Do you have any tips for surviving a long-haul economy flight?

Posted by Cakeyhands@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 10 comments

The last flight I went on lasted 4 hours. By the end of it, I recall by lumbar spine hurting from sitting upright for so long, my bumcheeks going numb from the pressure (I'm a 30 YO slim guy..) I'm now thinking of flying somewhere 12-16 hours away for a break this winter/spring. It will be on a budget, meaning economy flights. I can see myself being in significant pain by the end, akin to torture. Do any of you have any tips for surviving long-hall economy flights?

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10 Comments

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Dinoduck94@reddit

You know you can get up and walk around once in the air, right? No one's expecting you to sit for 12-16 hours

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FrankyFistalot@reddit

On my first transatlantic flight (UK to USA) I was struggling with a bad back,halfway through the flight I noticed passengers at the back of the plane doing yoga,stretching,etc..I was intrigued so I watched The Incredibles on repeat till we landed and did the same on the return flight ;) Also top tip…do NOT look at the in-flight map showing the position of the plane,it does your anxiety no good to see the plane over the sea with no lane for 100’s of miles… Have a great flight…

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buddionemo@reddit

If I can help your anxiety a bit, all planes with two engines must stay close enough to an airport they can land at with only one engine working. Means you're safe in cases of things like birdstrike, or something mechanical going wrong with one of the engines. It's super unlikely on 4 engine aircraft to have more than one engine fail, you probably wouldn't even notice one wasn't working! Planes are super safe, especially commercial planes!

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femmeflannels@reddit

Tysm

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chicaneuk@reddit

You say that.. I was on a flight back from LAX to the UK and much to our frustration a guy sat in the aisle seat (and we were middle and window) and he basically put headphones on and an eye mask and didn’t move for almost the entire flight. Every time my partner asked to get out due to her thimble bladder he huffed and moaned like you wouldn’t believe. Karma is a bitch though. At some point in the flight he got a cold drink and the person in front violently pushed their chair back and it got dumped in his lap. Tremendous.

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Observer951@reddit

Love the Karma. I was on an Embraer from Toronto to Chicago. 2x2 seating. Get to my seat (window), and aisle guy had all his crap in my seat … papers, laptop, you name it. He clearly made a big show of the pain of having to move all his stuff back to his side. He then proceeded to spill apple juice all over himself and his seat. FA moved him to another seat. Sweet, sweet karma.

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AirBiscuitBarrel@reddit

When I flew to Tokyo a few years ago, getting really stoned helped tremendously. May not be an option for you, but I'd recommend it if it is.

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Charming_Rub_5275@reddit

Did you just smoke before the airport or bring some edibles to consume on the plane?

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robot_swagger@reddit

Not OP but I made some edibles with infused butter. I didn't make the butter correctly (left too much plant matter in I think). Worked great overall but a few hours into the flight I did a big burp and I heard a seat behind me say "can you smell weed?". Even with that I wasn't especially paranoid about it as I wasn't carrying.

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SlamJam64@reddit

This shit had me laughing at 5am