✈ Air Travel - Morning flight to the US

I saw the OP and figured this would be easy: just sleep as little as possible en route and then crash at night after you arrive. That usually works for me…but of course all of us respond in different ways.

Good luck!

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Do I look like I pay for my drinks? :rofl:

Yes, I mean the free drinks on the flights.

How was the light, noise, interruptions?

I’m usually up til 2am every night already so I’m thinking the easiest adjustment would be to stay up later, maybe get a little sleep the night before, then most on the plane.

I really think if I try to just stay awake the 24 hours of travel I’ll end up sleeping near the end, at the wrong time.

I did also spring for the economy+ which reclines 140 degrees.

I find trying to sleep as much as humanly possible on the plane is the best way to start.

If you have layovers, look for the sunshine and bathe your face in it (and do a lot of walking around).

Try not to go to bed before 9pm on the first night.

Walk around outside in the grass with your shoes off (???) (my mom’s coworker said so)

When you wake up at 2 a.m. wide awake and haven’t fallen asleep again by 3:30, just wake up and accept that it’s morning/time to start your day.

If you are waking up before the sun, sit outside and watch the sunrise. Then sit and enjoy the sunshine for at least 15 minutes (the more exposure to natural morning light, the better/faster your brain adjusts your circadian rhythm. So sitting outside all day is probably even better? But don’t get sun burned.)

All drugs and alcohol might make you sleepy, but they do not give you quality of sleep. 30 minutes of actually being asleep naturally is often better than hours of any drug(/alcohol) induced sleep. Do sleep meditations (lots of free downloads on your podcasting app of choice) and you’ll get better deep sleep, even if it’s for less time.

Hydration is necessary. Even coffee, though it makes you pee a lot, is hydration. Just make sure you’re also drinking water, etc.

No caffeine after noon during the first week. Nothing is stopping you from a pot of coffee or tea before that.

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You can’t really do anything about this. Your body is gonna do what it’s gonna do.

My way of dealing with this situation is thinking back to that unlovely economy class seat, and then thinking about my nice comfy bed, which now feels like paradise—I’ll then eventually fall back asleep. :slightly_smiling_face:

Guy

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My goal in life to is be rich enough to reasonable afford a business class ticket to and from Taiwan once a year to visit the in-laws

Having never flown business I don’t know if being able to lay all the way down would be as helpful as I think it would, but a man can dream

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It is.

I’ve never paid money for business class, but I’ve used points to upgrade or book a couple of times.

I suppose the value will vary. I’m almost completely incapable of sleeping while sitting. If you’re the lucky sort that CAN just pass out in an economy or economy plus seat, it’s probably not such a big deal.

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I think the economy+ will make a huge diff, it’s 140 degrees of recline vs 110. And maybe with the 6 inches of extra legroom you can put your head on the pull-out tray table and sleep that way?

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Depending on where you’re going in the US take a look at Asiana. They often have sub-$3000 USD business fares to the US.

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It’s become a bigger deal with the “densification” of economy seating, in which almost all airlines have added in an extra seat per row beyond what Boeing and indeed the airlines themselves had originally envisioned.

Guy

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This use of the tray is not recommended.

Guy

This airline may not exist much longer as it is in the process of merging—pending some bumps with EU and other regulators—with Korean Air.

Guy

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Long acting benzos like clonazepam or diazepam are the key. You can force yourself awake to eat and make transfers but pass out at a whim to make the flight easy. Estazolam is good too. I never get jet lag though.

Sure, but until that actually happens this is currently the best option IMO for out of pocket business tickets. (followed by JAL which can come in between $3-4k and has the bonus of departing from TSA if the connection works)

I am now experiencing the joys of Tokyo’s double hub system (NRT and HND). Let’s just say with sudden cancellations, this is not currently working out well for me.

Guy

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Oof, sorry to hear that. I have only done the NRT-HND transfer once and that was enough.

It’s not even doable now as we cannot—as individual noncitizens and nonresidents—enter Japan.

Guy

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The flight I took back to the US was mostly empty. I got an entire row to myself back in steerage. Laid out flat across the row. United is shit though. The “pillow” had literally nothing of substance and they know this full well, as they put blankets at each seat but you had to ask for a “pillow”

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This seems to be over now. Flew united from the to San Francisco and it was a full flight

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