upgrade!!! also, take along a guidebook to read on the way over. I'm a frequent flier, and i am so happy to hear the suggestion of the high threadcount pillow case. I am packing mine in my carryon as we speak. Also, I always check with the airlines to see the outbound and inbound movie schedule, so I'll know whether or not I need additional time fillers..Enjoy Hawaii...don't forget to 'get leid' as soon as you get there :)Even though unless you're going on a tour, you'll have to purchase the lei yourself...but you can right at the terminal..and it's worth it!!!! :)

What a great thread! I'm flying in March for the first time since 1982. To Ireland, no less! So I can use all the "long flight" tips I can get! I've also been following the two fear of flight/travel anxiety threads!

Love the pillow case idea, Starrsville! And I'm intrigued by your "travel candle". Is this a special candle or just one you happen to take when you travel?

I think I'll post a separate message under this forum, but my chances of an upgrade are apparently very slim. The travel agent made the reservations through America West instead of US Air, where I hold LOTS of dividend miles. Do people sell, trade or give away their free upgrade certificates? Is it worth putting out a posting? What a let down that was - it really burst my bubble yesterday when I received the news.

For our long trips, we carry on the following:

1) Noise cancelling headphones.
2) MP3 or CD player (much better choices than the airline fare).
3) Bottled water.
4) Snacks in ziploc bags.
5) Books, games, puzzles to pass the time.

This April, we will be in the back of the "bus" also for our long trip to Hawaii. We fly through Atlanta and direct from there. I am not looking forward to the lengthy flight. I bought the kids a portable dvd for the ride for Christmas. We have exit row seats. Be careful to check if you book exit rows that they don't drop you from them. We booked our trip 9 months ago and every time they change the flight number(4 times already), I have to call and rebook the seats. The kids are going to be squashed. My daughter is now taller than me so she may have to take my seat for a while.
I plan to bring a good book, some tabloid magazines, guide books, snacks, and water bottles. Some snacks that we like to bring are cheese and crackers, grapes, and yogurts.

seats,.....which reminds me...make sure your seat RECLINES on this long a trip - usually, the last row doesn't (and being so close to the toilets on a long leg can bring some strange scents.....I don't happen to like the back 10-12 rows, if you have to be in coach - you get all the toilet lines, people stretching (like me:)) etc.... do all exit rows recline? or is it the row in front of them that doens't or only a little? somehow I remember something about which seats recline and which don't.....

Cashmere - socks, 2 pc. tank/cardigan top and pashima. So soft and breathable - good for most climates. The pashima is great for a coverup or as a pillow.
Magazines or easy reading material and drugs - ZZZZZ (:.
Sherry

Two words to remember: EXIT ROW

I am 6'2" and in the normal row I had maybe an inch on American before the guy in front of me reclined. On the way back we got an exit row and it was fine.

Water, comfortable clothes, and a good book. Sometimes two good books.

I forgot one essential, for me. A pair of arcopedico shoes, the ones with the sretchy open weave uppers. I put them in my carryon (they fold flat) and change on the plane. Swollen feet no longer bother me. They look dressy enough to wear off the plane and then you can change back in the airport.

I saw a few threads about taking a sleeping pill enroute to Europe. If you are traveling alone or planning on doing the driving, you might want to give your sleeping pill a test run prior to your trip. I took a full dose of a Rx before my trip my husband had to wake me the next morning. After talking with the pharmacist and scored my tablet in two and took a half dose on the plane. No problems.

My Panasonic portable dvd player (model LS50) has an optional 12 hour battery. Now I never have to worry about finding a plug. And you can usually take a ton of movies from your library for free or very cheap. If the due date is for before you come back, you can usually work something out with the librarian as long as they are older movies.

JT, can you explain a little more about these shoes please, such as brand name, where to buy them, etc. They sound terrific. Thanks

I seem to recall reading that it's dangerous to take any kind of medication that makes you sleep on long haul flights. Reason: if you're asleep, you don't move much, you don't move much, flight-related Deep Vein Thrombosis more likely.

Don't the airlines and medics nowadays advise us all to keep doing those in-flight exercises as preventative measures against DVT?

I do long-haul to the US from London regularly and although I dread the flight and how tired I am at the other end, I am not inclined to take a 'sleeper', just in case. I do, however, take 1 low dose aspirin for 3 days before travel, 1 immediately before the flight and 1 for 3 days post flight. That seems to be some of the the medical advice in the UK.

MaryJo

I take a little "beauty kit" with me that includes:

Olay face cloths
Toner
Moisturizer
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Cuticule pusher
Cuticle cream
Nail file

I always find that I sleep better with a freshly washed face and clean teeth, and with the dry air, the moisturizer really helps my skin stay comfortable. And then after I wake up, it is really refreshing to brush my teeth again and wash my face. If I am not sleeping, all the extra time is a good opportunity to give some extra attention to my cuticles and finger nails.

A tylenol PM is just tylenol with Benedryl, and you write simply sleep is "without the pain reliever," then it`s just benedryl? Why not just take the benedryl in that case, it`s probably cheaper.

For the flight - snacks, water, list of in-flight exercises and a horse-shoe type pillow to blow up.

I don't understand how some passengers can use those small pillows - no, I am not a germophobic, it's just that mine always ends up on the floor and some "samaritan" wakes me up handing it to me.

CAPH52, I keep a look out at Stein-Marts or similar for candles in metal tins with lids. Just saw one at Tuesday Morning this weekend for $4 with a yummy scent - "Tahitian Vanilla". I didn't get it because I have some stored for future trips already.

If I forget to pack the candle, I stop by a grocery or drugstore and just buy a small votive candle. It's amazing what a difference the scent of the candle can make in a hotel room.

I also buy fresh flowers if I am going to be in my room for more than 2 days. A manager I worked for would buy a small houseplant if he were going to be in a hotel room for a few days. He swore the plant helped with the smell and dryness (via transpiration) of the hotel room.

Can you tell I'm a nester?

FainaAgain - that's why I pack a high thread count pillowcase to put the yucky airplane pillow in. The thought of where it's been makes me shudder!

I'm about to travel from New Jersey to London then to Newcastle. Where can I buy one of those blow up neck pillows? I like the horse-shoe shaped ones that cradle the neck. Thanks!