Survival Tips For International Flights

Living in Hong Kong means traveling between 14 and 40 hours, door-to-door to see my family in America. Yes, they say life is supposed to be more about the journey than the destination, but that’s a lot of journeying in a cramped metal tube, filled with germs and strangers and crying babies and lackluster food! Spending a lot of time in the air isn’t something which gets easier with practice for me. But I’ve found a few things to make it a bit more comfortable.

When you look up survival tips for long haul flights, it’s generally advice for how to survive 10+ hours with a baby or toddler. My kids are 18 and 16 and have been flying internationally since they were ten weeks old. I can’t really offer travel advice for how we survived it other than to say that like me, one day your kids will be teenagers who actually fly internationally on their own (it’s weird the first time) and you’ll have (conveniently perhaps) forgotten the anxiety and dread you once carried along with the baby while boarding a plane.

Today I want to share with you six items I use to survive the better part of a twenty-four-hour period in the air as a young-at-heart-but-not-in-body woman who loves adventure but doesn’t love all the rough parts of long haul international flights.

1. Cheap Slipper / Compression Sock Combo

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A lifetime ago when our kids were babies and toddlers, we had an expat package which included a business class upgrade if the flight was over six hours. While that hasn’t happened in a long time (and I argue it would be most helpful now, when my kids are over 6 feet tall), the thing I loved most about business class (after the glorious extra space) is that it provided us with a pair of comfy socks and slippers.

I always take my shoes off during a flight for maximum comfort, but it’s often a hassle to put them back on repeatedly if I need to get up and walk or use the washroom.  But walking around in just socks isn’t an option either. Have you ever been in a plane bathroom ten hours into a sixteen-hour flight? The floor has become a swamp, and it’s nothing you want touching any part of your clothing, let alone skin. And I’ll be honest, I don’t really want to walk in there in my nice shoes either. Cue the business class slipper idea!

Whenever I stay at a hotel that provides slippers (and this is a 100% given in Asia) I pop them right into my suitcase. It drives my hubby a bit crazy, but less crazy than the bathrooms in coach after a dozen hours. When I fly, I put one pair in my carry on, and one pair in the suitcase. As soon as we board, I take off my shoes and pull out the hotel slippers. Then, if I need to get up, I can just slide my feet into the slippers and keep a protective barrier between me and the petri dish flooring in the bathroom. As we begin the descent, I make one last run to the loo and then put my shoes back on. The slippers (and all the gross germies they’ve met) stay behind. The extra pair in my luggage gets used for the return trip.

On a flight last year from America to Hong Kong we were hanging out in the Chicago airport for six hours. I strolled past one of the many shops and picked up a pair of compression socks on a whim. The older I get, the more my feet and ankles swell while in the air. It generally takes a few painful days for the swelling to go down once I arrive at my destination. I do my best to frequently get up and move (aisle seat is my BFF) and do some in-flight exercises to keep from getting too stiff, but the very real threat of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is something I worry about as I age and find myself flying more frequently. I wasn’t expecting much from the stockings, but I was impressed with the difference. The sixteen hours of flight time between Chicago and Hong Kong is brutal, but my feet and ankles didn’t swell the way they did on the flight there without the stockings. Now I use them every time I fly, and I can hit the ground pain free at my destination! Check these out to try. Pro tip: measure your calves for the best fit!

2. Foot Hammock

I have two herniated discs in my lower back. The very worst thing I can do for this type of injury is spend hours sitting in a chair with my feet hanging straight down. For years I’ve kept a little step stool/footrest tucked under my desk to prop up my feet and keep my lower back from screaming at me. I remember once being on a flight that had a little foot rest which flipped down from the seat in front of me, and wishing every plane had this small but amazing feature to make my travel so much more comfortable!

Before trying to invent one or sneak my office footstool onto a plane, I turned to my friend Google to see if something already existed. And I found the best flight accessory I’ve ever used – the foot hammock.

It easily attached to the arms of my tray table and allows me to prop up my feet or even stretch my legs out straight under the seat in front of me, without putting pressure on my back. If the person next to me wants to get out, it tucks up small and isn’t a safety hazard. It’s super lightweight and the lightly textured fabric keeps my feet from sliding through. I’ve used it for a year, and will never fly coach without it. It can be used with the tray table up or down, and at less than twenty U.S. dollars, it has a huge bang for your buck, certainly cheaper than upgrading to business! You can find it here.

