What to Pack for a Crazy-Long International Flight
Maybe you’re a completely normal person who doesn’t sign up for a crazy long flight to Asia and then immediately start obsessing over how to survive it — I am not one of those people. Upon booking my flight from DFW to Singapore, I immediately started wondering, “oh holy hell, this is a 16.5 hour long flight followed by another 3.5 hour long flight – what the fark do I pack to keep myself sane?”. I read a crap ton of blog posts out there, but when it came down to it, I totally winged it and packed what I normally would have, and thought I would share what worked well … and what didn’t.
To recap, this was a business trip to Singapore. My colleague and I flew out of DFW airport around noon, we spent 16.5 hours in the air, and then landed in Hong Kong at 6:30pm (their time). We then had a half hour layover, and a 3.5 hour flight to Singapore, getting us to our final destination at almost midnight (Singapore time) … things didn’t exactly happen that way, but this was the plan (more details on that later). On our long flight we were lucky enough to be in “Economy Extra” on a brand spankin’ new American Airlines 777-300. We had extra legroom and extra reclining room, a USB port, electric outlets, and in-seat entertainment which bordered on insanity – something like 200 movies, TV shows, music, games, etc. My colleague and I agreed that we would get on the plane, eat the first meal, and then try our damnedest to fall asleep as soon and as for as long as possible.
Yeah, that didn’t really work out.
Regardless, here’s what I packed, and here’s how the flight went – but for those of you who don’t want to sift through all the boring packing details, the gist of this post is: fark everyone else and what THEY would bring, if you’re going to be in a seat for over 16 hours straight you had better pack for you and yourself only because DAMN that’s a long time to go without chocolate.
To start with, I carried on two bags with me – a small, rolling Travelon case and my computer bag. The laptop and it’s bag spent most of the time up in the overhead compartment, and the Travelon went under the seat in front of me and actually doubled as a foot rest, which was absolutely necessary for when I was trying to sleep. I highly recommend having something down there to help you stretch your legs out as far as possible.
This is what my Travelon looked like once it was all packed up. I cannot say enough how much I loved this little bag – it was super easy to get inside of in a tight situation (I was in the middle seat – yeah), it rolled nicely, it attached to my bigger suitcase once I picked it up. The only thing that would have made it better is if it had the spinner wheels on it, but then it would have been taller. Oh well.
Let’s break it down a little bit now:
I wore yoga pants, one of these AMAZING tunics that I swear by (I’m serious when I say I own five different colors) over a tank and sports bra, a hoodie, and socks/chucks, and brought an extra tunic and pair of underwear just in case (and thank gawd I did – because my suitcase didn’t arrive when it was supposed to). Small but warm slippers are a must – because there was no way I was a) walking into a plane bathroom in just my socks (ew) or b) keeping my shoes on for 24 hours straight. I also got an Aeris Travel Pillow from Amazon and tied that sucker to the outside of my suitcase – it was amazing, and perfect for keeping my neck comfy.
This is just a small sampling of what was in my toiletry bag – but I pictured the important things. I didn’t wear my contacts at all during my day of travel since I absolutely am not allowed to sleep in them. I also wore very minimal makeup – concealer under the eyes (to hide those dark circles which were absolutely present), mascara and chapstick were the only pieces I stuck in my small makeup bag. Also, I had never used an eye mask before but OH MAI GAWD it was wonderful! Absolutely the most important thing I bought – it made sleeping and staying asleep so much easier.
This is where I over-packed – with me trying to sleep as much as possible, and with the in-seat entertainment options I had, there was absolutely no need for an iPad, or even really a book (because turning on the light to read was really hard with everyone else trying to sleep). I didn’t even really use the headphones much because a) it wasn’t very easy to wear them and my neck pillow and b) they gave me a headache so I wore my ear buds most of the time. Next time, I’ll bring the buds, my phone, and that’ll be it – there was so much to watch in the in-seat entertainment.
This is a Vera Bradley wallet (not the exact one, but close enough), which I bought at one of their outlets for like $25. It was the perfect size to hold all of my cards including my passport, and was also very light. It stayed inside my Travelon for the most part, but having the wristlet cord was nice when I needed it out but wanted it to stay secure.
Things I learned from this trip?
I should have packed more snacks – I was CONSTANTLY hungry, and while I tried to fill up in the airports (to avoid having to eat the horrible airplane food) I was always still wanting something to eat while sitting and watching movies. So, pack snacks. Also, grab a water bottle once you’ve gone through security.
Use the in-seat entertainment – I realize that not every plane will have something so fancy, but it’s becoming more and more normal for longer flights to have really great entertainment options available. Use them so you don’t have to bring your own.
Bring a COMPLETE change of clothes – our flight from Hong Kong to Singapore got messed up, and my checked bag (with all my clothes) didn’t make it to Sinagpore until the next afternoon. After 26 hours of traveling I REALLY wanted some clean pants to wear … and I had none. Pack an entire change of clothes in your carry on, even if they’re just yoga pants and a tee shirt.
That’s it folks – did I miss something? If you have a packing/traveling tip you’d like to share, leave it in the comments below!
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