Both my wife and I are million mile flyers. Along the way we've made numerous long distance trips and have learned a lot in doing so. I thought I would share what we've learned.
BOOKING FLIGHTS. We are avid users of the internet. If you aren't sure who flies to a certain location from your location, you can use Smart Living.com at . This link will get you to a page and you just put in the city of origin and the destination. You get a listing of all the flights between these two locations. The nonstops are listed first. At the bottom of the page is a link to the carriers who fly this route and their 800 number.
Another great site to find low cost fares is Best Fares.com (). This site has an enormous amount of information.
If you want to find the best seats on your flight you can go to frequent flyer.com ().
lUGGAGE. Most airlines allow 20 kg per person in coach, 30 kg per person in business and first class. There can be a big charge for overweight baggage (up to $10 per pound)so weigh your baggage before you leave (this is especially important if you have gone and shopped a lot at your destination).
SLEEP. In traveling to Europe from the U.S. (we live in Denver) some schedules are better than others. Most of United's flights go through Washington Dulles and leave about 5PM getting into the European distination about 7 AM the next day (some 6 to 7 hours later). To make these flights we leave Denver about 10 AM MDT. Leaving DC at 5 PM is only 3 PM Denver time and seven hours later it is 10 PM Denver time and we are just getting sleepy. We now travel through Chicago. Most of these flights leave about 9 PM CDT (8PM MDT) and take an extra hour to get to Europe arriving around noon. We can get on these flights, eat dinner and then go to sleep. When the plane arrives we are just waking up and have pretty well adapted to the time changes.
Going to the Far East is another matter. Again you leave early in the morning. We try to wake up very early (2 AM) the night before. When we leave the West Coast, we force ourselves to get about 5 hours sleep on the trip to Japan. We then catch a connecting flight to Singapore and force ourselves to stay up during the eight hour flight. When we get to Singapore, it is midnight and we go to sleep.
REFRESHING YOURSELF. We also try to use shower rooms along the way or upon arrival. Tokyo's Airport (Narita) has a shower room. It is great to freshen up with clean cloths, brushed teeth, etc. I check the internet to see if the facilities are available when we fly.
LIQUID REFRESHMENTS. I'm not a big fan of airline food, but on long distance trips you have no choice but to eat the food. We normally bring along our own wine for the trip (it helps with the sleep). We don't wave it in their faces, but we take a wine that we like and generally is better than what they airline serve even in first class.
TAKE ALONGS. If you want to sleep it helps to have eyeshades, earplugs, neck pillows (the blow up kind) and melatonin (a natural sleep aid you can get at any vitamin shop).
Carry on bags. We alway carry on clean clothes and toiletries. If you've ever had your luggage lost you would understand why. I had my luggage lost on one trip to Italy (it took 2.5 days to catch up with me) and after about two days even the blind could appreciate me.
HEADSETS. We have bought our own sound neutralizing headsets. They cost about $50 but they eliminate a lot of the engine noise on long flights.
Hope this helps.
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