Need tips on how to make International flight bearable

[Forever a Princess]

Hello!

We will be leaving for South Africa in less than two weeks. We've been planning this for so long, I can't believe that the trip is almost here!

Our flight from Atlanta to Johannesberg is going to be the longest leg of our trip. We fly Omaha to Johannesberg to Cape Town.

Any tips on making the International flight (in coach) a little more bearable would be greatly appreciated.

Also tips on sleeping on a plane would come in handy as well.

TIA
Renee

 

[Techtravler]

Well hopefully you have a complete isle for your family, no sitting next to strangers. I always strive for this when we are traveling together, but more so on real long flights. If this is the case you can lift the armrest and little ones can stretch out and rest against adults.

I also make sure I have plenty of music and videos. An Ipod touch or Iphone loaded with videos goes a long way. I am a very frequent traveler and this is a must for me for all lengths of flight. If not, a small laptop or netbook works great to carry music and videos. My wife always carrys small crafts for my daughter to do. often at the dollar stores they sell small craft kits. Just be careful about things like scissors. My wife always kept a small kids pair that was less then TSA's 7" rule, but in Europe they took it away.

I am going to guess your flight out of Atlanta is an overnight flight, if so it will be somewhat dark on the flight. If you wear a sleeping mask this will help you get better rest. It is important to sleep so to try and minimize your Jet Lag.

With all this said, I know this is a serious amount of flight time, we looked into this trip and travel time was rough. Don't forget there will be some movies being played on the way, but not always the best choices for kids.

Oh yeah, I would make sure everybody has a set of headphones, there will probably be about 12 different music channels to listen to on the plane, but do not forget the airplane 2 prong adapter to headphone single connector for everyone. if you want to spend a bit more, either noise cancellation headphones or at least noise isolation ear plugs help a lot. They really make the trip more peaceful.

Good luck and enjoy this amazing trip.

TT

 

[disneylove69]

Portabe DVD player, crayons and coloring books. Hopefully your on a plane that offers seat back movie players. Saved me on the way to London.

 

[disneyphx]

Check into what movies/videos there are - seatback video on demand can be a lifesaver.
If travelling with kids (or just for adults) remember that when you are hungry is not necessarily when the airline gives you food. They usually give food at the start and end of a long flight. In December on our flight to Australia for our 4 year old we took banana, apple, hard boiled egg, cheesestick, Lunchable, so when she 'woke up' for the day, she could eat real food - chips and cookies held no appeal!

 

[Disney Dree]

We found that our attitudes made all of the difference. Our overnight trip to London was a disaster because my daughters kept worrying about not getting to sleep. My 12-year-old became sick (flight attendants weren't thrilled with that difficulty!), and by the time we arrived she was pale and clammy and miserable. In the future on an overnight trip I would definitely pass out dramamine or Tylenol PM to relax them and allow them to rest (and also because they are old enough to safely take those meds). I'd also invest in an inflatable neck pillow that supports your head from all directions.

On our return trip, we simply decided we weren't going to worry anymore. We dubbed that travel adventure as "Movie Day!!" and quit worrying about the endless hours and resting. Our decision to make it a fun event turned that day of travel into a super one - another highlight of an already wonderful vacation.

So excited for you - you'll have a marvelous time!!

 

[Forever a Princess]

Thanks for all of the good tips! Keep them coming!

 

[MAH4546]

Don't forget there will be some movies being played on the way, but not always the best choices for kids.[./QUOTE]

There will be in-seat video with on-demand music, movies and TV shows.

but do not forget the airplane 2 prong adapter to headphone single connector for everyone.

Airlines got rid of the two-prong headphones seven years ago.

 

[sayhello]

Airlines got rid of the two-prong headphones seven years ago.

Not all of them. I was just on Delta 3 weeks ago, and they had the 2-prong headphones.

Sayhello

 

[Forever a Princess]

Not all of them. I was just on Delta 3 weeks ago, and they had the 2-prong headphones.

Sayhello

Thanks for the tip! I ordered our adaptors tonight.

 

[MAH4546]

Not all of them. I was just on Delta 3 weeks ago, and they had the 2-prong headphones.

Sayhello

Even when they do have them, a single-prong headphone still works.

The OP is on a 777-200LR which does not have them.

 

[abbyjt]

We flew to South Africa last June. You are going to have a great time. It's a great trip. We flew South African Airlines. They were terrific. You can actually find out the type of plane you are flying on and if there are the video monitors in the seatbacks. We had those. Many movies and TV to watch. They provided a little sleep mask, socks, toothbrush and paste to each passenger (in coach - still a fortune). They served 2 or 3 meals in the 17 hour flight from DC to Johannesburg and another meal on the Johannesburg to Cape Town flight (2 more hours).
Make sure you get up and walk around every few hours. We were near the rear of the plane, at first I was bummed, being near (but not too near) the toilets. Worked out well, since there was a little serving area in the back that passengers were allowed to stand in. Bottles of water were there to help yourself.
The seats were rather hard. I ended up sitting on my neck pillow for much of the flight. My husband brought a seat cushion with him because he had read in reviews of the airline that the seats were hard (I didn't want to carry more stuff, so didn't bring one).
We also wore travel socks that are a little tighter than normal ones to help prevent blood clots.
My kids were 11, 12 and 15 at the time. They did fine. My husband sat with them (that's how I know he loves me) and I sat behind them. I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me the whole time, so my kids were able to move back and forth every now and then.

