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SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES PLEASE (17-HOUR FLIGHT) AISLESEATTRAVELLER

POST

Has anyone done the Doha-Auckland route? Fortunately I’ll be in business class, but am still looking for survival techniques for the 17+-hour journey, including best seat to choose.

LUGANOPIRATE

I can’t advise on the best seat as I don’t fly QR, but from the days when Europe to Hong Kong was 18 hours with four stops I’d suggest the following:

Break the journey mentally into four four-hour sections and dedicate various activities to those sections. Food and drink and a movie will probably be in two of the four sections, and perhaps a good sleep in between.

Take reading matter on a tablet* and download a couple of newspapers. Perhaps enjoy a game or three of solitaire, which always whiles away a good hour or two.

Finally, I always take a walk around the plane to stretch the legs and get the circulation going. Be careful not to get trapped by the food and drinks trolley though!

*Back in the 70s/80s there were no tablets of course so it was buy a book and a take a few magazines on board.

HANDBAG

I have always found the best way to get through a very long flight is asleep. Have a bite to eat, watch a film, then eyeshades, earplugs, mild sleeping tablet and that’s normally well over half the flight taken care of.

MARTYNSINCLAIR

Depends on the arrival time. If it’s an early morning departure, I agree, sleep all the way. If however it’s going to be a late afternoon/early evening arrival, I politely ask the cabin crew to wake me up “early” enough so I don’t ruin the first night’s sleep. As for sleeping pills – I was hooked on them for 30 years, trying to manage sleep and jet lag… I have been pill-free for five years now. I wouldn’t recommend using any medication to try and manage a 17-hour flight…

AHMAD

I understand QR fly a B777 on this route. These planes don’t have the pods or the Q suites but the old-style 2-2-2 layout. Very wide and fully flat beds with a small retractable privacy screen which is helpful when sleeping. The only downside is that you have to climb over a sleeping neighbour if in a window seat.

My preferred seat is 1K. It is close to the galley but not on the side of the toilets or cockpit door so there is less footfall than the other aisle. Normally, the curtain remains drawn so there isn’t that much noise or light from the galley. I like the fact that there is no seat in front and have a feeling that there is slightly more leg room. Also, the IFE screen is stowed in the armrest so there is no annoying light when it comes on at the time any cabin announcement is made. I can’t stand it when that happens for turbulence announcements in an otherwise dark cabin.

The downside with the bulkhead is that there is no stowage below the IFE screen, which is a very handy feature normally. One tip on getting row 1: it is never available until check-in opens. I usually select row 2 or 3 and then change it to 1K when check-in opens.

FDOS_UK

Drink heavily!

WHY ARE WE SO USELESS AT PACKING SUITCASES?

LUGANO PIRATE

POST

I remember way back I’d frequently travel with four suitcases: one for shoes, one for jackets and suits (including my dinner jackets – a white and a black one), one for shirts and underwear and washing kit, and one spare for what I might purchase on my travels. Today it’s usually a carry-on. This is partly influenced by baggage rules, the worry of lost cases and not really needing a suit anymore. Do fellow posters now pack less as well or is it just me?

GIVING UPBA

I never forget my dear departed mum’s packing rule (told to us in the 1960s): “Halve the clothes, double the money.” Brilliant. How do I pack? I’m a bit obsessive – over decades I’ve built up a list of must-haves and that is all I ever pack. I pack from the list.

CANUCKLAND

For me the biggest space saver has been the demise of the suit! On the odd occasion that wearing a suit is merited, I’d choose a suit jacket that could be worn casually with jeans. Plus, two shirts and two ties = four looks – subject to hygiene factors, I’m not a skank! Sometimes I take the opportunity to review my current wardrobe and I’ll choose attire that will not be making the return journey.

Other advice: visualise what you’re going to wear daily and be disciplined. Don’t pack seven minutes before leaving the house. A wee sachet of soap powder for simple laundry is a god-send. And if you’re travelling with a group, collective toiletries bought at your destination is just common sense.