Smart Water Bottles?

Hydrating is important in so many ways. Dehydration leads to some nasty effects like dizziness, rapid heartbeat and breathing, fainting, etc. None of which is desired when traveling. Airplanes tend to have much less humidity than even your home in winter. So when you get off the plane after a long flight you might experience some effects like being tired, having a stuffy head, or more, if you haven't taken time to drink plenty of water.

It is suggested that you drink 8 ounces of water every hour on a long flight. That's not always easy to do if you are planning to sleep. One way to combat that is to drink water with electrolytes added. If you don't want to buy smartwater or Propel or another brand that adds electrolytes you might want to take an empty water travel bottle with you and a ziplock bag of sliced lemons. Once through security, you can fill your bottle and add a few lemon slices which are a natural electrolyte.

And then there's the smart water bottle. A smart water bottle will glow when it's time to drink more. Some of them even connect to your smart devices. You can take it through security empty, fill it before boarding and refill while in flight by asking your flight attendant for water. I only hope the smart water bottle isn't as smart as our TV which seems too smart for its own good sometimes.

Be smart. Drink more water, not alcohol. Avoid the salty foods and land with a better feeling of well-being.

Long Flight? What To Do To Keep Sanity

We're all different and we all need different things to keep our sanity when it comes to long flights. Facing a thirteen hour flight from Toronto to Tokyo soon, I was exploring what others might do to keep from going crazy sitting in one place that long.

First of all, it is always suggested that several times during your flight you get up and walk the aisle a bit. This usually works for me when nature calls. Good excuse to get up and walk and avoid the dangers of deep vein thrombosis. While we're on the subject, it is also helpful to keep hydrated. Hmm. Now that I think about it the hydration makes you get up for a trip to the rest room. I also had a doctor tell me that just before getting on the plane you might want to take an aspirin (if it's not in your regimen already). It thins the blood a bit and helps prevent DVT as well.

Moving on to the more mental exercise, I always load my Kindle with lots of books. On a trip this long, I can run through two if I don't get sleepy or there's a movie I want to see on the inflight entertainment system. Usually on long flights you will find individual TV screens in the back of the seat in front of you. It will have lots of free movies, TV reruns, and music choices as well as games you can play. The most exciting choice we had on one huge airbus was a view from a camera placed on the undercarriage of the plane that allowed us to watch the landing.

Bob likes to sleep, especially when the hours coincide with our sleep cycle. He will take two Tylenol PM and be out like a light. I can't seem to fall asleep, pills or no pills. My best hope is getting sleepy from reading and dozing off and on. If you plan to sleep and are considering medication, be sure to try it out before you fly. Some medications that are meant to put you to sleep actually react differently with some people and may keep you awake instead. It's also helpful to not have any caffeine in your drinks (remember some sodas contain it as well as coffee and chocolate). Alcohol is not helpful either they say.

Plan ahead. Don't carry more than you need on the plane and plan to put your carry-on in the overhead bin. Your legs will thank you for the extra room under the seat in front of you. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes (guaranteed your feet will swell a bit), something that you can wear off the plane when you land. You can't plan to change into pjs and back to clothes in the tiny little bathroom on the plane.

Of course if you should be so lucky to snag an upgrade to first class, it will be a whole lot easier to whittle away those hours in the air. Good luck.

Bidding On Travel Upgrades

Anticipating the long flight we will be taking to and from Japan soon, I wondered if we might be able to upgrade to business or first class. Once before we found that we could upgrade on a flight to New Zealand. It was a bidding process. You submit a bid and if it's accepted, you get the upgrade. There are lots of rules and auctions are not available to all airlines so I looked up the possibilities.

The auction site I found is called Plusgrade. It has seventy participating travel partners. I say partners because to my astonishment there are also several cruise lines listed as well. Who knew?

