During Your Flight
Staying Comfortable on a Long-Haul Flight
Seat choice, movement, cabin air, clothing and small habits that make a twelve hour flight easier.
Long-haul comfort is mostly a set of small decisions made before the doors close. Once you are at cruising altitude with the wrong seat and the wrong clothes, your options narrow considerably.
The seat
Window seats give you something to lean on and control over the blind. Aisle seats give you freedom to move without climbing over strangers. On flights over eight hours, the choice usually comes down to whether you plan to sleep or plan to walk.
Rows to think twice about: the last row, which often does not recline and sits next to the galley; the row immediately in front of an exit row, which sometimes has a fixed back; and the bulkhead, which has legroom but no under-seat storage and is frequently where bassinets are fitted.
Exit rows have real legroom and colder floors. They also come with a responsibility, and crew will move you if you cannot fulfil it.
Clothing and layers
Cabins run cool, usually between 22 and 24 degrees, and feel colder when you are still for hours. Dress for a mild autumn day indoors rather than for the weather at either end of your journey.
- Loose layers, since swelling in the legs and feet is normal at altitude
- Shoes you can slip off, with socks you are willing to walk to the toilet in
- A scarf or large shawl, which works as a blanket, a pillow and a draught stopper
- Avoid tight waistbands and anything you would not want to sleep in
Movement
Sitting still for many hours is the actual health issue on long flights, not the flying itself. Deep vein thrombosis risk rises with immobility, dehydration and length of flight.
The practical response is undramatic:
- Stand and walk the aisle roughly every two hours when the seatbelt sign allows
- Do ankle circles and calf raises in the seat between walks
- Drink water regularly, which also forces you to get up
- Consider compression socks on flights over about six hours, particularly if you have risk factors
If you have a medical history that touches on this, ask a doctor before flying rather than reading an article about it.
Cabin air and your body
Cabin humidity often sits below twenty percent, drier than most deserts. That is why your throat feels rough, your eyes itch and your skin tightens.
Countermeasures are simple. Drink water steadily. Use lip balm and a moisturiser. Swap contact lenses for glasses. Saline nasal spray helps more than people expect on very long flights.
Cabin pressure equivalent to around 6,000 to 8,000 feet of altitude affects taste, mild swelling and how alcohol feels. One drink in the air is not two, whatever the folklore says, but it does dehydrate you at a time when you are already dry.
The ear thing
Ear pain on descent comes from pressure differences the Eustachian tube cannot equalise fast enough. Swallowing, yawning, chewing and the gentle Valsalva manoeuvre - pinching the nose and breathing out softly - all help.
If you are flying with a cold, a decongestant taken before descent can make the difference between mild discomfort and real pain. Children struggle more than adults; a drink or a dummy at descent is the standard trick.
Making the hours pass
Download entertainment before you leave rather than relying on the seatback system, which fails often enough to matter. Bring a book that does not need a battery. Set your watch to the destination time on boarding, which starts the mental adjustment early.
And accept that a long flight is a day you get through rather than enjoy. Getting off the aircraft hydrated, stretched and roughly on the destination clock is a good outcome. Our guide on beating jet lag picks up from there.
