9 1/2 hrs to Anchorage - how to cope ?
 

On Saturday, I will be taking a NWA flight JFK-DTW-ANC with 1 hour stop in DTW. I am a very infrequent flyer. I am fairly tall (will try to get exit row seat at boarding) and absolutely hate long flights. Unfortunately, this is the shortest option to Alaska from NYC since CO stopped flying there non-stop from EWR. It is my understanding that I will have to take some food with me on the plane. I would like to hear from seasoned travellers about how to best cope with a long flight. Any advice or opinion is welcome and appreciated.

If you can't get an exit row (which, sadly, is probably unlikely as those are usually assigned to elite members of airline frequent flyer programs) then by all means try for an aisle seat, so that you can get up and walk to the loo or just stretch your legs a couple of times in the flight. Or if you get a window, make a pact with the others in your row so that you can cooperate on leg-stretching without inconveniencing them repeatedly.

Based on today's seating availability chart, there are at least 9 empty seats in the coach section of your ANC plane (I assume the 3:39 PM flight DTW-ANC) so do try for an aisle with an empty middle seat so you can raise the armrest and/or sit sideways a little for more leg-stretching space. Also consider some support stockings (I know, geeky, but potentially beneficial) to minimize DVT risk. Water. No booze. Good book. Noise-canceling headphones ($50 at any Radio Shack and worth lots more IMO.)

Good luck.

Thanks, Gardyloo.
I just called NWA reservation. They said I can try to get an exit seat 24-hrs or less from the flight. I will be checking seat map then. In the meantime, they moved me to aisle seat 21D, (I was 32A). I will explore noise-blocking headphones. Never heard of them before.Sounds interesting.

Noise cancelling headphones -

Not all are created equal. If you do decide to purchase a set, don't waste your money on the "cheaper" models. True noise cancelling models usually start at $100 and some go for a lot more. The $29 or $39 models you will see at your local electronic department stores and at some airport shops are nothing more than regular headphones with VERY limited noise cancelling capabilities. You will be disappointed at the results with one of these models. The cheaper models have the tendency to block the actual audio that you are trying to listen to as well as not providing the true noise free environment.

Just something to think about when looking into purchasing one of these units.

AAFrequentFlyer, thanks for your note. But how do these noise-blocking devices work? Aren't they suppose to just block all sounds ? Thanks again.

I believe DTW-ANC uses a 757-200, and there's no inflight entertainment. So, if you bring your headphones, make sure you have something to listen to.

AAFF - respectfully disagree. The Radio Shack ones I mentioned are rebranded "Plane Quiet" phones which have consistently received top reviews, and when I tried them on they were virtually as effective at canceling (granted, music out of speakers rather than jet noise) ambient sound as the Bose QC2s I'd tried on the day before. And $40 v. $300 means you could throw them out (or lose them) and replace them 5 or 6 times for the price.

I ended up getting (2 pr., for self and spouse) of some JVC N/C phones, $45 each on Amazon, that are extremely sturdy, extremely comfortable on longhaul flights, and very effective at blocking the noise, even with the N/C circuitry disabled. They're "over the ear" vs. the "on top of the ear" phones like Sennheisers, so the soft pads stay on better and create a fair amount of noise reduction on their own. Plus the cord retracts into the headset and they fold up quite nicely into a faux leather tote. Highly recommended.

They could be used either way. You don't have to listen to anything or you could listen to audio source in a much cleaner noise environment. Noise cancelling headphones will block out the "outside" noise whether you are listening to an audio source or not. With the cheap units you will either have a hard time listening to your audio source (if you choose to plug in to a source), or the noise cancelling capability is not very good and it basically just covers the extreme high noises, not the more difficult to block low noises, such as airplane engine hum.

Maybe a sound engineer specialist can explain the details to you, but trust me, the cheap models are very disappointing even to a "uneducated" ear. :-)

Gardyloo - can your device from RadioShack be used without music, just to block plane noise?
Thanks

<b>Gardyloo</b>,

I'm not saying that you are wrong. The headphones you purchased are obiously working for you, so who am I to say otherwise. Yet after averaging about 125-150K miles a year in the last few years on planes I went through a personal &quot;test&quot; stage and the only choice for me are the BOSE QC2s, but only when AA supplies them on flights :-D. They are a bit expensive and too balky for this traveler. My own personal choice (2nd unit, as I left the first one on a plane :-( ), is the Sony's MDR-NC11A model. These are the inner ear type. The set is very compact, comes in a tiny suede pouch with different size ear plugs. They are FANTASTIC and they IMHO are the best thing on the market right now at the &quot;lower&quot; noise cancelling price range. The set retails in the US for $150, but I have seen it on EBay for ~$100. I purchased my first set in Tokyo (~$85) and the new set in Hong Kong (~$100). For anybody that flies a lot and luggage space is at premium and wants a wonderful noise cancelling capability, I highly recommend this set.

Noise-cancelling headphones have microphones that detect ambience noise, and then create an opposite soundwave to cancel out the original.

A good one will not cancel out the music itself; but many are designed to cancel only the low frequencies. For example, my Sony MDR-NC10 cuts engine noise from planes, trains and buses very effectively, but the noise-reduction circuits will not cut the crying babies. [Well, my in-ear Sonys cut all noises very well because of it sits deep in the ear canal; its effectively is not because of the noise-cancelling.]

ecost.com has the refurbished Sony MDR-NC11 (newer, nicer looking model than my NC10) for ~$60.

The in-ear type buds do take some time to get used to, however.

FYI only -

There is a company that will make the inner buds for your ear ONLY! The set costs ~$500 and I believe they do advertise and sell on <b>www.skymall.com</b>

Little too much for me but perhaps someone could use this information.

For me, the supplied buds are just great.

Are the exit row seats reclinable on the ANC flights that OP is taking?

Oleg, can they be used to reduce general noise (engine, wind, etc.)? - Yes. With no other audio input, you will still (somewhat faintly) hear all of these things, as none of them (including the Bose) will block everything. In fact, increasingly airlines are requiring that the noise-canceling function be switched off during takeoffs and landings, so that you can hear the cabin attendent's safety messages. But even without your own audio source, they're quite good in taking the &quot;edge&quot; off cabin noise, useful for long voyages in planes with high kid content.

I actually &quot;road tested&quot; mine a week before their first use in a plane by attaching them to an mp3 player and driving around on some errands in my rather noisy personal car. Way, way too dangerous. I wouldn't have been able to hear a siren until the ambulance ran me over.

I really wanted to do a side-by-side comparison in some recent longhaul flights with the 'phones offered by the airline. Sadly, AA doesn't offer Bose phones on all flights in first class, and British Airways doesn't offer them period (which is pretty lame when you think about how much they hype their premium products.) Cathay Pacific has NC 'phones, but the attachment point and the plug configuration are such that no one but a CX FA with teeny little hands and wrists can plug them in (buried deep in the sidewall of the business class seats.) So no side-by-sides yet in the air.

Gardyloo,
&quot;...long voyages in planes with high kid content.&quot;
This is exactly why I am strongly considering this device you recommend.

Thanks.

If the provided ear buds don't suit you, an audiologist (a hearing aid fitter) can make custom plugs for you. Mine cost about $100 and work very well. So I ended up with the Sonys from ebay for $76 and custom earbuds for $100; superb performance and very comfortable (I wear glasses so some headphones don't work for me.

Count me among those who think the Bose are severely overpriced. I have a pair of Aiwa's from Radio Shack for $50 which, to my ear, perform just as well as the Bose, but I only tried the Bose once.