Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone ever taken a flight longer than 10 hours knows what I'm asking....I've found myself twisting and turning in my seat trying to get comfortable...my legs have turned blue and were swolen.
I haven't flown overseas in years...but remember the pain. Can you give me some tips and tricks on how to deal with long plane rides. East coast to West Coast- 1 hr layover then to Korea. OUCH!
Is it worth the 150 dollar per person to get those 'choice' seats near the front?....wait! It's 150 more each way.
Someone said to bring sleeping pills. That I will do! But what else? Am taking United.
EDIT: forgot to add- there are 3 of us and we have the whole row...3 seater row on the side next to the window. So we won't have to share with strangers.
I am quite tall and have very long legs so I feel your pain. I also have mobility issues relating to a serious tendon injury so the swelling is even worse for me than healthy people. I find most airlines' seats really cramped and horribly uncomfortable . I am going on United myself for my forthcoming trip to New Mexico and am dreading the journey.
I always try the following though :
Drink plenty of water
Exercise your legs as much as possible whether under your seat or by moving around the aircraft
Keep off carbonated drinks and alcohol
Take your shoes off and wear loose clothing
Inflight anti-thrombosis socks are supposed to help but I have never tried them
Get a very mild sleeping pill
Eyemask to mask out the light
Earplugs to stop the noise
Spray your face with a water mist ( keeps you hydrated and it is really refreshing)
Cooling hand wipes
A good book or an MP3 with your favourite music
I have just been recommended by a fellow world traveller to take with me an inflatable footrest to allow my feet to be at a more healthy level ( will keep the swelling down) . She said it made it far more comfortable and made her legs a lot less restless and swelling was kept to a minimum. I have just bought one.
I am quite tall and have very long legs so I feel your pain. I also have mobility issues relating to a serious tendon injury so the swelling is even worse for me than healthy people. I find most airlines' seats really cramped and horribly uncomfortable . I am going on United myself for my forthcoming trip to New Mexico and am dreading the journey.
For such a long journey I would personally pay the extra $300 to get better seats.
I second that emotion!
Last year I flew nearly 13 hours to New Zealand and then to UK and back this Summer. Even with an aisle seat that allowed me to stretch my (short) legs, I really wished I'd splurged on the extra leg room! (And of course in the high season, the airlines cram on extra rows of seats so the space between is even smaller.) My right knee especially gets painful and stiff so when I slept most of the way to England I woke up with a leg so sore that I limped for the next 2 days and even lying down was uncomfortable.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,712 posts, read 58,054,000 times
Reputation: 46182
Upper Deck 747-100, window seat. (gives you a great footrest / luggage compartment/ blanket chest)
that said... AND realizing you won't get it for $300 extra... as mentioned
water, lots of it,
exercise, lots of it
walking around, lots of it
stretching exercises
nice socks
I did Asia flights (19 hrs) every other week for ~ 10 yrs. I'm very glad I didn't get swelling on legs, but did have serious issues with sweat / heat rash. (even tho I'm a 'skinny' kid.)
I am quite tall and have very long legs so I feel your pain. I also have mobility issues relating to a serious tendon injury so the swelling is even worse for me than healthy people. I find most airlines' seats really cramped and horribly uncomfortable . I am going on United myself for my forthcoming trip to New Mexico and am dreading the journey.
I always try the following though :
Drink plenty of water
Exercise your legs as much as possible whether under your seat or by moving around the aircraft
Keep off carbonated drinks and alcohol
Take your shoes off and wear loose clothing
Inflight anti-thrombosis socks are supposed to help but I have never tried them
Get a very mild sleeping pill
Eyemask to mask out the light
Earplugs to stop the noise
Spray your face with a water mist ( keeps you hydrated and it is really refreshing)
Cooling hand wipes
A good book or an MP3 with your favourite music
I have just been recommended by a fellow world traveller to take with me an inflatable footrest to allow my feet to be at a more healthy level ( will keep the swelling down) . She said it made it far more comfortable and made her legs a lot less restless and swelling was kept to a minimum. I have just bought one.
Can't tell you the number of times I've observed first/biz class passengers move to coach to find seats, lift armrests and take a real nap.
Key is, keep the kickers elevated, drink LOTS of water/juice (juice for the electrolytes) and drinking those will have you getting up to get to the head, plenty.
If your flight isn't too full, maybe you can find 3 empty seats to get totally elevated for at least some of the time. Good luck.
747-100? When was the last time you flew? I don't think even any cargo carriers fly those buckets anymore.
747's are still very much in use. The upper deck he talked about is business class only, at least on the equipment I flew on. Business class on many airlines for long range travel have full recline seats, that's 90 degrees - i.e, a bed. I doubt many business class passengers are going back to coach as has been described previously (for one thing - airlines pack flights nowadays, you will rarely have more than a couple seats empty). But of course, that brings a $800 coach class ticket to something in the $10,000 range for a biz class seat.
I have to say, the most comfortable coach seats I had for long term was bulkhead seats. Not really bulkhead, they lead out to the exits and thus you have nothing in front of you - full leg extension and no reclining seat in your lap. You will not get these seats unless you are very lucky or a frequent flyer, sorry.
If they have business class tickets in your price range, get them. Because paying an extra $150 each way for United's crappy extra leg room economy plus - whatever they call it isn't worth it. Try to move around when you can, get some sleep and drink plenty of water. Avoid anything carbonated. But, you are in economy and really there isn't much you can do. For flights that long, it is worth paying for business class although sometimes they charge so much more for it that it isn't a possibility. Luckily, the company pays for that...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Luckily, the company pays for that...
