Make your next flight more comfortable and entertaining

Posted on Tuesday 06 September 2011 in Flights

Many individuals, while excited about traveling to a faraway or exotic locale on vacation, dread the long flight required in order to get there. For these travelers, perhaps some of the following tips will help to make their next air travel experience a less annoying and agonizing ordeal.

MSNBC recently wrote an article that detailed 25 of the best tips the news source had ever heard to ameliorate a long flight. According to the news source, travelers need to look at their air travel experience as being made up of several different facets, all of which can be made better through the application of a few minor strategies. For instance, travelers should focus on improving their health, comfort, state of mind and level of boredom next time they take a long trip.

In regards to comfort, individuals should always wear slip-on shoes when boarding a plane, as feet tend to swell in high altitudes. Not only will this type of shoe allow travelers to easily remove them while in flight, they should additionally ensure that walking, or running, depending on the success of one's timing, from gate to gate will not be a painful ordeal.

Specifically requesting an exit-row seat can also be a good idea for individuals who are not traveling with children. According to the media outlet, there is always more legroom in this section, which may be important to travelers with longer legs. People traveling without children may also want to bring noise-canceling headphones on their trip, in case there are screaming babies or fussy kids on board. Individuals who do not have and don't wish to purchase this type of ear phone may want to consider bringing a dollar bills in order to bribe older children into submission.

Staying healthy on a long-distance flight is another major issue that travelers should be concerned about. While many individuals get stressed out or anxious about the process of flying and imbibe a few alcoholic drinks in order to relax, this may not be a great idea health wise. Just as feet tend to swell in high altitudes, alcohol has a more intoxicating and dehydrating effect in the air. As such, people who do feel the need to drink a glass of wine or beer should balance each alcoholic beverage with at least two full cups of water.

Other health-related tips that may make one's travel experience better include wearing shoes to the restroom, so as not to pick up a fungus or step in something unsightly; bring allergy medication in case the person sitting next to you is unknowingly wearing cat or dog dander on their skin or clothing; and keep a paper bag close by in case your stomach becomes upset due to turbulence.

While the tips on comfort and health provided by the media outlet are sure to make a flight better for an individuals' body, they may not do much to improve their experience on board a transcontinental or international flight. Often, sitting on a plane for upwards for 8 hours can become very boring, causing travelers to arrive at their destination antsy, frustrated and exhausted. In order to prevent this, individuals should be sure to pack novels, magazines or MP3 players on board to distract themselves. The news outlet specifically recommends that passengers bring audio books, as they can provide a more actively imaginative experience and are almost always more entertaining than the in-flight movies shown.

Other tips that travelers should consider following on their next long flight include arriving at the airport early in order to reduce stress, travel with friends for instant fun and bring one's own food in order to avoid eating the often inedible food served in flight.

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