What are your “must have” items to take onboard a long-haul flight?

30 comments

1. Cocaine and Greggs sausage rolls. Always worthwhile decanting vodka into your toiletries bottles as well.

2. Pair of wired headphones with a standard jack. The ones provided by the airline are shit.

   Although you might only get one channel depending on the plane

3. Noise cancelling headphones is the main one for me – Apart from using them to listen to music and watch the in-flight entertainment, I keep them on without listening to anything when I go to sleep on planes and it helps massively.

   Edit: Wired ones, to be specific. Can’t use wireless ones with in-flight entertainment! I have a pair of Bose QC25s that I’ve had for years – expensive, but well worth it.

4. empty water bottle. you can fill for free after security at filling station or cafe.

5. Buy/ fill up loads of extra water bottles at the airport. The cups they give you on the flight are always tiny and being up in the air for that long always makes you thirsty.

6. power bank

7. A fresh pair of socks – maybe two.

   Doesn’t sound like much but I found it game changing

8. Boiled sweets to suck on for take off and landing to help pop your ears. Earphones. Facemask to help you sleep perhaps. Take an empty bottle through security and fill it up once you’re past the point they scan your hand luggage.

9. Travel pillow. Wired headphones. Wear something comfy but warm. Cotton jogging trousers are ideal. Comfy trainers. Tablet with favorite downloaded shows. Eye mask.

10. Some slippers/slipper socks, way more comfortable than keeping your shoes on the whole time

11. Toothbrush and toothpaste.

    Tablet with some stuff already downloaded (in flight screens are sometimes terrible) films, TV shows and music.

    Noise cancelling headphones

12. A couple of books! Honestly time absolutely flies when you’re into a good book

13. I’d bring your own decent pair of headphones if you want to watch the in-flight entertainment. This may need to be wired.

    I’d also suggest moving around fairly regularly to keep your blood circulating, and wearing flight socks.

    Ear plugs and/or noise cancelling headphones are also a must!

    I wear a t-shirt in case the plane gets uncomfortably hot. I also have a warm jumper with me too, just in case it gets chilly.

14. I tend to pick up a boots meal deal just in case the plane food is completely inedible.

15. My anxiety tablets

16. I used to do a lot of long haul flights. 20+ long haul return trips a year. RIP my lifetime carbon footprint.

    It’s easy to over prepare.

    For me, comfortable clothes & footwear is a given. I also wouldn’t be without noise cancelling headphones either, but they are quite expensive. as others have mentioned an empty water bottle is useful. I also always have painkillers and loperamide / diarrhoea tablets just in case. A few snacks come in handy, less so for the flight but helpful for when you have landed and your body may be out of sync with local eating times.

    Day flight / night flight has different requirement. If you are going to be awake the whole time then focus on entertainment. 12h is a fair time to kill and you’ll get bored of in-flight movies.

    For a night flight I always take spare socks, sometimes a spare t-shirt too. It makes a world of difference to change into these when you wake up. I also always take ear plugs and a comfortable eye mask. Toothbrush & toothpaste will also make you feel more human.

17. I take antiseptic wipes to wipe down the tray table, arm rests and seat belt when I first get on the plane

18. As someone who recently had their suitcase lost by the airline for most of my trip, pack a few extra clothes in your carry on just in case (no pun intended). Same for toiletries and other essentials.

19. Big scarf. You can use it as an extra blanket, roll it up into a pillow or to stop bits of the seat digging into you.

20. A pen if you have to do immigration paperwork on the flight.

21. Take a small bag that you can put all your stuff in by your seat so you can keep track of valuables etc and aren’t having to get up and rummage about in the overhead locker every time you want something like a book or headphones.

    E.g. I use a small decathlon rucksack which costs about 2 quid and weighs nothing but it can be zipped up so I don’t lose stuff. At the end of the flight I just stick it back in my main carry on luggage after taking out my passport, phone etc.

22. Recently I had a long hall flight, ear plugs ( I get blue swimming ones that mould into your ear) and an eye mask to block out light for some decent sleep.

    Also some episodes of a show I like downloaded on my phone incase the inflight entertainment doesn’t interest me ( I’ve been binge watching better call Saul) and some podcasts to listen to if I want to rest my eyes.

    I also try and bring a sandwich/ snacks as I’m fussy about the airline food.

    Have paracetamol/ painkillers on hand incase you get something like an ear ache or a headache while on board.

23. Lip balm, moisturiser, and a bottle of water

    And headphones

24. Moisturiser and lipsalve – the air on planes is extremely dry.

    Also, a saline nasal spray for babies (the kind that you sniff and it stays in your sinuses). My sinuses always dry out, and the saline helps keeps the germs at bay so you don’t end up the the usual long-haul head cold.

