Buckling up for a long flight

The trip of your dreams – you and your significant other are going to travel Hawaii! All you dream about are the palm trees and ocean breeze, however, you still must get to your vacation destination from Chicago first.

The long flight can be physically and mentally draining. You will want to choose whether an upgraded seat – business class or first class is worth the investment. Do the math – a nine-hour flight with $150 upgrade is around $17 per hour. In addition, that includes an upgrade in food quality as well as the leg room, movie selections and service. It’s your budget to decide on price vs. amenities. Airmeals.net has a selection of pictures of different meals on various airlines, this can help you guide your decision about which airline you want to fly on and what class of seat you choose.

The next thing to think about is how are you going to fill those hours. Before you book your flight, you may want to go to edreams.com. There you will find a list of different airlines and what their WiFi offerings are. Most of us have a tablet to keep occupied, but you are also going to want to find out about in-flight entertainment. One tip – seat back screens can save your neck as opposed to overhead screens! There are seating chart sites such as SeatGuru that can really help because you will get information about seat sizes, locations and whether the airline has seat back or overhead screens.

You may want to think about a smaller carry-on than you usually bring on shorter flights. You will want all the legroom you can get and storing something under the seat in front of you reduces it. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes, and a neck pillow is great for support. In that small carry-on you will want to bring a couple of bottles of water, snacks and if you need medication, make sure you have it with you during the flight.

Finally, reach for your internal Zen. Once you are in the air, you are there until the plane lands at your dream destination. Breathe deeply, close your eyes and enjoy the ride! You'll enjoy it more when you say, "Book It, Marci."

Image by Hannu Viitanen, used with permission.