Flight NZ - London
 

OK. I hate flying. I travel domestically every month and sit in terror the whole time. So I can't really be like that for a 22 hour flight. NZ - UK So I intend to be knocked out with some drugs.

But I would love to hear from people who have submitted to this torture. SHould I..

1) Stopover?
2) If so where? I'm leaning toward Asia - Hong Kong mainly to avoid US extra $$. Can you stop over in Canada? I always wanted to go there? How many days are needed b4 you get back on the plane?

3) What other tips are there for getting through that many hours? Do I need those leg sock thingees?

4) Any suggestions for which seats are the most likely to have a free one next to you?

Thanks for your help.

From a paranoid flyer.

PS Don't tell me to conquer my fear. I don't want to. I see fear as self preservation. And I still resent my primary school teacher for making me abseil at school camp. No fear was conquered then and none will be now!

Even if you take the shortest, most direct route, you get thrown off the plane at LA about eight hours before you got on at Auckland.

You there have an unexciting choice between hanging round the world's most horrid transit lounge (believe me: I've changed planes at Tashkent, Uzbekistan) or trying to get through US immigration, browse among the two convenience stores that LA provides for your entertainment and make any airport in the civilised world look like a shopping Mecca, and get back on the plane. That, plus the hangover from the drugs you took to start, plus the sane attitude Air NZ or Qantas/BA have to plying you with unlimited Southern Hemisphere hooch (DON'T fly on those killjoy US airlines) will guarantee you'll sleep till the plane starts its 3-hour circle over Heathrow.

My experience has been that I get back on at LA insensate and collapse back to sleep. Go the other way round, and stop off even at the obvious places (Singapore, KL, Hong Kong or Bangkok), and you get on the plane refreshed, and it takes a while to get to sleep. Take the time to visit India, Vietnam or Cambodia, and you're still excited about the places all the way back. Which I'd have thought would be the worst thing for you. However virtually any stopover that involves an overnight stay will reduce jetlag at the end of the journey: Flying direct from Down Under to London always zonks me for at least a week, whereas a clear five days somewhere halfway means I just have weird waking up patterns. Melatonoin and No Jet Lag (which I understand is a Kiwi invention) help.

Fare structures permitting, you can stop over virtually anywhere in the world, except possibly Timbuktu (though there is a routing via Perth and Jo'burg...). But anywhere other than LA or San Francisco involves more hours flying, which is surely what you want to avoid.

My own survival programme for this flight is to take a variety of distractions (at least three books, a reasonable amount of work and a laptop, and the last few months' unread magazines), to gorge on carbohydrates and try to drink the plane dry.

More importantly, on flights from Oz/NZ to the UK, I NEVER fly economy (and I'm paying my own money, don't have FF miles, and am far from rich). When travelling for pleasure, Mrs F and I invest immense energy in timing our flights around periods when there are Business Class deals on offer (any decent bricks-and-mortar travel agent should know about this), and quite small adjustments often help, like travelling on Christmas Day. And games with routing can help: I recently got a huge saving by theoretically flying AKL-LHR-Brussels, and not taking the LHR-BRU leg. London and Sydney are awash with experts on this, and it's the one route you shouldn't use the Internet for.

Business Class advantages include flat beds (at least on BA and most Qantas and Singapore flights), showers and comfy seats at the intermediate airport and on arrival at LHR, uncrowded boarding, power for your laptop, proper legroom, lots of room for carry on, concierge checkin at Singapore and most of all lots of space to walk around and do your exercises. The booze is better, but the only important criterion for booze at 35,000 ft is how quickly it'll send you to sleep. Complete waste of money on a 6 hr flight from New York, but worth every penny from your part of the world.

Getting a comfortable, affordable deal with an airline that understands long-haul (ie a British, Antipodean or Asian one) almost certainly involves a slightly longer routing - in your case possibly including (gasp!!!) Sydney. The most comfortable routing will always involve Singapore (where you can go for a swim in the airport during the 90 min stopover).

Anti-DVT socks? No idea if they work, but they can't hurt. ANYTHING that reduces worry must be good for you in this case.

Thanks flanneruk. Sounds like you've done the trip more than once.

I'll have to do the sums to see if I can afford business class..but it doesn't look hopeful as the NZD while strengthening every day at the moment isn't like spending pounds yet! I could go business and leave hubby in cattle. Hmmmm he might cry - better not.

Right-o stopover - check.

Do you prefer Qantas or Air NZ? (Wasn't planning on going anywhere near a US plane especially now they don't give you booze - refer to fear above - cheesy grin - I know its stupid). I remember as a child that Air Vanuatu serves bailey's champagne and whiskey the whole flight - they just keep walking up and down asking "can I fill that up". And there was no drinking age limit so me and my sis had some fun at 13. Although when you got off the plane in the heat on a tropical island ratfaced everyone went to sleep.

Just to digress.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Here's what I'd do.

Ring Air New Zealand or any decent travel agent and ask them about a 29,000 mile round-the-world fare issued <b>in Fiji</b> through Star Alliance (Air NZ, United, Lufthansa, Singapore, several other airlines.) The current cost for a 29,000 mile <i>business-class</i> ticket starting and ending in Nadi is just under US$4000, versus almost US$6000 for a business-class round trip from Auckland to London alone. You can pick up a fairly inexpensive return ticket from Auckland to Nadi (use the return portion at the end of the trip) and save a ton of money. 29,0000 miles allows a routing such as Nadi-Los Angeles-San Francisco-New York-London-Paris-Singapore-Auckland-Nadi, all on some of the best airlines in the world, with exemplary safety and service records. Or, if you want to make it quick, AKL-NAN-LAX-LHR-SIN-AKL-NAN-AKL.

Plus in business class the knockout drugs are bubbly and much more pleasant, and on most long-haul flights nowadays you get a flat-ish bed and blankets. Sleep through the time zones, awakening only for champagne and tea, as appropriate. The only way to go IMO.

Have a look at www.star-alliance.com for more info.

Qantas IMHO generally comes several country miles behind BA or Air NZ and is rarely on the same planet as the better Asian airlines. However, it's inconsistent, so sometimes is as good as when the Brits or Kiwis are having a bad day.

Incidentally, Air NZ LHR-AKL business return is currenty being advertised at &pound;1900 by better London bucketshops. And the last time I needed to go to Fiji on business (well, someone has to), an LHR-NAN ticket was actually cheaper if you flew on to Auckland then turned round and came back again (leading to the day I flew to New Zealand and stayed in your delightful country for three hours).

These things seem to change every three seconds, so talking to real dealers is always worthwhile.

Wilees, in addition to the good advice you are getting here, you might also try browsing or posting in the forums of FlyerTalk.com, a site for frequent fliers. There are sections for each of the major airlines, as well as trip reports. A few hours with the search function would probably turn up additional information.

I really like flanneruk's idea of trying to swing this in business class and I would also support Gardyloo's suggestion that you look into a round-the-world ticket. Both OneWorld and Star Alliance offer these in a choice of different distances. Your choice might be influenced by which airline you normally fly domestically, as you could easily accumulate sufficient frequent flier points on a RTW to qualify you for some kind of enhanced or elite status with your usual carrier.

If you do look at a RTW, look at the fine print on such things as the minimum number of stopovers, backtracking, etc. There is at least one forum on FlyerTalk that is devoted to RTWs. There is also someone who maintains a website that is dedicated to RTWs: www.rtwinfo.co.uk/ft/index.htm

Anselm