Long haul flying, especially in economy class, is often a difficult and tiring process - however it doesn’t need to be. Here are my top tips to getting the best out of long haul economy travel.

Seat Selection. Make sure you book the right seats. Not all seats are built equally, and though sometimes they come at extra cost, front bulkhead seats and emergency exit seats often have greater legroom. You don’t get anywhere to stow carry on though, so if you think you’ll need regular access to items this may not be the solution for you.

When travelling with children, don’t dismiss center seats. You may be able to book the entire row to yourself, and though you wont get window seats, having both ends be on the aisle can actually allow you to spread out a little more which may make all the difference.

Bring wipes. You can never be totally sure that everything in reach is absolutely clean, so bringing your own wipes will help bring that piece of mind. A small pack of anti-bacterial wipes takes up very litte space in your carry on but could save you catching something nasty on the flight.

Pre book your meals. When arranging the meal service on a flight, the airline will work on ratio’s of what foods people are most likley to order - if you have special dietry requirements though, they may not have enough to go around. By pre-booking your meals you will ensure that the airline specifically brings enough meals for everyone - and whether you have dietry requirements or just don’t fancy the chicken, booking ahead will help everyone on the flight.

Carry Light. Make sure you only bring essential items with you on carry on. The amount of people I’ve seen on flights bring large carry-on cases which they never open is pretty scary - and yet these people are most likely to simply stow their bags and never need what’s inside. Unless you are travelling light, and have no checked in luggage, bringing only what you need for the flight into the cabin with you will save you a lot of fuss and bother down the line.

Bring your own entertainment. It could be a book, kindle, tablet or phone, but don’t expect the inflight entertainment to be working all the time. Preload your favourite movies from Netflix or Disney+, and grab a few of your favourite youtube videos before you leave just in case the screen in the seat in front of you decides it doesn’t want to work - it’s better to have a backup you don’t need, than need the backup you don’t have.

Bring noise cancelling headphones. Even the cheapest headphones can cancel out the drone of the engine and hum of background chatter - and as most airlines are moving towards standard headphone jacks on their planes you will be able to enjoy the in-flight entertainment without having to turn the volume up to uncomfortable levels. They can also be used without watching content, to quieten the cabin and help you get some sleep - which is especially useful when on an overnight flight.

Bring a battery pack. Again, many airplanes now come with built in USB and some even have full universal plugs, but you don’t want to rely on them working - or being available - at all times. A cheap battery pack from Amazon can save you all the frustrations of running out of juice on that long haul flight.

Wear compression socks. Deep vein thrombosis is a real threat, especially if you don’t walk around the cabin much, however compression socks are also very comfortable over long periods of time. They are desinged to increase circulation - which will keep you a lot more comfortable than you might imagine.

Bring some hard or chewy sweets onto the plane with you. Takeoff and landing involve massive pressure changes - and although airplanes pressurise before takeoff - they can’t mitigate all of that change. Hard sweets to suck on while taking off and landing will help rebalance the pressure in your ears which can other wise be very painful, chewing sweets can also help some people. They can also be used as a quick pick me up between snack services - especially on night flights when attendants try not to disturb people who are sleeping.

Arrive early, and attach something identifiable to your luggage. Obviously nobody wants to be stuck in an airport any longer than necessary, but security and check in can take significantly longer than some people plan for. The other end of the flight can also take significantly longer than you would think, so be prepared for customs and immigration and add something identifiable onto your checked in luggage so that you can easily find it on the other side - but also so that others don’t mistake your bag for theirs!

Those are my top tips for surviving a long haul flight, if you have any suggestions of your own please add them in the comments and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more videos like this.