves your skin feeling dewy and looking vibrant with the most minimal effort.
Do work
I’m not really an advocate for doing work outside of work, if I’m being honest. But flying for this long is the best set of uninterrupted time to do something that you want to work on. If that happens to be work work, well I respect you. If not, it’s a great time to work on something that you’ve been meaning to start for months but never got the time to do.
For me, it’s been an opportunity to catch up on both reading travel articles, and writing two of my own. For others, maybe it’s finally writing out that travel bucket list and figuring out a real plan for how to tackle it. Or maybe it’s starting to flesh out a business plan for that great idea you just know someone will beat you to if you don’t do it first. For the poets out there, maybe it’s a good time to put some beautiful words together or read for research. Or for fun. Whatever it is, maximizing your time, or helping yourself get ahead of something you might have had to do once arriving at your destination, can also help contribute to feeling refreshed.