help with long flights from london to honolulu
 

our flights from london to honolulu will take us 18 hrs including a two hour break at LAX any suggestions on how best to cope with this length of air travel would be gratefully recieved.

Yikes, can you break up the trip with a sleep over in LA?? This trip sounds too grueling. I would sleep over at a nice hotel and catch an early morning flight from LAX to Honolulu. Tina

For me I just surrender to the idea of no control. I don't watch the clock. Have any kids with you? If so create a good bag of treats and games and hand out on the later end of the flight. I am breaking up my Hawaiian travel with a stop over in LA would advise that you do the same. Friend visited me from Bristol England when I lived in Hawaii, she survived so will you. <BR><BR><BR>Request isle seat try to book flight with televisions on the back of the seats,more than one isle on all legs of your journey if possible. You will do fine!!!

actually my stop over is in SFO chez panisse one of America's finest restaurants is just 15 minutes outside of San Francisco.

If you can't or chose not to take 12 hours to sleep in LA, then the issue becomes one of health and survival. We took a 12 1/2 hour flight Cairo to NY and I was ready to parachute out of the plane after 10 hours. <BR><BR> Make sure you don't get dehydrated - that long with plane air is very dehydrating. Drink at least 2-3 liters of water. Aisle seat so you can at least stand up and stretch every 2 hours without annoying those seated next to you. Consider some sort of sleeping medication so you sleep soundly for at least part of the trip. Bring food - they will likely feed you twice on the flight, but if it stops or you have other connections than LA it might not be as often as you like and will certainly be airline mystery food. I still agree that a nights sleep in LA is worth the time and money since when you get to Honolulu you may be so worn out you lose a day of your trip just recovering.

Until the widespread use of jets in transatlantic travel, in the early 60s, the US-London trip was about 18 hours, with generally a refueling in Newfoundland.<BR><BR>People did it. It wasn't like climbing a mountain or running a marathon. You read, or slept. I was 19 hours going from NJ to Mildenhall in April 1961. And 6.5 hours coming back in 1965. <BR><BR>An 18-hour air trip grueling? Perhaps it's time for a reality check.

Here Here George you will be fine Linda, plenty of water, walks around the plane talk to others in the back. You are not going to the moon.

Sleeping aids work differently on different people. I have had them keep me just a bit awake and making sit up travel torturous.

It's not that bad. i flew from LA to Thailand and that was around 18 hours with a two hour stop in Seoul. Like other said, drink lots of water and walk around. sleeping pills are great if you have trouble sleeping on planes as I do.

George - you're so funny. We were laughing about the "grueling" 12 hour trip (with layovers) coming back from Vegas - and then comparing it to just over a 100 years ago when people traveled for weeks/months in wagons to go the same distance! It is a matter of perspective.<BR><BR>Linda, I don't know what to tell you beyond what others have written. I love to read but have a hard time reading beyond 3 to 4 hours. And there is only so much tv your brain can watch. So what do you do?<BR><BR>Be sure to take water and drink a lot even if means going to the restrooms more often. And try to walk around some - I've gotten into a habit of walking to the back of the plane and standing there for 20-30 minutes - it does wonders.

These long flight are grueling to me but mostly because I'm having a nicotine fit! I can't wait to get off and light up....

Well I just flew London-LA and the flight was as grueling as it usually is so I cannot even conceive adding another 5 hours to it to get to Hawaii--even with a 2 hr layover in LA this is a flight from hell. Try and break the trip up and stay overnight, you will be a zombie when you get to Hawaii if you don't. If you can't drug yourself on the plane (seriously, Tylenol PM can work) and try and sleep some, it will probably be a daytime flight so that is hard. Drink gallons of water. Get up and down a lot. Read several books. Wear very comfortable (loose) clothing.<BR>Bring snacks (granola bars).<BR><BR>Our flight was 12 hours (normally not quite that long) but we had a delay leaving Heathrow that added an extra hour, you have to factor in the possibility of delays too.<BR><BR>As for 2 hours in LA - well, with luck you can walk up and down in the terminal bldg. or if you are making a connection get some air in your lungs outside (I won't say fresh air, it's apt to be polluted with jet fuel fumes and car exhaust.<BR><BR>There really has got to be a better way then doing this straight through, call the airline and see what changes can be made at a minimal fee.

Linda, I had a similar experience flying from Detroit to Taipei with a stopover in Tokyo. It will be uncomfortable without a doubt. A few things helped make the return a little bit better. Wear loose clothing, skirts are better than pants and jeans. If possible, wear sandles or slides and take a pair of socks for wearing on the plane. Walk around while on the plane and also walk during the break in LAX. Finally, drink plenty of water. I hope you enjoy your trip.

