Advice needed from frequent flyers

[Daniel]

As above really, i need any advice you can give me from booking flights to keeping distracted on long haul flights I've already applied for my passport and awaiting a passport interview to identify who i am and approve me to have one. so far thats all going well so i dont really need anymore advice on that side of things.

This June i will be flying over to Australia, as you can work out this is my first time outside the uk and first time on an airplane now people have said to me that i should try a short flight first, however if i do that and i dont like it i'll be tempted to drive/train back and never do it again. if i do the aus trip as my first im assuming that throwing myself in the deepend by going that far away that will hopefully cure any potential fears i have. besides it's not like i can drive or train it back from there anyway so it'll be tough if i dont like it

so again really, if i start panicing or even get really bored - what can i do? all answers will be appreciated thanks

[Stuart]

Buy a good book, like one of the Lonely Planet ones, to fuel your appetite for the trip. It will also give you some ideas about things that you may want to see or experience whilst you are there.

In terms of who you fly with, look at where you want to fly from and where you want to stop over before you get to Aus. Once you know this, it will make your chosen airline easier to decide upon.

Boredom? Most long haul flights will have great digital entertainment in the form of on-demand films, TV and music. Failing that you can always buy yourself some magazines at the airport, but knowing you, wouldn't you be better taking some paper and pencils and getting stuck into your artwork?

Panic, anxiety and stress? There are loads of simple relaxation techniques you can follow whilst you're at the airport or even on the plane. I won't spout statistics that I can't remember clearly but planes are safer than cars and boats. The take off bits is just like being in a car with reasonable torque; a nice steady push in the back. As for the rest of it, just make sure you have some hard boiled sweets for those moments when your ears go POP!

TonyNOS, Maxx or Bealo will know far more than me as each of them seems to be on and off planes all of the time Good luck.

[Ben]

It's actually far nicer to travel on a long haul than short haul - long haul are usually nice big planes with three rows of seat where as your short haul is crammed in there ... I remember begining to freak out though after 11 hours in the air on the way to Thailand

[pablo]

When on the plane buy thier over priced head set. You will need them to listern to the inflight movies and a great way to pass a few hours.

Do NOT take any food not even a banana into Australia or you may well get fined.

[Stuart]

I've never had to pay for them Pablo? (The headphones I mean) Good advice about the food. No meat products at all from the UK either.

[IWANT1]

<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Redface" smilieid="2" class="inlineimg"></o:smarttagtype> Buy a good quality parachute!<o></o>
My last long haul was 9 hours to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1>to Mexico</st1> </st1:country-region>the flight went very quickly it seemed like you were being feed all the time, on the way home I slept for the entire flight. I had to buy the daft headphone adaptor as it is a two prong. <o></o>
I fly a bit normally short haul <st1> <st1:city w:st="on">Holland</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> etc</st1> for work, after working on jet engines for 5 years and learning about all the various back up systems on board an aircraft I happily sleep on all flights.<o></o>

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[Tonynos]

Long haul flights are boring so try and make sure as much of it is at night as possible.
I've never flown to Australia but if I was going to, I would fly via Singapore as Singapore airlines are the best I have ever flown with and Changi must be one of the best airports in the world.
Try not to fly with Air France as Charles de Gaulle must be one of the worst major airports and there flights are shit unless you fly business or first class.
Personally I always try and get an isle seat so I can get up a walk about. It's a pain if your sitting by the window and need to get up to use the toilet and the people next to you are asleep.
Like has been said most long haul flights have good good films etc (unless flying Air France) but make sure you have something to read and a fully charged MP3 player.
Like has been said don't take any food into Australia as my grandad got fined for taking an apple in which was part of the airline meal.
If my 94 year old grandad and his lady friend can put up with flying out there your not going to have a problem

[Daniel]

Having a book of course! good thinking about the lonely planet Stu, will invest in that bugger before i go. i was planning on taking the ipod as well as my gameboy and games they are okay to take onboard as long as you dont use them on take off and decent so that will be an added time waster with the book

Well if at all possible i'd rather fly all the way to Geelong terminal that do a stop over in hong kong, the flight i found with Quantas is a return for

[russ979]

Dan, there realy is nothing to worry about mate. On a long haul flight i found that setting my time out in planned manner helped, ie;- i made a point of getting up every hour and a half and having a walk about (normaly to the back of the plane as this seems to be where the borded and restless gather!) And have a natter. Also the last time i flew i took a portable dvd player so i could watch my own films (but that was only a 5hour flight). As has already been said, i would go for a night flight and a window seat. I had a night flight back from lanzarote and the skies were clear so the views i had out the window were spectacular! All the coastlines were so clearly defined from the light polution i could even see cars driving along roads etc...But the real cool bit was as we came in towards england i could clearly see all along the south coast up towards london and beyond! Whatever you do Dan, do enjoy it? You will be on a decent large plane (not a squeazy jet sheep pen!)
Oh and the feeling you get when you are excelerating down the runway will give you an idea as to what running a forced induction skyline will be like.:D

[RX7]

Dan, you have nothing to worry about mate.

The key for me is to pick an aisle seat (contrary to what everyone says) near the back of the plane as often where the emergency exit is there are 2 seats instead of 3 and a bit more leg room. Failing that near the back of the plane as there is more space to stand up.

Deffo agree with walking about every hour as it helps relieve boredom and helps your muscles from cramping up.

As said above most long haul flights have tvs where you can watch films (usually a few months old films), tv shows (usually Friends, Frasier, Faulty Towers, Only fools etc) or listen to music. They even have some very basic games to play. I recommend getting some books to read also and stay away from the provided inflight mag as when you do the maths about how many people have touched it, spilt stuff, dribbled on it etc then its more hygenic to leave it well alone

You usually get 2 or 3 meals which can vary from being cold and cardboard tasting to OMG why is that so hot. My advice is to take some additional food with you in your hand luggage. Drinks are fine as you often get as many drinks as you want.

You could always see about getting a very cheap flight from Norwich to Amsterdam etc as thats only an hour and see how you get on. But personally the only thing you'll notice about the plane is the take off and landing, the middle part you could be anywhere.

Am jealous.....Australia is a place I'd love to visit at some point.