I am not going to call myself a frequent long haul flyer (NOT YET ANYWAY *watch this space – or blog) or an expert for that matter, but I did recently make the journey to Japan and back again. Subsequently, I thought I would share my 10 Long Haul Flight Essentials, to make a 16 hour economy flight slightly more bearable.

For reference, we flew round trip with Air China from London Heathrow into Tokyo and out of Osaka (there’s more Japan travel hack content here if you fancy a nosey). Both legs of the journey involved an international transfer in Beijing. FYI this was by far the worst part of the journey! Who knew Beijing airport was such a disarray of utter chaos? Anyhow the tips:

1. TRAVEL PILLOW

Yes I fell head first into John Lewis’ travel inspired gift isle. No I lie. I just read some wicked reviews about this product before flying and I think you all need one. Tried, tested and compared with my other half’s cheaper counterpart. The Go Travel Ultimate Memory Pillow is super comfortable, very supportive, keeps its shape and is so soft. I did get this as a Christmas present so I didn’t feel the cost. It is a little pricey but I would 100% recommend.

2. SNACKS

I mean our flights did include inflight meals and drinks. However, the food was less than average and the frequency of drinks left a lot to be desired. Anyhow, whatever the duration of your flight, get some of your favourite foods. Whether this be crisps and chocolate or fruit and yogurt, grab yourself something to take on board. We managed to grab some takeaway slices of margarita pizza in Osaka airport which was so much better than the plane food!

3. DRESS COMFORTABLY

Nobody wants to get an hour into a sixteen hour journey and be uncomfortable. Pick an outfit that you can lounge around in and not have to worry about being too cold/hot or bloated. I just went for leggings, a black oversized t-shirt, cardigan and trainers – such a good decision!

4. CABIN BAG

Now you’re gonna need somewhere to put all of these bits and bobs. Luckily, my rucksack comes with a detachable, generously sized 20litre backpack which is ample for on the plane with you. Pick something that fits all the necessities in oh and PSA don’t leave your onward train tickets in you hold luggage make sure there in your hand luggage. Otherwise, you might land in London and they might be 36 hours behind you, in your bag that has been left all alone in Beijing…

5. IN-FLIGHT TOILETRIES

Now I never used to pay attention to this beauty rule. Because, lets face it beauty products and all that jazz are not really my bag. But, you can not go wrong with a packet of make up wipes to freshen up and remove any lurking make up that’s migrating from your face. A good moisturiser for face and body, lip balm and antibacterial hand gel – because planes carry a serious amount of germs. Finally, the best thing for 16 hours in the sky going from timezone to timezone, a toothbrush and mini tube of toothpaste – trust me you’ll feel like a new person.

6. A GOOD BOOK

Yes, yes and yes to this. Now I do love a gritty crime novel and FYI anything by Clare Mackintosh should be on your TBR. Or  to switch it up a bit, I am a sucker for a good romance and I adored ‘Miss You’ by Kate Eberlen last summer!

7. DOWNLOAD NETFLIX

I think *disclaimer I can not confirm, that you can check out the inflight entertainment before your journey. Although, this was not something we were able to do before our flight. Instead we were just bombarded with false information about how there weren’t any English films on the plane and everything was out of date. SO NOT TRUE, there were so many recently released films including: The Shape of Water, The Greatest Showman (don’t @ me but I wasn’t overly enamoured). However, we did watch WONDER starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson – I urge you to watch this immediately. Anyhow, my point was there’s always the option to download your fave Netflix shows or your current BBC drama fix from iPlayer before you go.

8. FLUFFY SOCKS

Okay they don’t have to be fluffy but warm, soft, comfy socks. The ones your Nan always gets you for Christmas. You won’t regret it.

9. HEADPHONES

Let’s face it, airline headphones are usually of astoundingly poor quality and if you’ve got a long flight ahead of you then you’re most likely to going to spend the majority of that time glued to a screen of some sort – definitely best done with your own headphones!

10. WEAR A WATCH

Keep up to date with the in-flight announcements and if you’re anything like my other half at watching the little virtual plane video of your location, then you can keep in check with the time on the ground which massively helps with adjusting and could help take the edge off the jet-lag.

If you have any more long haul flying tips, then please let me know in the comments. As hopefully in the very near future I will be able to put these to the test again. Thank-you as ever for reading x