3. Nasal Spray

While living in Shanghai, I developed some serious sinus issues. Every time I got even mildly sick, I’d end up with a sinus infection that would. not. quit. In the end, it turns out I have a severe deviated septum and surgery was recommended. Having already had surgery once (unrelated) in China and having watched my husband go through deviated septum repair in Shanghai (it was an absolute nightmare), I begged for another option. I promised to be the most compliant patient ever if there was anything I could do to push off a surgical fix.

The ENT doctor recommended this nasal spray. It really was a pivot point in my health. I was accustomed to using a saline nasal spray when I fly since airplane environments are so dry and 100% of the time I fly I end up sick, but this one was a life changer. It also contains xylitol, which keeps bacteria from settling in my nasal passages. When I fly, everything in my head swells. My face hurts. My ears hurt. My nose gets completely blocked, leaving me unable to comfortably sleep with my mouth hanging wide open. But with this nasal spray, everything stays calm. I can breathe, drug free. I spray it once in each nostril, wait a moment, gently blow my nose, and then appreciate the gift of a deep breath! I can’t say it’s the only thing contributing, but since I started using it roughly every hour or two on flights, I’ve not been sick once as a result of flying. Even when I was sitting next to a lady who coughed into her arm on my side the entire flight.

From the Xlear website: “Regular use of xylitol nasal spray can be very beneficial. When the bacteria and contaminants cling to the mucous membrane inside your nasal passages, you are at risk for infectious disease or illness. Since it works as a cleanser and humectant, coating your nasal passages regularly with xylitol reduces the ability for any invaders to get comfortable in your airways. Research has shown that those who regularly use saline nasal spray like Xlear are at a significantly lower risk for respiratory infections.”

*Please note, I’m not a doctor and do recommend a chat with your own ENT or physician about whether this product is good for you.

4. Sleeping Pillow

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Oh the drama involved with a sleeping pillow! Of the four members of my family, we have four completely different (strongly held) opinions. My husband hates all of them, and it’s painful to watch him try to sleep, head falling forward, and then jerking back up. My youngest likes the plane pillows, which he uses to prop himself up against the plane’s wall in the window seat. My oldest (and tallest of all of us) likes to stack a couple plane pillows on the tray table, top them with a horse-shoe shaped pillow, and then bend over with his face in the pile for hours on end. Me? I most often use the horse-shoe shaped pillow, but with the opening toward my back so I can just rest my chin on it, crossing my arms in front of me, and try to doze. I don’t sleep under the best of circumstances (lifelong insomniac here, can’t even sleep in my comfy bed half the time) and a plane is never the best of circumstances. Especially when you’re a nervous flyer, like me.

On a layover in America last year, I came across the Cloudz EZ-Inflate Sleeper in one of the shops. Knowing I was already exhausted from a sleepless night as we were about to board a sixteen-hour flight, I happily spent the twenty bucks to try it out. Even if it wasn’t great for me, surely it would work for someone else in the family. Turns out, it was the best for me! I’m 5’6″ tall and found it high enough to rest my face on without making my back uncomfortable.

For my oldest son, he felt it was too high for his comfort, even though it’s the position he most prefers on a plane. For my youngest, he thought it was okay, but was too busy playing games on his Nintendo Switch to be interested in sleeping (until an hour before we landed when he passed out… waking him up to de-plane was a nightmare!). My husband was seated across the aisle from me, behind a very large passenger who kept his seat reclined the entire time, tossing and turning and getting up and down very frequently. With the seat reclined, it left less space for him to use this, and because the guy in front of him was moving so much, it moved the Sleeper enough to keep my husband wide awake.

When I took it back from him, I noticed that controlling the inflation level could make it taller or shorter, adding to my comfort. I love being able to put my arms through the pillow, it makes for a comfy, cozy experience and I did indeed fall asleep for several hours quite comfortably. It was also nice to use while I reclined my own seat, arms through hugging it, with my face against it. Kind of like sleeping with a large teddy bear. It blows up and deflates very quickly, and has a removable, washable cover for where your face goes.

On a recent Hong Kong to Paris flight I was stuck by the window. I used it to wedge in the space between the armrest and the window and dozed quite comfortably! On yet another flight where I was seated at the bulkhead and couldn’t use my foot hammock (no tray table in front of me to secure it to), I inflated it and put it on the floor in front of me, using it as a foot rest (thank goodness the cover is washable)! If you’re looking for a versatile pillow solution for flying internationally in economy, I certainly recommend trying this out. Especially if you’re like me, frequently on red eye flights expecting to hit the ground running in your destination!