Also if you are flying United, you may be on South African Air. we were booked on SAA, but it had a United number too.

Have a great time. Happy to answer any questions about the trip too.

 

[Techtravler]

Don't forget there will be some movies being played on the way, but not always the best choices for kids.[./QUOTE]

There will be in-seat video with on-demand music, movies and TV shows.



Airlines got rid of the two-prong headphones seven years ago.

Not all airplanes have got rid of them. I still run across every now and then

 

[Forever a Princess]

We flew to South Africa last June. You are going to have a great time. It's a great trip. We flew South African Airlines. They were terrific. You can actually find out the type of plane you are flying on and if there are the video monitors in the seatbacks. We had those. Many movies and TV to watch. They provided a little sleep mask, socks, toothbrush and paste to each passenger (in coach - still a fortune). They served 2 or 3 meals in the 17 hour flight from DC to Johannesburg and another meal on the Johannesburg to Cape Town flight (2 more hours).
Make sure you get up and walk around every few hours. We were near the rear of the plane, at first I was bummed, being near (but not too near) the toilets. Worked out well, since there was a little serving area in the back that passengers were allowed to stand in. Bottles of water were there to help yourself.
The seats were rather hard. I ended up sitting on my neck pillow for much of the flight. My husband brought a seat cushion with him because he had read in reviews of the airline that the seats were hard (I didn't want to carry more stuff, so didn't bring one).
We also wore travel socks that are a little tighter than normal ones to help prevent blood clots.
My kids were 11, 12 and 15 at the time. They did fine. My husband sat with them (that's how I know he loves me) and I sat behind them. I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me the whole time, so my kids were able to move back and forth every now and then.

Also if you are flying United, you may be on South African Air. we were booked on SAA, but it had a United number too.

Have a great time. Happy to answer any questions about the trip too.

Thanks for the tip on using the neck pillow as a seat cushion. I didn't want to shell out the bucks for the padded seat cushion. Also we don't have room to carry them around.

 

[traveljunkie2]

The blankets provided by the airlines gross me out, but my kids like to cuddle with a blanket while sleeping. I went to a fabric store and bought a couple remnants of lightweight fleece. They worked great, rolled small, and I wasn't grossed out by it! On our last flight across the country, I packed a little blanket and travel pillow in each of my kids' backpack and it worked beautifully.

Another tip: make sure you keep hydrated with water. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Get up as much as possible, even if you just stand in the aisle. If you don't want to take off your shoes, wear sneakers so you can loosen the laces.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[abbyjt]

The blankets provided by the airlines gross me out, but my kids like to cuddle with a blanket while sleeping. I went to a fabric store and bought a couple remnants of lightweight fleece. They worked great, rolled small, and I wasn't grossed out by it! On our last flight across the country, I packed a little blanket and travel pillow in each of my kids' backpack and it worked beautifully.

Another tip: make sure you keep hydrated with water. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Get up as much as possible, even if you just stand in the aisle. If you don't want to take off your shoes, wear sneakers so you can loosen the laces.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

On a recent flight to Mexico there were no blankets. The Flight attendant said they had stopped having blankets during the H1N1 outbreak because they are not washed between flights. I hope they are washed after overseas flights at least!

 

[sayhello]

On a recent flight to Mexico there were no blankets. The Flight attendant said they had stopped having blankets during the H1N1 outbreak because they are not washed between flights. I hope they are washed after overseas flights at least!

Sayhello

 

[beachbunny]

I usually pop an ambien and sleep on redeyes. If I'm awake, I watch movies on my Ipod, soon to be upgraded to an Ipad, read a book, or watch the in-flight screens - usually longer flights have self-select movies/games/tv shows - I plug my Ipod headset into that. If you bring your own DVD player, make sure you have headphones - it gets really annoying if the person across the aisle is trying to sleep. I also bring something for lumbar support - my back starts to hurt on long flights, and my own blanket (if it's not in a sealed plastic bag, it has not been washed - ewwww).

 

[pjacobi]

For Eastbound flight to Europe, sleep or rest as much as possible. Skip the in-flight dinner and the movie. Eat everything for breakfast. Upon arrival, spend as much time as possible outside in the sun.

See also:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2426984


-Paul

 

[sabrecmc]

My 4 year old has her own iPod. I thought this was a little nuts until our first trip with it. Invaluable. We also have plenty of other activities, but the iPod is outstanding for entertainment for a child. I think the Touch will play games, like Toy Story Mania.

I put a whole season of some tv show on mine and have plenty of entertainment, but in small enough increments.

Layered clothing. I am usually either cold or hot on a plane. There is no happy medium for me, it seems!

Take some of those wisp toothbrushes and items to freshen up, like those disposable washclothes. You just feel so much better after doing that. Its a little thing, but it does help.