24 Jan Six Plane Essentials
December is a prime travel season, that time when everyone hits the airports for family obligations and holiday travel. By Jan. 1, I’d flown from Seattle to Europe to southwest Florida and finally home to the Pacific Northwest – about 10,000 miles overall.
Friends and readers have often asked how I cope with so much air travel, without going crazy. My secret is that I treat the airport like other public spaces. Sure, security lines and gate changes have their hassles. A line is a line, no matter where you are, though – try a grocery store as a winter storm approaches or the interstate before the holiday weekend. Patience and planning go a long way; if you can approach the queue with a touch of Zen, the experience will become much easier.
Now, on to the plane itself: My carry-on is not complete without several items that I consider essential to a pleasant trip. Aside from my elite status, here are six things that make my air travels easier.
1. Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Yes, these over-the-ear noise blockers are a little expensive (starting cost is $299). But it’s some of the best money that you’ll ever spend. Whether it’s the family from Italy bickering over their seats or the half-drunk businessman from Texas or the poor baby with its ears stopped up, your Bose headphones tune it all out. I whip them on as soon as I enter the plane and keep them on until the end (while you have to turn them off as you taxi, they still block out much of the annoying ambient noise around you). Bonus: the in-flight movies sound better.
2. iPad
Long-haul flights provide some of the best times for me to catch up on my reading. So I load up my Kindle account with books and settle in. But the Kindle app isn’t the only one that comes in handy. I subscribe to the New York Times via iPad, and download the latest news before the flight takes off. Games like Bedazzled provide a break, and listening to my music is very preferable to the pre-programmed channels offered by the airlines.
3. Moisturizer
Airplanes are notoriously drying. I always have a mini-bottle of hand lotion and facial moisturizer to keep my skin moist and supple, and I apply it every few hours (eye drops do wonders as well). If you avoid drinking alcohol and coffee and ask for water instead, you’ll feel much better when you land.
4. Compression socks
Here’s another way to speed recovery at the end of a long flight. Although I do have medical reasons for wearing compression stockings (available at any drug store or in the airport shops), I’ve found that the increased circulation that the footwear provides not only reduces swelling during the flight, but makes me feel more comfortable once I land. So swallow your pride and get some (don’t worry, no one can tell you’re wearing them).
5. Saniwipes
This is a new item that I’ve added. I tend to get sick on the road fairly frequently, and while some ailments are due to outside forces, many can be traced to the proximity of other germy people. After a fall cruise sent me to bed with a vicious cold, I have become vigilant about wiping down the seat and armrests with Saniwipes and covering my hands when I open and close restroom doors. It might make me look a bit like a freak, but a few stares are better than being out of commission.
6. Advil PM
Some people sleep easily on flights. I don’t, unless I’ve been upgraded to first or business class. While I have a prescription for Ambien, I’ve shied away from using it in recent years (and if I do, I cut the tablets in half). Far more useful: Advil PM. Instead of taking it on the plane, however, I tend to wait and use it on the first night or two in my destination, to adjust to the local time zone.
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