25. Edibles

26. Usually take some edibles, they knock me out for about 10 hours, and POOF, I’ve time travelled and teleported.

27. I do a 31 hour total flight time journey to NZ every few years and have perfected my on flight bag now which covers me for day and night flights. I pack:

    – spare pants, socks and T-shirt
    – kindle, phone and chargers
    – small squishy pillow with a carabiner attached to clip to the outside of my bag
    – mini wash kit containing soap, face moisturiser, deodorant, toothbrush and paste, and a cloth in a bag to use as a wet wipe and wash cloth
    – a water bottle and coffee cup (it’s easier to fill the cup at the airports and decant into the bottle)
    – protein balls and sweets for energy between flights
    – headphones with attachment to plug into the plane’s thingy
    – a pair of sliders
    – ear plugs, eye mask and a sleeping pill
    – notepad, pen and mini bulldog clip so I can clip a sign to me saying wake/don’t wake for food/drinks if I’m sleeping
    – wear layers. It gets surprisingly cold on some flights especially night ones
    – I also have a bag/pouch within my bag that holds my passport, wallet, tickets, insurance stuff etc basically everything I would worry about losing. It’s way easier to keep it together and harder to lose or accidentally fall out without noticing

    Edited to add: forgot my Turkish towel. Perfect as a thin blanket as well as a towel plus packs really light. This all fits in my Kanken rucksack

28. Frequent flyer here, here are my top tips:

    Before you arrive at the airport, put all items which require separate scanning at security in a tote bag: laptop, iPad, any games consoles, hairdryers, liquids bag, etc
    That way you don’t need to annoy everyone fumbling around for your items and you can easily pack them away when you’ve gone through. I wish everyone did this.

    2. Get a face mist: If you’re prone to dry skin, get a face mist. The air on planes is so dehydrating and an occasional spritz feels great and smells good.

    3. Warm socks and slip on/off shoes: people who walk around the plane in just their normal socks give me the creeps. The toilets get pretty nasty on long haul flights (bins get filled up with used nappies, sanitary products, and there’s always one or two who manage to wee all over the floor. Do yourself a favour and wear washable sliders. Have warm socks because your feet will get freezing and many shoes end up feeling too tight due to air pressure.

    4. Snacks: don’t go for anything too sugary, and nuts are a bad idea in case there are people with allergies on the plane. The snacks they give you are never enough (imo) and you can eat something you actually enjoy.

    5. Sort of depends which airline you’re flying with, but bring a refillable water bottle. As I said, you get dehydrated on planes and the thimbles of water many airlines offer are a total joke.

    6. Bring your own blanket: admittedly this isn’t totally necessary but I am a bit of a germaphobe and find my own blanket more comforting than some horrible other one used by 928438383 people before me.

    That’s all I can come up with off the top of my head. Hope you have a great time away and that some of these tips help you out!

    Edit: if you have to fill out a landing card at your destination, have a pen handy. So much easier than waiting for hosts/hostesses to bring you one.

29. I cannot stress this enough – COMFY CLOTHES.

    I’ve seen so many people on long haul flights turn up in tight jeans, jackets, heels, or even suits!! You’re sitting down on a plane for hours and hours. Wear something comfy! Leggings, joggers, a snuggly jumper, whatever! And bring some warm layers too, the blankets are never thick enough and it’s always freezing for some reason.

    Also, headphones. Also also, flight socks. Nobody wants DVT.

30. **Clothing**: take something to wear just for the flight – whatever is comfy, tracksuit is good, or leggings even better. Change at the gate before boarding so you don’t have to worry about it onboard. Have at least clean underwear & socks to change into before landing, or when deboard.

    Hotel slippers or thick socks (search for ‘Cabin Socks’) so you don’t have to worry about shoes during the flight.

    **Sleep**: if it’s an overnight i.e. you’ll land in the AM local time, sleep as much as possible regardless of your take-off time, to minimise jetlag. Use booze, meditation, valium, melatonin, or whatever your preferred sleep aid is.

    Take earplugs (silicon ones are best for blocking sound), eye mask, neck cushion/inflatable camping pillow or whatever you find most comfortable. I like my Sea 2 Summit one.

    Make sure your seat belt is on & visible before you go to sleep.

    If you’ll be landing in the evening local time, try to stay awake the whole time so you land tired and ready to sleep – then use your preferred sleep aid to get to bed at the right local time.

    **Entertainment**: have options. If you like to read, have some books you really want to read on your kindle.

    In-flight entertainment is often shit imo – the screens suck even if the films don’t. Load up a couple of killer series and some new/favourite films on your phone/tablet.

    Good noise cancelling headphones are a must – whatever you can afford, Bose and Sony make the best ones. Make sure they’re fully charged.

    **Well-being**: get up & move whenever you want – do some stretches at the front/back of the cabin, walk around etc.

    During the ‘quiet’ times like between meals, you might find regular flyers & cabin crew hanging out in the rear galley – often good place for a chat, an extra drink, or some kind of treat like an ice cream or sweets they have knocking about but don’t distribute.

    Definitely have stuff to clean your teeth, wash/moisturise your face + put on deodorant before starting descent. You’ll feel much more human.

    **General**: Drink water. Be nice to the cabin crew and make their life easy. Don’t let jetlag ruin your holiday.

    ETA: wear a mask if you want to, for any reason. Consider black elderberry supplement too – plenty of research suggests it can significantly reduce cold/flu symptoms if you’re unlucky enough to pick up a virus from your fellow passengers.