Long distance flights are an annoying thing, especially if you can image so many other things you could do while sitting 10Â unknown hours on an airplane, not knowing what to do. Many friends of mine were never on a flight longer than 3 hours. While staying in Europe, you can get to most destinations without having to spend a lot of time, even to countries like Tunisia you only need three hours.
So for those of you, who have never been on a long distance flight and for those, who dread them everytime they come up somewhere in the near future, our whole Intern China Team sat together and thought of their best tips for long flights. We hope you enjoy reading and have a relaxed flight to China! SoâŠ
âŠwhat do the interns say?
Dani Fernandez (Zhuhai):
1) Her first and most important tip is to not get a lot (or best any) sleep the night before your flight. You will be so tired during the flight, that youâll just fall asleep, even though the seat might be uncomfortable.
2) Take your favorite entertainment options with you, and best more than one (e.g. books, music, games).
3) Choose an aisle seat, so you can stretch your legs a little more (and itâs a lot easier to get up in the night to walk around a little or go to the toilet).
4) Take a scarf, hoodie or jumper on board with you, in case the airline doesn’t give you a blanket and you don’t want to wear an uncomfortable jacket/coat for the whole flight.
Hanna Sand (Qingdao):
1) Most important thing for me is to have a good and fully charged battery for my netbook (tablet or laptop will do as well I guess ;)) and a hard-drive fully loaded with TV shows and films. The thing is, after finding my seat on an airplane, the first thing I do is check out the on-board TV. Itâs a serious process because I start making a ‘schedule’ for the whole 12 hours (or however long I will be on the airplane). Sometimes I work out a really good programme and then I just fall asleep, which is the best thing that can happen really. But normaly it isnât that easy, so I have my TV programme. After being happy with my plan for the next 12 hours, being able to watch all the movies I didnât have time to see in cinema, the person in front of me starts moving their seat to the back which makes watching movies uncomfortable or I realize that the screenâs quality is actually not best or well, I never end up watching on board TV because something always happensâŠand thatâs when I remember that I took my netbook, its 9.5h battery and a bunch of TV shows and films with meâŠHave a good flight! đ
1.1) In addition to my tip above, donât take sad movies with you, if you cry easily. Your stewardess and your neighbour in the seat next to you will be slightly confused if you look at them with red, teary eyes.
2) Choose your own seat! Itâs possible with most airlines to log in online up to 36hours before departure and choose your own seat. Like Dani, I would choose an aisle seat since itâs easier to stretch legs, move around and go to the toilet.
3) Wear comfortable clothes! Nothing is worse than short skirts and tight pants on an airplane.
4) Order a special meal before your flight, if you need one (e.g. Vegetarian, Halal, Low carb, Vegan). Just getting a piece of bread in 12hours, while everyone else is eating is not sooo funny. (Therefore, Veggies, donât fly with Aeroflot, they donât like Vegetarians and ordering a special meal doesnât helpâŠ).
Lisa Samani (Qingdao):
1) Our fashionista-intern Lisaâs most important tip is to not wear high heels on the airplane or any uncomfortable clothes at all, since you want shoes and clothes you can pull and carry your luggage with. You should also not wear any make up. Itâs bad for your skin and the on board air is very very dry. So best just take some lotion with you that keeps your skin moist.
2) Bring your own food! Airplane food is not always good, and if youâre a vegetarian for example and forgot to order a special meal, you wonât be able to eat much.
3) Sleep on the airplane, but not before your flight! And remember to take a tooth brush with you, nothing is more disgusting than waking up in the morning and not being able to brush your teeth. đ
4) Change your seat. You can always change your seat when all passengers are on board and if you see a free row at the back: Go for it!
Jonathan Libis (Qingdao):
1) Jonathan is not really concerned about long distance flights, since he can sleep almost everywhere. He only advises you to bring your MP3-Player and something easy to read. Just try to sleep and wear comfortable clothes.
And todayâs special guestâŠ
Frank Lenhardt (Co-Founder of InternChina):
1) The first and most important thing for Frank is to book and choose your seat in advance, so you donât have to sit somewhere in the middle. Even AirChina allows you to do so, so donât waste your chance to get a good seat!
2) Here is Frankâs ultimate luggage trick: If you have too much luggage, let your parents or friends wait with your actual carry-on baggage. Then go to check-in and ask them if you could â because itâs sooooo much more convenient â also drop of your hand luggage. They wonât know that itâs actually your parents having your hand luggage and you got a few more free kilos!
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