5. Antibacterial Wipes, Tissues, Plastic Baggies

I’ve been flying internationally for three decades, and until recently, I’d inevitably always get sick after a long flight. In the last couple years, I made a few simple changes which had big impact. In addition to using nasal spray to combat the dry environment, I stocked up on antibacterial wipes. I’m partial to Wet Ones because they don’t bug my skin and they have a nice texture to scrub with, as well as the best seal on the package (I’ve tried out lots of brands). I keep them right in my hand with my boarding pass and passport, and as soon as I stow my carry on, I go germ busting on everything within arm’s length.

I wipe down the seat if it’s not cloth, and scrub the armrests, making sure to give the button you press to recline your seat extra attention. I wipe down the back of the seat in front of me, including the underside of the tray, the edge of the seat pocket, the screen, and any buttons. I pull down the tray table and scrub away. I reach up and wipe the air vent, the light button, and the call button. And then I look at the wipe I’ve been using and try not to throw up over the fact that it’s no longer white, but streaked with grey and brown. I pull out a second wipe (or third if I’ve used more than one) and clean my hands. Then I toss them both into a little baggy I stash in the seat back or into a flight attendant’s care if they happen to be walking past.

You might think these areas get cleaned between flights, but I know too many people in the airline industry who tell me otherwise, and there’s been many a flight we’ve watched pull in, see passengers exit, and then begin boarding within 30 minutes. I often find wrappers and used tissue in the seat pocket. I know there’s no way someone is cleaning up after the last person who sat in my seat. And airlines aren’t actually “required” to deep clean all that often (no joke, many only deep clean annually!). Don’t believe me? Check this out. Or this.

I keep my packet of antibacterial wipes nearby throughout the flight, and also a packet of tissues. If I get up to use the washroom, I keep a tissue in hand to open the door and lock it behind me. I wash my hands very thoroughly and then use a tissue to open the door, plus another wipe when I get back to my seat. I promise you I am no germaphobe. I have friends who are. I don’t even come close. But I fly internationally between 6-10 times per year, and every single flight was ending with me paying for a doctor’s visit + medicines (sometimes in countries where I have no health insurance – quite a pricey “souvenir”) not to mention downtime in bed or just being plain miserable instead of enjoying a vacation. These small investments (along with using that nasal spray above) paid huge dividends. I didn’t get sick once during my travels in 2018 as a result of being militant about these tips! And the baggies? Perfect for accumulating rubbish and then passing over to a flight attendant. I, for one, have never left a used tissue in the seat pocket! You’re welcome.

6. Noise Cancelling Headphones

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Okay, this one may seem like a luxury, but it has made an incredible difference with my overall flight experience, so I’m going to share. I’ve always brought my own headphones to use with the in-flight entertainment system (I can tell you where they’ve been and who has used them, unlike the ones they pass out for free at the beginning of a flight) but because of the general noise on a plane, I tend to turn the volume up quite high, and even then I can’t always hear the movie I’m trying to watch over a screaming baby, a coughing seatmate, or the ladies behind me trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest and loudest conversation about that cute guy they’ll never see again during a twelve hour flight. And as a rule, I always bring earplugs to pop in if I’m not watching a film, just to keep the noise and my general flight anxiety down.

A year ago, I started looking at noise cancelling headphones. Everyone who has a pair absolutely swears by them, but they are quite an investment. I kept thinking to myself: a pair of noise cancelling headphones and a round trip flight between Hong Kong and Paris are the same price… Hmmm, what to choose? Spoiler: last year I chose the flight.

But this year we renewed our mobile phone contract and our provider gave us a credit to use in their store. Enough to make me consider forking over the difference to buy a pair of noise cancelling headphones. So, I did. And I am never going back.

I got the Sony WH-1000X M3, and they are incredible. I was shocked to find they came out ahead of Bose for CNET’s 2019 recommendations. I work from home in a high-rise building which has some major construction going on a few floors beneath me. I put these on, play some calming music, and the whole world disappears so I can focus on my work. If you’ve been considering a pair, check these out. Seriously. Add them to your travel wish list. Remind everyone you have a birthday coming up. Add them to your wedding registry! They have so many great features and using them while flying is like having a vacation from the most stressful part of my travel plans! They are wireless so you can connect to your phone or tablet with Bluetooth, but they come with a cord you can plug in for in flight use, and even an adapter in case you end up on a plane with one of those double pronged outlets (it’s been awhile, but I was on a flight with one last year and had to use the airline’s provided earphones. No more! Hooray!).

And there you have it, my favorite ways to make a miserable flight much better! And now it’s your turn! What is your top tip for surviving a long flight? Drop me a note in the comments and let me know!

This post is not sponsored, but may contain affiliate links. There is no extra cost to you, but I may earn a small commission. Please note that I never recommend, write about, or link to anything I don’t enthusiastically use myself. Thank you for your support!