<p>I remember very clearly a 17-hour flight from Australia. I do not sleep well on airplanes.</p>
<p>What happened was this: I took a nice 6-hour nap; I read a book; I watched a movie; I took a short hour-long nap; I read a book; I watched a movie. I checked the time and I had another five hours to go.</p>
<p>At this point (it was in the pre-Kindle years), people all over the airplane were realizing that they hadn’t brought enough to read. I organized a book swap. I read two more books and we finally landed. We had a two-hour layover and I bought another book for the last 3-hour flight.</p>
<p>So my advice: whatever your chosen form of entertainment on flights, bring LOTS of it. Bring choices. Bring War and Peace.</p>
<p>We are also taking a LONG trip (leaving home at 6 a.m. on one day…arriving at destination midnight the FOLLOWING day…whew). My guess is I’ll sleep on the overnight flight, but even after that we still have many many hours of travel on the plane.</p>
<p>Question…I have a great “pillow” but it’s a bit larger than a regular travel pillow. Will the airline let me carry that on along with my one carry on item? </p>
<p>We always travel with our own food. If what the airline serves is decent, that’s a bonus too.</p>
<p>If you take War and Peace, take it on your Kindle, Nook, or IPad. Otherwise you will likely exceed the weight for carry on (my DD told us her carry on also had a weight limit) :)</p>
<p>AL34-
Has the school sponsor/teacher done a visual check of each student’s passport?
Not only do they need one now but the expiration date needs to extend 6 months past your Germany trip.</p>
<p>If your feet have a tendency to swell, I would stash a pair of flip flops in my carryon, just in case. I prefer to wear sneakers. I can until them but keep them on during the flight, then retie at my destination without having to worry about squeezing my feet into too tight shoes. </p>
<p>If you have a heavy carryon, make sure you don’t let any airline personnel see you struggle to lift it. I’ve only had a foreign airline check in rep tell me my carryon was too heavy. It was a full-size roller bag but stuffed with electronics I couldn’t check. I successfully argued for keeping it by saying that I had flown over with it with no problem. That was the only time anyone ever questioned me about my carryon.</p>
<p>They are usually sticklers about the weight of your checked baggage. I always put the heavier items (books/papers, shoes) in the outer pocket of my checked suitcase. It’s pretty easy to transfer items to your carryon, if necessary. Shoes can always be laced/strapped to the outside of your carryon. Also leave room on the way over for the souvenirs you’ll bring back.</p>
<p>For nearly any flight, I always take a couple of Motrin because otherwise my knees get that odd/annoying feeling from being in the same position for long periods of time.</p>
<p>and, I nearly always change my shoes into comfortable warm house shoes for the flight.</p>
<p>I recently read War and Peace and, for myself, it’s not a plane book. I find that, not matter how good my intentions are, my ability to concentrate is not that great on a plane so I’ve learned to bring pageturner type books and lots of magazines. Kind of like beach reading, but not as pleasant of an environment. My last long flight, I wore very soft, loose cargo-type pants that I normally wouldn’t wear in public so I’d be comfortable. Layer on the top, bring socks for feet. Bring your own earbuds if you have them to watch movies as they will be more comfortable and you won’t have to pay the charge. Move your legs, even if you don’t get up. After my leg-swelling incident, I saw on the Internet that there are ways to move and circulate without getting up from your seat.</p>
<p>For me, the essential thing is the loose shoes and a few page-turners. I wear either Tevas, which don’t bind the feet at all, or clogs with socks that do not constrict the leg at all. Running shoes are a possibility, since they can be worn very loose.</p>
<p>I always choose an aisle seat, since I have claustrophobic tendencies that are exacerbated by the ceiling curving over my head near the window. Usually, I have a hard time sleeping on planes and almost always find them too hot. But based on recent experience, I think that in the future I will go the pashmina/neck pillow route.</p>
<p>The first international trip my D@ took was a school trip from Seattle to Ghana ( however they had a layover in Amsterdam)
I agree that with 70 teenagers you won’t be lacking for entertainment.</p>
<p>That reminds me of when D1 went on a senior year trip to Canyonlands, with about 30 jrs/srs when we could still stay until they boarded.
You should have * seen* the expression on the other passengers faces when they saw how many kids were on the flight!!! :eek: priceless.</p>
<p>I do not like flying even short trips- but D2 manages to sleep & she also recommends making sure you are well hydrated several days in advance.
I have a couple binaural beat apps which really seem to help if not with sleep, then pain/relaxation.
I have lots of books on my iPhone, & see more and more people reading kindles and iPads these days. It’s also really nice to have a few engrossing movies or tv shows on there.</p>
<p>Just did this. On the way over we were in the very back of the plane. I am usually very picky about my seat but for this flight as hard as I tried I could not get something better.It was not as bad as I expected. I had loaded some beach type reads on my Kindle. That kept me occupied for a portion of the trip. I always bring a pashmina scarf to use as a blanket.
Have a pen handy to fill out any documents.
