BobbyDazzler

Faced with the prospect of several longhaul flights to and from Oz in the coming months, and never having flown longhaul before, I wondered whether any of you jetsetters out there can offer any advice as to which items, apart from the obvious (earplugs, iPod, neck-pillow etc) to pack in our hand luggage to make the journey more bearable

I'd heard that certain airlines (BA/Qantas) provide 'refreshment packs' containing things like toothpaste, toothbrush, face wipes etc, but this is a bit of a 'fat bloke down the pub' yarn that I've taken with a pinch of salt, especially when this 'bloke' also mentioned that you get provided with 'Aladdin like' slippers too!!! :-)

BTW we are flying BA/Qantas!

Cheers

BD

PS A Very New Year to all those out there in Oz, or contemplating the move!

spalen

you should get an ammenity pack with toothpaste/etc from these airlines - it will contain socks, eye-patch, toothpaste/brush and maybe a shaving kit . it might contain some nice face pack or skin treatments to make you feel awake inmorning after the flight.

You dont need much else - just the things you mentioned , and remember to drink lots of water (cabin air is 20% humidity of normal air whichi s why you dehydrate so much on planes) and do the exercises for deep vein thrombosis and you'll be right.

maybe pack some nibbles and stuff tooincase the food isnt to your fancy.

Angela Marie

We always take small essential medical stuff in my purse such as indigestion tabs (airline food!!) and nuerofen. Together with plenty of water.
angela

Des

hi
besides the water and all the other things mentioned by everyone i like my BOSE QUITE COMFORT 2 NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES. i find them handy when i travel as they make the journey very quite and helps with the sleep, ofcourse they are awesome with the inflight entertainment. if you did not get them as a present for xmas its a good investiment at £280 but can be found cheaper on ebay i guess.

enjoy the flight

des

Anne4Terry

Don't forget to leave any uneaten nibbles on the plane as you are not allowed to take food into Oz.

Pollyana

You can bring food in if its in sealed packs, and you declare it, but I agree, abandon the nibbles on the aircraft.
Put a pack together of Nurofen, Rennies (or equivalent), small spray bottle of water - use on face every few hours., a good book or two, toothbrush and toothpaste - you usually get a brush but the paste is yucky! Most airlines do give packs, but the contents do vary, and are more stingy now than a few years ago.
Pack a change of underwear and a clean tshirt or shirt on your hand baggage and change just before you arrive - feeling fresh as you get off the aircraft can make things after that seem less hassle.
Take a bottle of water on board, in case they are busy at first or you get held up before takeoff - handy to have with you. Once on board, drink water, only drink vast quantities of alcohol if you know how your body copes at altitude. I have done the trip many times and know I can drink beer, but am wary of spirits. Be careful, what your body copes with on the ground is different at altitude.

h2oskineil

I'm in the same situation as you and I've bought a pair of Noise Cancelling Headphones for the Ipod/PSP and inflight entertainment.
Not used them on a flight yet, but they appear very good and filter almost all background noise by sending an opposite sound way to the ear piece and so cancelling out the noise.
There are many on the market, the ones I bought were Phillips, about £20 on Ebay.
http://www.srtl.co.uk/srtl/phones.html

Actually looking forward to the real test on the plane NEXT THURDAY... Oh My God!!! :-)

Regards
Neil.

Perthforme

I've got a pair of those big ass DJ style head phones for long haul as they are padded all the way round and are quiter for those around me.
Don't for get flight socks , asprin to thin the blood if your doc says its ok !!!
I get lots of kip on the flight to as for me it helps with jet lag

Centurion

I've flown more flights than I care to mention and I always include in a small backpack, frugally packed because you have to lug it around and are limited on hand luggage:

A decent book - usually bought airside from duty free at the airport since it wastes some time there.

Pyjamas (recommend NOT the favorite fluffy elephant ones etc) or very loose tracksuit bottoms and loose very lightweight top (planes get v warm I find). Then once the plane takes off, nip to the loo - get changed into those for a comfy flight and then before you land get changed back into you normal clothes.

That way you dont wear the same clothes for 30 hours, look like a crumpled newspaper who has been dragged through a hedge backward.

Other things:

Make use of the shower facilities at Singapore or any other transit location you have time to. They are excellent and very clean etc. It revives you and makes a huge difference.

I always try for the night flights simply as there are less kids being noisy as they are asleep and no matter how good the movies are, watching them for 14 hours can get a bit dull on a leg and sleep kills the time nicely.

Have a nice flight!