written on a long haul from amsterdam to lima

to start. my credentials: i fly international all the time, and i do not have a bad time.

more seriously. i've probably hit 100+ flights in four years of college, much of them long haul since i live in lima, which is far from everything.

in no particular order:

• your best shot at getting a question answered or a request fulfilled is always by calling the airline or the airport. to get to a human being as fast as possible, say something ridiculous, like not having a flight confirmation number. similar principles apply for most errands in life -- just make that call.
• bring multiple forms of entertainment and do not rely on plane screens. i rotate between reading, knitting, playing zelda and doing work. you may look insane but you are definitely free.
• dress correctly. airplanes will almost always run slightly colder of room temperature (21C or 70F) regardless of ground temperature.
• airtag your checked bags!
• be self sufficient! do not rely on plane food or water. bring snacks and refill your own bottle post security check. this will maximize your chance of getting a good night's sleep, because you're never waiting for food/drinks service to run.
• face cream, hand cream, chapstick. it is dry up there.
• calculate your plane activities relative to your destination's time zone. you do not need to watch zootopia 2, buddy. you need to sleep now so your sleep schedule isn't wrecked.
• if you have a personal item and a carry on, strictly separate your stuff into valuables and flight essentials, and things you're ok with being thrown into checked luggage. you do not want to be opening the carry-on compartments mid-flight to shuffle through things, or needing to repack because you get forced to check your carry on.
• if you get to the airport too early for your flight, check if you can do standby on an earlier flight to get out faster.
• bring noise cancelling and with redundancy. i bring my overear headphones, airpod pros, loop quiets, and many pairs of foam ear plugs. life saver when there's a crying child and you're on your last marble. life saver when the crew is blasting unskippable advertisement for their credit card and you're literally held hostage to listen.
• invest in good travel bags (more yabbling below).
• bring a quality neck pillow. i have a cabeau one, which in combination with an eye mask and noise cancelling headphones guarantees a knockout everytime.
• not all airplanes have charging ports. not all airplanes have usb-c. this is not usually a problem on long hauls, but it is better to do your homework than being stuck with dead devices.
• when buying tickets, you do not have to select a seat if all seat selections cost money. i feel like interfaces nowadays give the illusion that you must, but you just don't. they can't make you sit outside the plane.
• checked bags are a hassle -- they get lost, they get manhandled and broken, you have to wait for them at baggage claim, you can't fly standby with them, do without whenever possible.
• solid state soap, shampoo and conditioner are great for packing efficiently, and they're even better when paired with magical dry through bags.
• clothes-wise you can basically treat anything 2 weeks or more identically, since at that point you must do laundry. so unless you plan on doing many activities in many weathers your bag can remain approximately the same size for 2 weeks or 2 months of traveling.
• packing cubes are incredible for both compressing and organizing clothes inside your bags.
• pack with your heart. cut down unnecessary items when possible but do not let it hinder joy. carry your climbing shoes everywhere, bring that cute sundress :)
• forget about physical books and embrace the kindle.
• i mourn the death of the wifi-less plane and the beauty of a genuinely disconnected time. being actively ghosted by your situationship? fear not. plane time will force you to detach. to achieve this effect again, just do not get on plane wifi!