Updated November 30  /  Marisol Ferrante

Long-haul flight

This is not a packing list. It is an order of operations for eight hours or more in a seat.

The mistake I made for years was treating a long flight as a thing to endure and then recover from. It is easier to treat it as the first day of the trip and give it a plan. Nineteen lines, roughly in the order you use them.

Before boarding

• Fill the bottle after securityAirside water is free at a fountain and four euros at a shop.
• Eat something real in the terminalThen you can skip the first meal service and sleep through it.
• Set your watch to destination time nowNot on landing. Now. The decisions that follow get easier.
• Everything you need for eight hours into one small pouchSo the overhead bin stays shut for the whole flight.

In the seat pouch

• Eye maskThe single highest-value item on this page.
• Earplugs, foam, plus the headphonesFoam plugs beat noise cancelling for sleep and cost almost nothing.
• Lip balm and a small moisturiserCabin air is drier than most deserts. This is not vanity.
• Toothbrush and pasteBrushing an hour before landing changes the whole arrival.
• A spare pair of socksShoes off, fresh socks on, twenty minutes after take-off.
• Warm layerCabins run cold at night and the blanket is thin.
• Downloaded, not streamedTwo films and a long podcast, on the device before you leave home.
• A pen

During

• Water every hour you are awake
• Skip the second coffeeEspecially the one they bring ninety minutes before landing.
• Stand up twice, minimumOnce mid-flight, once before the final hour.
• Sleep on destination night, not departure nightThis is what the watch change was for.

Last hour

• Brush teeth, wash face
• Shoes back on before the descentFeet swell. Ask anyone who has fought a boot at 30,000 feet.
• Passport and any arrival form out of the pouch and into a pocket