9 Tips on Improving the In-flight Experience

As much as I love travelling, the actual act of travelling to a dream destination can be very dreadful at times. It is definitely not fun being squished into narrow, questionably-comfortable seats, with limited leg room, alongside hundreds of strangers. Here, I’ve complied a list of things you can bring/do, to make your journey more enjoyable.

1. Dress comfortably

First things first, make sure your in-flight attire is as comfortable as can be. My usual flight outfit is a hoodie and yoga pants. What’s yours?

2. Plane socks/slippers

It can be extremely uncomfortable to have your feet enclosed in shoes during a long, 10+ hour flight. You can try bringing some cozy plane socks or slippers to relieve your feet during these flights. First class passengers get slippers, why can’t we just bring our own?

These foldable travel slippers, found on Amazon, are similar to the ones that I bought from Loft in Japan. You can even use it in hotels!

3. Plane snacks

The food on the plane can sometimes be limited/pricy/not the tastiest. During my most recent flight, I’ve decided to pack my own snacks. It was a win-win situation since I did not want the leftover food I had at home to go to waste. I packed some baby carrots and hummus as well as some crackers and cheese for an easy and tasty snack to look forward to.

4. Scarf

It can get really cold tens of thousands of feet up in the air. A scarf is especially handy when no blankets are provided on the flight or if the blanket supplied is not sufficient. The scarf can be used more than to warm up your neck. I use it to wrap around my torso or drape across my lap, as I feel necessary.

5. Stay hydrated

Make sure to drink a sufficient amount of water. I admit this is difficult for me because my worse nightmare is to be stuck in a situation where the seat-beat sign is on and I cannot use the washroom. However, it does get very dry in the cabin so I now try to drink water (and less caffeinated products) whenever it is offered. It may also be a good idea to pack a refillable water bottle and fill it up after security, so you always have access to water and not have to rely on the in-flight beverage service. Don’t forget about your lips and hands as well. I try to always pack lip balm and lotion in my carry-on. (I’ve learnt the hard way, as I’ve suffered from extremely dry lips and hands on some very long flights in the past.)

This S’well bottle is great for keeping liquids really cold or really hot as you desire.

6. Download your favourites

Before your flight, don’t forget to download all your favourite shows, podcasts, music and e-reader books ahead of time. This can help the time go by faster. I recently found out that Netflix allows you to download episodes onto your small portable devices (e.g. phones/tablets but not laptops). Some planes also do not have built-in seat-back entertainment. Some gives you the option to bring your own devices and download the viewing app in advance to access their in-flight entertainment.

I love travelling with my kindle! I can download books and get them immediately without having to wait for a physical book to ship or needing to go to the bookstore.

7. Noise-cancelling headphones

In order to watch/listen to your favourites that you’ll already downloaded or to access the in-flight entertainment, it is a good idea to invest in some noise-cancelling headphones. I have these BOSE ones, which are amazing at getting rid of the loud mechanical noises so I don’t need to turn my volume up as high to drown out these noises.

8. Get up

Don’t forget to stand up once in a while to use the bathroom or just walk around. This will not only help relieve some aches and pains in your back/legs but can also reduce your risk of getting blood clots in your legs.

9. Well compartmentalized carry-on bag

Lastly, it’s important to have a good carry-on bag with lots of different compartments for all of the above. Items such as chargers, electronics, snacks, lotions, etc. which need to be used throughout the flight should be easily accessible. You can pack modularly. I noticed another passenger during my recent flight who has a smaller removable pouch in her carry-on, which she took out and placed in the seat-back pocket. This allowed her to quickly access essential items throughout the flight! Genius! I plan to buy one of these tech organizer bags to organize my cables, headphones, battery pack etc. for my next trip, as well as for day-to-day use when I do work at a coffee shop.

And that’s all I have for now! I would love to know if you have any other tips for flying more comfortably!

Happy travelling!

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