I did a lot of flying in January … 6 flights & over 45 hours in the air!! Crazy, right?! Before I tell about the trip itself, I thought I’d share some tips for surviving the journey!!:)

Here’s a brief summary of my January flights:

Washington, DC – Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA – Auckland, NZ

Auckland, NZ – Queenstown, NZ

Queenstown, NZ – Sydney, AUS

Sydney, AUS – Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA – Washington, DC

On our way home, we spent 20 hours on a plane… if that doesn’t drive you crazy I don’t know what will!! To be honest, it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. On our way there, there was a glitch with the movies so we didn’t have very many; however it was night flight so we slept/relaxed most of the time. On the way home, I was one of the only ones NOT sleeping (ugh) but I was able to read, watch movies & get some blogging done. It can actually go by fairly quickly if you come prepared & ready for a day in the air!

Here are 7 tips for surviving a 15+ Flight

1) Block Schedule: You laugh, but I’m serious! It always helps to have a plan!! Go into the flight with a general idea of what you want to do. Maybe you’re easy to please & you plan to watch the movies provided & sleep the entire time; that’s great!!! I, however, am not that lucky. I am terrible at sleeping on planes & knew I needed a game plan to survive the boredom. What did I do?

Books on my iPad

Music on my iPhone

A fully charged laptop for pre-blogging in Word Docs (no wifi over the pacific!)

Movies provided by the airline

Knowing what you want to do with your time will help it go by faster & much more efficiently. (All of our flights had a USB plug for your phone/tablet, but they do not have plugs for laptops!)

2) Walk Around: If the seat-belt sign is turned off, it’s safe! Get up & move! Walk up & down the aisle; visit the bathroom furthest away; stretch those legs, arms & back/neck. Cramping up is the worst possible thing when you’re stuck in a cozy seat!

3) Pack a few snacks: You can take food through security, just not liquid. I filled my Swell bottle as soon as I got through security & had trail mix, granola, cookies & popcorn in my bag. I’m a muncher; I like to eat small meals all day long & I’m not a fan of mystery meat. Having snacks saved me from the choice between starving & “I think this is chicken” meal.

4) Bring a pillow & blanket: I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, there’s nothing like the comforts of home. I loved bringing my own blanket to cuddle up under & had a travel pillow for those moments when I hoped I would sleep. They will provide you with a blanket, pillow & headphones (some even give you a sleep mask!), so if you can’t squeeze it in, don’t fret! I have this blanket that I just adore & it rolls up nicely in my carry-on!

5) Wear what’s comfortable: For my longest flight (20 hours), I wore black leggings, a tank top & a comfy sweater/sweatshirt. I loved having layers for when I got a bit warm, and my pants were SO comfortable. I packed my compression socks, slipped off my shoes & put them on after we took off. I then stayed in sock-feet for the flight. Being on a plane for this long does not need to be a fashion statement; you want to be comfortable while also feeling presentable so go for a comfy/chic look! If you have to wear a certain something when you land, bring it & change beforehand. No use being miserable for 15+ hours! (Also, ladies, I suggest you wear a sports-bra or wireless bra. I have this one it’s amazing!! SO comfy for the long journey!)

6) Plan your sleep schedule around your flight: For our flight to NZ, we flew through the night. That meant it would be really easy to sleep since we were SUPPOSED to be sleeping! We arrived at 5:30am New Zealand time & needed to be ready to hit the ground running; it worked out great for us to sleep on the flight to NZ! For our flight home, we left at 11:40am Sydney time & landed at 6:30am LA time. In order to try to sleep on the plane, the girls & I stayed up until 4am (we’re crazy, we know!). Our hope was to sleep on the plane since the United States would be sleeping while we flew. We thought this would help us get back on US time faster & make the flight fly by (see what I did there?). Unfortunately, I’m a horrible plane sleeper so I wrote a few blog posts, read & watched 2 movies; I was also a bit of a cranky pants when we landed in LA.

7) Bring toiletries with you: I packed my toothbrush, toothpaste, mascara, foundation, body spray & deodorant in my carry-on bag. I loved being able to freshen up about an hour before we landed so I didn’t LOOK like I’d been on a plane for 15+ hours! I suggest not wearing any make-up at all when you first board so you don’t have to worry with mascara under your eye & the “half-on-half-off” makeup look. Just pack the essentials & freshen up on the flight!

 

Have you had to survive an excruciatingly long flight before? How’d you do it? I’d love tips for next time!:)

 

xo! kat