Carli
Carli
A lot of people will tell you the best way to enjoy a long haul flight is by upgrading to premium economy or higher. While that’s true, it’s not exactly realistic for most people. These long haul flights tips will help you survive economy class and above for your extended travel journey.
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What is considered a long haul flight?
Many say a long haul flight is 6-8 hours and up, while 12 hours and up is an ultra-long haul. Living on the West Coast of the United States, I don’t personally consider 6 hours to be long haul, because that’s just a direct flight to Florida for me. I generally consider a long haul as 8-9 hours and up, usually where you’re crossing countries, or continents.
In 2025 alone I flew 11 long haul flights, mostly in economy, so I have lots of long haul flights tips to help make the most of the extended journey.
Which seats to book for a long haul flight
Fare class
In a dream world you are able to buy tickets in first class or business class to truly live your best life for an extended flight. But in reality, most people are flying economy class. If you have the money, or points to upgrade, definitely do it.
For long haul flights airlines will for sure have an economy class and some sort of first or business class. Some however will have levels in between like premium economy, which is more like domestic first class. Delta also has Comfort+ which is a step up from economy with more comfortable seats and extra legroom.
If you are thinking about upgrading your seat, look at the price difference and decide if the added cost is worth it to you. Many frequent fliers will break down the total cost, or the upcharge, per hour to decide. In my opinion, if you can only splurge one way, spend it on the flight home. You’ll already be tired from traveling and flying comfortably to get more rest will help fight off the jetlag when getting home.
Seat Selection
Check your seat before you select. There are sites like seatmaps.com where you can see the plane layout and any potential issues with your seat selection. This may include limited recline, close to the lavatories, no window in a window seat, no underseat storage etc. This website isn’t as good as SeatGuru (RIP), but has all the basics to help pick the best seat in your section.
It goes without saying but avoid the middle seat. If you’re traveling with a partner, friend(s) or family, this can’t always be avoided. If you are solo or in a couple, decide if you want the seats together or across the aisle.
Some planes are configured 2-4-2 (two seats on either window, with four seats in the middle) while other planes have a 3-3-3 configuration (3 seats in each section).
For window people, the choice is easy, you just need to pick which side of the plane you want. For aisle people you need to decide if you’d rather have the stranger next to you in the window or in the center section of the plane. Sometimes, if a flight is not very full, you may luck out and end up with a mostly empty row and no one next to you.
Unpopular opinion, I don’t mind sitting close to the lavatories. (I say this as a window person). There is plenty of circulation in the plane, and the bathrooms, that smells aren’t really an issue. The main annoyance is having people congregate in the aisles to wait for it to open. On the flip side, you can quickly tell when the bathroom is free (or less busy) to time your bathroom break correctly so you aren’t waiting or standing around as long.
How to survive a long flight in economy? Pay for your seat
Always pay and select your seat ahead of time. Is it annoying that sometimes you have to pay more just to have a seat assignment? Yes, absolutely. But, if you are traveling alone and don’t want to end up sandwiched between strangers in the back of the plane, it’s worth the extra cost.
There are times when you can play seat roulette. In 2024 I booked a last minute trip to Europe to visit Christmas markets. My flight home was on US Thanksgiving and was significantly cheaper than the rest of the week. There were tons of open seats available so I took the risk to not pay Condor for the seat assignment. Thankfully, I got lucky and landed in an aisle seat, and the flight was not full.
Keep in mind, just because there are lots of open seats does not mean the flight will be empty. If people (like me) book basic economy their seat isn’t assigned until they arrive at the airport. So the flight is actually much more full than it can appear.
Long haul flights tips from an expert traveler
How to stay comfortable flying for hours on end
Wear comfortable clothes
We are in the 2020s, not the 1960s. There’s no need to dress up for flights, especially when you’ll be on the plane anywhere from 8-14 hours. Dress as comfortably as possible and don’t wear anything that is too constricting or hard to put on or take off. For me that means sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Sometimes I prefer a hoodie, because it can help block out additional light, noise and help keep you warmer. I generally do not like to wear leggings on long haul flights because they do not keep me warm enough on the plane for that long of a flight.
Pro travel tips for long flights: you should always pack an extra set of clothes in your carryon. This is especially important if you check a bag, *just in case* anything happens to your luggage and it doesn’t meet you when you land. This includes a clean shirt, underwear, a lightweight pair of pants, shorts or leggings, and a swim suit for warm weather locations.
After a full day of traveling and walking miles through different airports you tend to feel pretty gross, and maybe a little ripe. I like having an extra shirt and underwear in my carryon to change into. If I’m traveling to a hot location, I also pack lightweight shorts and sandals so that I’m not dying of heat exhaustion in my sweats as soon as I leave the airport.
