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As I mentioned in my original rationale post, I was always worried about a 24-hour trip door-to-door. I had done 15 before, flying to a small town in Sweden for a work project. But my perspective changed after flying to Singapore last year. I had difficultly sleeping on the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong because I was adjusting to United’s business class seats after years of flying on American. But I slept like a rock on the Hong Kong-Singapore flight, stumbled into the hotel at 1:30am, slept another five hours, and felt wonderful.

I didn’t believe him before that, but my friend Dave insists that flying to Singapore is less stressful than flying to London, and he’s done a lot of both. But 9000 miles is a long way, and there are some things you need to consider:

1. Hydration. Airplanes suck water out of your body. You need to keep it topped off, especially if you’re going to sleep for a while. I take a bottle of water on any flight longer than 700 miles, and most flights shorter than that. For a very long flight such as LA-Sydney or Chicago-Hong Kong, I will buy four 20 oz. bottles of water at the airport for business class, and probably six if I was stuck flying in coach where service is much worse.
2. Minimal Alcohol. I like my liquor, but I do not drink very much of it on an airplane. I will usually have a drink right before I go to sleep, and that’s it.
3. Entertainment. Always assume that the power port and in-flight-entertainment on your flight will be inoperative. Even if I think I know what I want to do, I’ll probably change my mind by the time I get on the flight. Buy some cheap paperbacks off of ebay or at a library used book sale - stuff you won’t mind leaving behind. If you have a laptop, bring a variety of DVDs. I surprised myself by watching mostly half-hour comedies such as The Critic and Sports Night on my flight to Hong Kong, because I could doze off watching them. On the flight home, I watched full-length movies instead.
4. Your seat opponent. If you are lucky, you are flying with a friend or loved one, and you are on an airplane configuration without a middle seat. But otherwise, that person next to you is going to be there for a while. If you’re in an aisle seat, don’t pop that Ambien without at least giving your seat opponent the courtesy of using the lavatory and getting a refill on their beverage. If you’re in coach, consider bringing a Y-adapter for your DVD player and asking your neighbor if they’d like to watch as well. Little things make 9000 miles go by much faster.
5. Know where the handicapped lav is. Seriously. It makes it a lot easier to change clothes and freshen up. It usually has a diaper-changing table which can double as a table for your toiletry or duffel bag. For a long flight, I prefer to change before takeoff, and change back to street clothes an hour before landing.

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