Is it nap time yet?

VS

I don't know why it is a big deal if your pillow or blanket is sealed. The seats and headrests of those planes aren't rotated, steam-cleaned or sterilized between flights. The leather/vinyl ones probably can be wiped down, but I try not to think what is lurking in the fabric upholstery. Like carrybean, I haven't gotten the head lice .... yet.

Faina, I don't "do" Diet Coke. Just straight Pepsi for me. But I don't like blanket fuzz in my Pepsi.

I am now an executive secretary, but I was a flight attendant from 1985-1990 with an American carrier. It is true that blankets and pillows are recycled, without cleaning, from flight to flight. I have seen blankets dragged through the muck on a WC floor recycled for a following flight.

Bring you own pillow and blanket. A can of Lysol would hurt either, hon.

Handmaiden of Th--

Regardless of whether the blanket is clean (who really knows), I don't like the fact that they stick to you. I get them tangled around my legs.

So, I always take a large pashmina and wrap myself in that, if I'm chilly. It's also the lightest and best outerwear for any season--if it turns cold I can wear it over my coat. If it's just cool I wear it by itself.

Usually they do...but the blankets and pillows are a bit lackluster....the blankets always feel a bit scratchy to me, and I wonder if they just recycle them between flights...

I am only discussing coach, so I am not sure if they are different for first class, which I am assuming they would be.

Such good advice from the Handmaiden. :)

We almost always fly USairways to Europe. On transatlantic flights, I find their crappy little blankets are usually in plastic. The pillows never are. If you are flying coach, there will barely be room for you in the seat, let alone the pillow and blanket.

Take whatever you can to increase your comfort, because it is a hellishly crowded ride. I take a tiny kit with earplugs, sleeping pills, moisturizer, lip balm, eye dropa, and an eye shade.

I use my own blowup neck pillow, and put the airline pillow in the small of my back. I have had blanket problems with the tiny, nasty, static blankets, and I will buy a pashmina as other haave suggested.

Water, nice snacks, a book and if you can get all that in there with you, you will be lucky.

God bless those of us who fly coach to Europe on USAirways. It is no picnic.

Buying a pashmina...what a great suggestion! I was looking at Magellan's travel blanket, but really what purpose would it serve other than a flight? I'd rather have a two-for-one with the pasmina. Great idea. Thanks!

On my last flight home from Europe I observed the flight attendants placing the blankets on the floor in front of the washrooms to refold them before returning them to the plastic bags.

If you are really concerned, Flight 001 has a cool little 'first class flight pack' with blanket, eye mask & pillowcase for around $22. You could get that and pick up a cheapo pillow from WM or similar... then you would have it to take every time (probably be good for long car trips or naps on long train rides, too!).

Just a thought.

On the plane I once wore what they coyly call a Poncho; made partially of cashmere, soft, light, no adjusting or clutching, and surprisingly also wore it hanging around hotel rooms, once down to breakfast and once out and about. Probably not for the males though.

On another subject, anyone see the discussion on TheToday Show this week, that flight attendants routinely refill water bottles with tap water from the airplane's holding tank? He said don't drink the 'bottled' water they offer, unless you actually see them break the seal on the bottle. Otherwise the water is pretty grossly contaminated.
But then, another report recently compared toilet bowl water to ice cube water in fast food restaurants. Guess which one was cleaner? No kidding-- the toilets were cleaner. It was a test of significant numbers of BKs, McDs, TacoBells, etc. in the US
My point is-- it's pretty germy out there. No point in worrying over creepy-crawlies on blankets and pillows, if we're actually drinking them!

I've always "trusted" the blankets and pillows encased in plastic to be clean...(makes me wonder now,??, but one just makes the best of it. They do take up a lot of room and by time they are opened and punched around the seats and perhaps fallen to the floor, how clean are they anyway?
I carry my blow up neck pillow...and use the blanket and pillow for areas "away from my head".
(by the way and this isn't airplane...We've traveled oveseas a lot(AND in the U.S.of course) but in the past 3 or 4 years I always use a safety pin to fold over the pillow cases in hotels. The cases often slip down and expose the pillow which I KNOW are not cleaned every day. IT's just a routine I have,(perhaps silly?) even if I get extra pillows and between us have 5 pillow,, they are always pinned, and then "unpinned in the morning".

I don't do this because of germs, I do it because of comfort. I have a small curved neck pillow in my carryon (which I can't worry about if when using it I am 'picking up' germs on it as it leans against the airline seat which God knows when that was cleaned or the tray table, can't worry about those things, germs are everywhere) -

the neck pillow helps me no matter what hotel I am in if the pillows provided aren't comfortable, I use them to help me sleep.

I bring a large pashmina type scarf that doubles as my scarf, airline blanket, a wrap in the hotel room and out on the town.

I can only imagine how germy that thing is by the time I get it home !

Just imagine the germs on doorknobs and everything else we touch daily ! As my grandmother used to say, forget about it - the more germs you are exposed to she was sure the better your resistance and her classic line was always - honey, you'll eat more dirt than that before you die.

I'm not convinced that the more germs we're exposed to is better for us. As for the doorknobs in particular, I do try to avoid touching them with bare hands. In public bathrooms, not everyone washes their hands after using the toilet. I know for a fact that at my office there are some women (and men too I'm sure) who do not wash their hands after using the toilet.

francophile your post made me laugh - my mother used to make us wash our hands before AND after using a public bathroom - related to how dirty were our hands before we did our business ....then we had to dry our hands and use the paper towel to open the bathroom door and then aim for a 'slam dunk' into the wastebasket !!

also the old ivy joke....fill in what ever school you want, but regarding men:

two guys from Harvard and Yale using a mens room, Yale guy washes his hands, Harvard guy does not...Yale guy notices and says 'you didn't wash your hands' and the Harvard guy replies ' at Harvard, they teach us not to pee on our hands.'

agree wtih you about public restrooms, jsut can't bring myself to worry about everything in an airplane, or I'd be worrying everywhere I go!

escargot, I think there is one reason why there wastebaskets placed by the women's restroom entry doors nowadays. Many women, after washing and drying their hands with the paper towels use them to open the doorknobs and then dispose of them in the wastebaskets.

I don't use airline pillows or blankets, not out of worry of catching a "cold", but more likely headlice or scabies. Have had the joy of someone sharing headlice with me while travelling and do NOT want to repeat the experince!!!

NJA270 -

If it's that big a deal to you, take your own. I always travel with a pashmina shawl - not because I'm a germaphobe (not even close), but because it's soft, warm and takes very little room in my carry on. It's also nice to have when flying from a warm climate to a cold one. Keeps me warm until I can dig my coat from my checked luggage.