Lucy makes some nice pants that look good for travel. This time I used a blow up pillow but usually I bring a memory foam horseshoe pillow. I find the memory foam more comfortable. I didn’t bring it on my recent trip because I was trying to conserve space. I find I bring snacks but rarely use them. A baggie with some nuts is good to have just in case.
2nd trying to get a economy plus seat if you are flying United. What I absolutely avoid is being in the center seat. I prefer the aisle but will take a window over being stuck between two people I don’t know.
I have a hard time sleeping on planes. I use advil PM but I don’t find it works all that well. One of these days I will ask my Dr for something stronger.
I did miss this trip the hot towel you used to get just prior to landing.
One positive point of my last trip. Flew one leg of each trip on Croatia Air. In just a two hour flight you get a halfway decent meal with excellent service.
I find I can’t concentrate on the movie unless I have my own screen. H watched all 4 movies on our last flight. I don’t have Bose headphones or something similar but before my next long trip I would make the investment.
have Fun
Adding- I only drink water and plenty of it</p>
<p>I typically fly out the country at least once/month, so here are some tips:</p>
<ol>
<li>If you tend to be hot, wear shorts & tank top or at least a breathable s/s tech shirt. I find long haul flights often don’t have good temp control, so it can be too hot/too cold in the same hour.<br></li>
<li>bring cardigan sweater. I love the silk/cashmere blend from Brooks Brothers.<br></li>
<li>I hate eye shades, so I have a large silk scarf that I loosely wrap/place over my eyes.</li>
<li>Silicone ear plugs - keep sound out better than foam ones. (available at drugstore. I got mine at CVS)</li>
<li>If you are in coach, use those microbead pillows that snap around your neck. </li>
<li>wear loose socks - not the ones you wore onto the plane. your feet will have sweat in your shoes. (I sometimes put my flipflops in my ‘flight’ bag).<br></li>
<li>Echoing prior comment - set your watch to your destination time as soon as you get on the plane.<br></li>
<li> If you plan to sleep within a few hours of boarding, have a few drinks before the flight, one with dinner and take a benadryl. (probably not a great idea if you need to be alert for the teens, but you can sleep. I have never taken Ambien, but it knocks my colleagues out for 12+ hours, which scares me in the event of an emergency. If you want to take it, try it at home first to know how you will react).</li>
<li>Drink LOTS of water. Take your own water bottle on the flight (you can take an empty one through security) and don’t be shy asking the flight attendents to fill it for you.</li>
<li>When you arrive, try to stay in the daylight for at least an hour to acclimate. When I get to Sydney, I try to go for a 15-20 minute run to loosen up the body & mind.</li>
</ol>
<p>Speaking of bottles, I just bought this bottle … [Home</a> page](<a href=“http://www.vapur.us%5DHome”>http://www.vapur.us) and will be “inaugurating” it on a flight this evening. If the link doesn’t work, google vapur water bottle. The gist is that it’s a flat water bottle that you can fill up after security, but it rolls back down so you’re not schlepping a big bottle around.</p>
<p>Re: sleeping as a chaperone- get together with other chaperones & decide on shifts- cause it just isn’t going to work if everyone is staying up the whole flight in case they are needed. ( & at least you know they can’t run off!)</p>
<p>Swelling of the feet and lower legs can be serious. No one has mentioned getting up and walking around on a regular basis. On a flight to Australia, the airlines kept showing a short video on feet and leg exercises that can be done in your seat. It’s important to keep the blood flowing.</p>
<p>Coming back from Korea a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t allowed to carry on a bottle of water that I had filled up after security. Fortunately it was disposable and I was just able to toss it. They were checking all carry-ons one last time as we were boarding. Those flat water bottles look great, but I would have hated to have had to toss one.</p>
<p>These are great ideas, thanks everyone. </p>
<p>Some people might like the TravelRest Ultimate Travel Pillow. I have one and I like it because it is so small deflated and surprisingly comfortable once you figure out the best way to use it (you need some patience). It does look a bit awkward, but comfort trumps that for me.</p>
<p>I have flown twice to China . I always bring a wash cloth that is damp and rubbed with a favorite soap . It feels great to wipe my face every few hours . I also take 1/2 an Ativan as I sleep for 3-4 hours . I do that twice on a trip to break things up a bit . My longest trip was with our 1 , 3 , and 7 year old to Australia ! My 1 year old turned 1 as we crossed over the international date line , and the flight attendant brought a LIT cupcake ! This was a child who was happy to click the seat belt for the first 3 hours of the flight . For dinner , he got strained Kidney Pie ! He is now 21 .</p>
<p>On a flight back from India I pretty much stood for a couple of hours in the back of the plane. Eventually a gentleman who looked like he could have been a Marshall came and stood near me for about an hour. I guess my behavior was unusual, but boy did my back and knees feel good. Other than that I slept in my seat or played games on my iPad. I definitely like a neck cushion and sound reduction headphones as well.</p>