Once you have booked your flight (or your stateroom) you can register with your airline if they are partnered with Plusgrade. After you've learned that your flight is eligible, you can submit a bid. Don't expect to submit a one dollar bid however. The site will suggest a bid and most bids that are accepted are between 20-40% of the regular cost to upgrade. So say your economy ticket is  $400 dollars and the upgrade is $2000. The difference is $1600. Your bid should be somewhere between $320 and $640.

If your bid is accepted, you will be notified 24-72 hours before your flight. The worse that can happen is that you are left with your original seats if you lose the auction. The reason they wait so long to notify you is that they are still trying to sell those business/first class seats at the full price.

The only other problem is that if you are traveling with someone else, you may not be able to upgrade both seats. There may only be one available or you may not be sitting together. Not sitting together in business class is okay but I figure we either draw straws for the upgraded seat or we switch seats halfway through the flight.

The Plane Does Not Fly Itself

Maybe it's because of all the crazy movies and shows over the years but too many people have the idea that once the plane is on autopilot, the pilot isn't flying the plane. Not the case according to a former pilot who has written a book, Cockpit Confidential, and has a website, AskThePilot.com. Patrick Smith says that the automation only does what the pilot tells it to do. So even though it may not be hands on the wheel, it is still pilot in control.

The autopilot was put into use mainly so that a pilot does not have to keep his hands on the "wheel" continually especially during long flights. If you've ever taken a long road trip and driven a long stretch, you can imagine what that would be like on a long overseas flight.

I found several very interesting questions and answers on Smith's website. For instance, the idea that the air in the cabin is seething with germs. The air in the cabin is mixed with fresh air from the outside and there are all sorts of filters it passes through. If you read his answer, it will calm your fears. He claims that the air is probably cleaner than what is in an office, movie theater or classroom.

When you look at a map you assume that the shortest distance between New York and Europe is a straight shot across the ocean. Not so. Smith points out the principle that early explorers were proving--the earth is round, not flat. Therefore the shortest distance between those two points takes a plane over Newfoundland, Labrador and Greenland before getting to Europe. It's simply shorter because of the curvature of the earth.

Lots of interesting questions and answers on the website. You might want to check them out before your next flight.

What Do You Do With 13 1/2 Hours In The Air?

In order to visit our son and his family in Tokyo we will endure a long flight of thirteen and a half hours from Toronto to Tokyo. That's after a short flight to Toronto from Cleveland. When I tell people how long the flight is I usually get an eye roll or a tongue clicking or a shake of the head or all three. No one enjoys a long plane flight--except me, sometimes.

I don't mind if we have a little room to spread out in economy or can afford the upgrade to business class with travel miles or that rare, rare instance where we get upgraded to first class. For this flight we booked an aisle and a window seat with one between us. As time nears, the middle seat is still empty. We can only hope.

So what do I look forward to doing on that long puddle jump? A really good book, a little writing and maybe a movie or two. Some planes have games on their video screens but a lot of them are using WiFi to connect with your own personal electronics and link to their entertainment systems. There are even outlets below the seats in some planes to charge your device.

Of course a nap would be nice too but it's a daytime flight that leaves in the early morning on Friday and arrives late afternoon on Saturday, crossing the International Dateline. Did I mention jet lag? Going over to Tokyo won't be bad but coming back is always harder with the jet lag. We leave Tokyo spend fourteen hours in the air and arrive an hour later on the same day. Confused? You gotta love that International Dateline.

Flexing ankles and knees and walking the aisle once or twice will keep circulation going. I was also told once by a doctor that taking a couple of aspirin as you start a long flight will also help. Often the airline will give you a toiletries bag with socks, a sleep mask and toothpaste and brush. In this day of charging for everything, I don't count on freebies and take my own. It is refreshing to brush your teeth toward the end of your flight.

Well with my computer, my ebook and my iPhone, I should be able to entertain myself. And if I get too bored, I can always reach across the empty middle seat and startle Bob awake. That's good for a chuckle or two.