Yikes! We just got back from a Fort Lauderdale to Hawaii trip which was not pleasant, to say the least. Yes, I would describe it as grueling!! (What people used to endure 100 years ago has no relevance on your travel woes, does it?) Our trip was two 5-1/2 hour legs separated by a 2 hour layover in LAX. Obviously, your trip is much longer so you have my sympathies. If it's still possible to change your plans and spend a night in CA before heading over to Hawaii, then DO IT! Seriously, when we go back to Hawaii we will definitely break up the flying. If this is just not possible then try to bring as many diversions (books & magazines, cards & games etc) and watch the movie. Like everyone else said, it's very important to drink lots of water and get up often. Good luck and enjoy Hawaii..... it is magical!!!!!

You don't have to have Lenore's reaction. I fly 12-14 hour flights to Hawaii yearly with no problem. But I am never looking at my watch 3 hours into the trip. I always try to think of the toughest car or bus ride I have endured and count my blessings. Be prepared for long and grueling and you will not think it long and grueling.<BR><BR> I get plenty of ideas for hiking trails, restaurants and the like on the islands while I am on board but I make sure to speak with plenty of different people. Makes for a fun journey. I really don't mind the haul. You will be on a plane with many people going home, making a yearly pilgrimage like me or just there for the first time on a honeymoon, in their aloha gear (sometimes). So cute last year there was this young couple walking around the plane, talking to people and video taping them. The groom wanted everyone to know he was on his honeymoon and having the time of his life. This kind of involvement always puts me in the spirit. The only problem is the flight home does not provide the same excitement but it is all outlook. You on the other hand will have plenty of Americans wanting to talk to you about England! I have enjoyed speaking with British people on my journeys back from England.<BR>

Thanks for all your replies,<BR>I never actually used the word grueling<BR>and we are certainly not being forced to go to Hawaii so i am not whingeing!<BR>the longest flight i have previously done is ten hours an i found that quite uncomfortable ,despite not drinking alchohol and drinking lots of water i felt quite dehydrated.<BR>the package we have booked does not allow for a stop over in lax(maybe thats why it is so cheap ?)so we will have to grin and bear that aspect.<BR>my real concern is the long day in regard to time differences.when is the best time to sleep? do we set our watches to hawaii time in london when we get on the plane and try to sleep the first leg of the journey(we are in premium economy so that should not be a problem)or should we try to sleep on the L.A to Honolulu flight ?<BR>luckly there are no kids with us and we are not smokers so no strain there .<BR>is there any where in LAX that we could use to take a shower ,it would be great to freshen up before our onward flight.

Know you never mentioned grueling I was referring to Lenore's comments.<BR><BR>yes you set your watches if you are coming on BA that usually have a travel video with everything from food to exercise options ot combat jet lag. I think Hawaii is 12 hours behind Hawaii my friend found that easy to adjust to and organize sleep time around. Almost certain that LAX has showers go to their website online to confirm.

You have something called premium economy in Britain. Sounds like the old cruise ship class order. Never saw a difference in economy sections on BA or Virgin. Curious what they do for you with this status.

Bring as much water as you can carry, some snacks and/or/meals, a neck pillow or regular pillow, ear plugs, and an eye mask. Also, plenty of books and magazines.<BR><BR>I recently endured a 24-hour flight to Bangkok. Yep. 15 hours from NYC to Seoul, 3-hour layover, and another 6 hours to Bangkok. <BR><BR>I only had 2 liters of water and it was gone after 4 hours. The flight attendants came around with tiny little sips of water every 3 hours or so - not nearly enough! Next time (if there is a next time) I plan to bring a full gallon with me. <BR><BR>Also, the feeding schedule was awful. We went for 9 hours without being served even a snack! Did I mention I have never ever slept on a plane? Can you imagine 9 waking hours w/o a meal? Luckily I brought enough snacks to keep me from starving.<BR><BR>Another suggestion - if you can, get exit row seats!! We managed to get them throughout all our flights. At least we didn't suffer any claustrophobia!<BR><BR>Yes, the whole ordeal was awful, especially with my inability to sleep on planes. I watched all the movies and finished off many books and magazines. You just have to do whatever will make time go by quickly. As for my travel companion, he slept 14 out of the 15 hours on the first leg :-P

Karen,<BR> premium economy is virgin airlines<BR>class in between first and economy it has first class style seats but with sevice only slightly better that economy ,its worth it just for the leg room.