I also recommend traveling with compression socks to help with circulation and extra fuzzy socks to keep your feet warm when not wearing shoes.
Move around when you can
Aside from sleeping, it’s not healthy for your body to be stagnant and sitting in the same position for hours on end. If you’re on a 2-3 hour flight and getting up every hour, that is both strange and annoying to your seatmates. On an 8+ hour flight, getting up multiple times is to be expected.
Long distance flight tips: whenever your seatmate(s) is getting up, you get up, regardless of where you’re sitting. It is infinitely more annoying to have people move 30-40 minutes after people have already stood up and settled back in, than to make them get up a few times in 5 minutes.
Even if you don’t think you have to use the bathroom, go anyway. Take the time to walk around for a couple of minutes and stretch. In economy, you’ll find lavs located near the front of economy by the emergency exits, and in the back by the galley. These areas usually have a little extra standing space that is perfect for stretching. If it is a quiet time on the flight, you can take a couple extra minutes to walk up and down the aisle to move your body a little more before retaking your seat.
The best time to go to the bathroom is directly after meal service. Once the flight attendants come through to clear the food, and the carts have moved past the lavs you should make a move. Because as soon as the attendants are done, more people will be moving around and you’ll end up waiting awhile to use the facilities. Or, if you go while the carts are ahead of you in the aisle, you’ll have to wait until they’ve completed their service to get back to your seat.
Sleeping tips for a long flight
It’s very unlikely that you will be able to sleep for a large chunk of your flight. Most people find it hard to sleep on planes, especially in economy. Sleep when you can, and if you only sleep in 1-2 hour intervals that’s ok. It’s better to get a few longer “naps” in over the course of a 10+ hour flight than nothing.
Don’t worry about the time of day it is either where you took off, or where you’re going. If you feel tired, sleep. You can adjust your body clock once you get to your destination. And it’s better to oversleep than to barely sleep at all.
Do what helps put you to sleep normally. If you typically read before bed, do that to put your body and mind in the right state. If you use sleep meds, make sure you have those in your bag under your seat for easy access.
Personally, I like to put on a movie or show that either has a lot of dialog (no action films) or music. Documentaries are generally my go to because they either have a narrator with a very calming voice, or a lot of different interviews.
Be sure to pack an eye mask you are already comfortable wearing and bring a travel pillow. You’ll usually be provided a small pillow and blanket. I find that using the airline provided pillow behind my low back helps limit back aches after hours in the same position. Whereas a travel pillow does a better job of keeping your head and neck from flopping around and waking you up just as you start to nod off.
Eating & Drinking tips for international flights
Eating on your flight
Airline food is usually not going to be one of the more memorable meals of your trip (unless you spring for business class). That said, airline food has gotten better, and there are plenty of specialty selections (Kosher, Halal, vegan, etc.) to pre-order. You’re already paying for the meals so you might as well partake.
Flights will typically have (1) large meal within an hour of departure, another smaller meal about 90 minutes from arrival, and possibly a lighter snack in the middle depending on the length of the flight.
You certainly can eat at the airport before you get on the plane if you like. Just remember, international boarding (at least in the US) starts 1 hour before your flight leaves the gate. Sometimes it can still take another 20-30 minutes before being airborne if there is a long line of planes waiting to take off.
I strongly recommend staying awake through the first meal service if you can. You don’t want to wake up 4 hours into a 14 hour flight and have to wait another 8 hours for a meal because you slept through meal service. Being hangry at 30,000 feet is not fun.
If you do sleep through a meal service, you can ring the bell for a flight attendant and ask if they still have any meals left. If they do, they’ll usually heat one up and bring it to you. Just remember, you may not have options to select from, it will only be what’s left over. Don’t get mad at the attendants if you don’t get any food because you slept through service.
Long haul flight tips: Bring snacks! Make sure it’s filling and not just junk food. Protein bars, jerky, an airport snack box are all good options to get through any mid-flight hunger cravings. Plus, if you aren’t enjoying one of the meals, this is a great back up plan to make sure you still have something to eat.
To drink or not to drink
It’s tempting to want to enjoy the “open bar” on long haul international flights. And while a drink or two might help you to relax a bit, and possibly help you get to sleep you’re not going to want to drink too much.
Stick with water as much as possible, or non-caffinated drinks like ginger ale or juices. its easy to get dehydrated on a flight or to try to abstain from drinking to limit bathroom usage.
Bring a reusable water bottle with you on the flight. You should refill it before you get on the plane so that you do not need to wait for beverage service to have something to drink. Most airports have water filling stations. If you have lounge access, you can fill your water bottle in there before you fly. If you need more water, you can go to the galley while you’re up and ask one of the attendants to refill it for you.
