Long haul flights are never fun, especially when you’re flying economy – and let’s face it, most of the time we are. To get anywhere from our home base of Australia, long hours of travel are usually standard. After all we’re often on a plane to the likes of London, New York and Paris – all of which require about 20+ hours of air time, no counting stopovers. So ensuring the flying part of the journey is always a priority. Here are our top tips for surviving a long haul flight in style.
Get good carry on luggage
A lot of people I know love to have a wheeled suitcase for carryon – something which I actually don’t agree with since overhead compartment space is limited and you have to then get up from your seat to get anything out of your bag. I love my Longchamp Le Pilage Travel Bag with the extra shoulder strap for the ease of use. I can pop it under the seat in front of me and grab what I want.
Pack your carry on carefully
My carry on is like a Mary Poppins style bag, everything is compartmentalised and chosen carefully. I always bring essentials like my passport, but also:
Beauty products: lip balm, a moisturising face cream, a makeup compact, brush and roll on deodorant.
Technology: my mobile phone and laptop – fully charged and loaded with music and movies of course, an external charger for my phone, charging cables and plugs in case I can charge on board. I have also recently discovered the blessings of bringing your own headphones for better sound quality and some have built in noise reduction like these awesome in-ear Sony ones.
Misc: Pens (for all those forms you have to fill out to get through customs), socks (especially if I’m wearing socklets), extra tshirt and pair of underwear (because you never know), eye mask and a book. And I also always bring a shawl/scarf because it can get chilly on the plane and the inflight blankets aren’t amazing. I’m currently eyeing of the White + Warren Cashmere Travel Wrap Scarf from Shopbop.
Dress comfortably
I hate when people look like slobs on a plane, while I do understand the comfort dressing I don’t understand why they couldn’t opt for a stylish pair of leggings instead of a pair of tracksuit pants that they have owned since they were 12. My favourite plane clothes are stretchy black jeans, a striped t-shirt, cardigan and a scarf. I always wear shoes I can slip in and out of easily – like boots or ballet flats – because most of the time you have to take off your shoes when going through airport security. I usually opt for boots so you’re not walking around barefoot.
Choose your seat
I always try to choose my seat as soon as I make a flight booking. Depending on whether I’m travelling alone or travelling with someone, I will choose a window seat or an aisle seat. Window is preferred if I want to sleep and have the window to lean against. Aisle is easier if you’re travelling with someone so you can hop in and out of your seat to get to the bathroom and not have to climb over 2 people to get out. Of course for tall people, paying a little extra for extra leg room or even a Premium Economy seat is an option too.
Remember to just chill out and enjoy the journey
One can easily become annoyed at other people’s quirks, constant pushes on the back of your chair and even the children running astray (or testing their vocal chords). Try not to focus on all those things and plug in the aforementioned awesome headphones and put on your eye mask and zone out.
Follow us on Instagram as we embark on a few new travel journeys in the new year – @sassybella
