jscwrbary, rkk is right, the NW airbus 330 has the seatback entainment with the best selection of any carriers I've taken to Europe.

Good one, Fidel. I practice my viola vibrato, over and over. Very slowly...
Then I play along with the in-flight muzak.

Lately, I've been drinking wine & sleeping for at least 4 hours per flight. If I wake up, I drink more, read the airline mag until I get bored (takes ~ 5 mins) and go back to sleep.

Sometimes on the way over, I memorize street maps to the city where I'm headed. I also tape my sheet music together.

Worrying that the plane is going down. Or that my kids will wake up and wake everyone else up.

My flights are from the west coast US for much longer than 6 hours and overnight. I watch each and every movie shown (I can't imagine what I'd do without those spanky little seatback screens), enjoy every food and beverage cart service, read magazines, do little exercises in my seat, make trips to the bathroom. I can't sleep on planes so unfortunately that's out!

If you can do puzzles or crosswords, play cards, write in a journal, have your own laptop... those all seem to work also.

Solve sudoku puzzles. I get so involved that the hours fly by without me knowing. It's addictive and you just have to do one more...and one more... and one more.....

I HATE flying...hate it hate it hate it...but fly I must...and, I am in So. California and the flights are long (mostly go to Ireland). So, during the meal I take my Ambien and as soon as the trays are taken away I am out!! Now, that is the only way to fly!!
Shadow

Americans think they are bad off, try flying from Australia, seven hours to Singapore and then 14 to London. On the 14 hour flight take a mild sleeping tablet and then read, watch the screen on the back of the seat and go stir crazy.

This may be the easiest questions I have ever responded to on here...try to get my 2 kids to sleep or otherwise occupied.

Going overnight, 2 glasses of wine and an Ambien and try like heck to sleep.

Coming back, I always save a really good book to read and do crossword puzzles that I clip from the local paper and save for the trip home.

Let's see...on my trips to Asia (18hrs +), I do the following:
Figure out the IES, watch 1/2 a movie, have the IES break down, wait for the FAs to reset the system, wait for the IES to boot, watch 1/2 a movie, get bored, select a game, wait for game to load, play game, get bored, select next game, get into the game, click wrong button, get kicked out of game, get angry, give up, sleep, wake up, look out window, try luck at IES again, repeat.

I think this time, I might get myself one of those new fangled iPods and load up some movies to watch. The IES never likes me for some reason.

A small laptop computer to watch the "old" movies I've downloaded from Internet Archive.
On the way home I'll start editing my photos.

We have a travel Scrabble that we take in our carryon. Each game lasts about 2 hours or so.

If I'm trying to sleep, I put on my iPod and zone out. Otherwise, I like flying Continental because each seat has its own TV with a huge movie selection (everything from British version of "The Office" to "Pillow Talk"!).

Get on flight, take 2 benedryl, drink 2-3 glasses of wine (starting in the airport bar), mp3 with Interpol "Turn on the Bright Lights" on repeat--30 min later, sleeping until flight lands.

oops--missed the part in your post about not sleeping. Have played cards in the past--can be done solo or with travel partner and they take up no room.

I read. And sometimes ( when traveling alone) I have to spend my energy telling the person sitting next to me , is he is a man, not to put his elbow on my side of the seat. I say if he is a man because women do not do this....can any man tell me why they think they have the right to take over the arm rest and put their elbow on the other side???....sometimes I get real nice men who do not do this.

Interpol! They're an awesome band, aren't they? :D

Yeah, what's the deal with men always hogging the armrest with their elbows? I've noticed this, too.

I had a middle seat between two men on a 5 hr flight once. Completely hemmed in.

Pass out.

I read as many saved New Yorkers as I have room for in my carry-on.