How to keep busy on a long haul flight
One of the things I love most about long haul flight is, it is now one of the only times you get to be completely disconnected from the world. Some major airlines will have wifi available for part of the flight, or for the full flight with a fee. But airline wifi is pretty unreliable on international flights. Take this time to sit back and relax.
Long haul flights tips: Come prepared with your own source of entertainment! You never know when the wifi will be out or worse, the in flight entertainment goes down. And some airline carriers don’t even have in seat entertainment (I’m looking at you Alaska Airlines).
I always download 20-30 hours of TV and movies to my iPad *just in case*. This is a great time to be able to catch up on that one show you’ve been meaning to watch. Or sometimes, you just don’t see anything that looks interesting in the provided entertainment options.
Last year I flew 9 hours from Miami to Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas. They only had 40 movies, total! And half of them were in Spanish. Of the 20 left in English, only about 6 of them were from 2023 and later. Needless to say, the selection was limited.
Don’t forget to bring your noise cancelling headphones or a bluetooth headphone adaptor to connect to the in flight entertainment.
Flights are also a great time to research your trip. Sure you could have done this sooner. But if you’ve got 10+ hours, take 1-2 to go through a guidebook to narrow down some of the activities you want to do, neighborhoods you want to visit, or restaurants to try out.
For readers, make sure to load up your Kindle or e-reader with a few options ahead of time.
If you’re a gamer, bring your handheld device like a Switch and master the next game.
Health tips for long haul flights
There are a few things you’ll want to make sure you include in your carryon or personal bag. If you take any sort of prescriptions or supplements, have those easily accessible. If you have prescription meds that need to be taken at a certain time everyday, be sure to set an alarm or timer for when you need to take them.
Just like bringing a set of clothes in case anything happens with your luggage, you should always have a small toiletry bag with you as well. You can typically expect to find a travel toothbrush and toothpaste in the provided amenity kit (unless you’re on a budget airline) but everything else you’ll want to bring, like deodorant, contact solution, face wash, moisturizer etc.
By having these things on hand you can freshen up on the flight, or on a layover. I also recommend moisturizing before your flight since the constant airflow can dry out your skin. For bonus hydration, bring a sheet mask for the flight.
Long-haul flight tips: make the most of your layover
Unless you live in a huge hub city that has lots of direct international flights, there’s a good chance you’ll have a layover either before or after your long haul flight. Ideally you will want at least a 2 hour layover if you are transiting through multiple countries as you will need to go through customs on your layover. If you have access to an airport lounge, either through airline status, or a credit card, go to the lounge!
Even if you can only be there for 20-30 minutes, it’s worth it to grab a quick bite to eat and take a break to sit in a less chaotic environment.
If you’ve just landed from your long haul flight, get on the list for a shower room as soon as you get in. Even if you don’t take a full shower you can wash your face, brush your teeth and do a bit of a body wipe. Plus, you have the option to do a quick change into your extra set of clothes so you feel more fresh prior to your next flight.
If you are ending your flights after your long distance flight, but you have a lengthy drive or train ride ahead, you can still pop into the lounge after your flight to eat or shower before you leave. You just have to make sure you stay in the terminal after you go through customs.
Last tip: always be nice to your flight attendants!
Long Haul Flights Tips FAQs
How to survive long flights with anxiety?
The first step to flying any distance with anxiety is knowing your triggers and how to manage them. If you take anti-anxiety medication, make sure you have it in your bag. If you need to drown out the noise around you, bring noise cancelling headphones that can connect to your phone, tablet or the in flight entertainment.
Should you sleep after a long haul flight?
This depends entirely on what time it is where you land and how much you slept on the flight. If you arrive at 6am and are able to get into a hotel room, or back to your house and sleep for a few hours, yes go for it. Just be sure to set an alarm so you don’t oversleep. If you land at 3 or 4pm, you need to tough it out and stay up until later in the night to get your body adjusted to the local time.
Are long haul flights more comfortable?
No, generally people consider long haul flights more uncomfortable due to the length of time sitting in the same spot for hours on end.
How can you make a long flight more enjoyable especially if you find it cramped and boring?
Get up and stand a few times throughout the flight to move your body, stretch, and just get out of your seat. Bring whatever will entertain you for the duration of the flight. That could be a book, watching shows on a tablet or playing games. Do not rely on in flight entertainment from the airline to keep you occupied.
Additional travel tips and resources
- How to Use Your Phone while Traveling Internationally
- Where to book your travel
- The Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners
- 10 Practical Gifts for Travelers That They Will Actually Use
