I just booked one of the longest non-stop flights of my life, Atlanta to Capetown, South Africa. 15 Hours in the air! 36 hours is my personal best, but that was with 5 different connections. Long flights do not Spark Joy for me. Maybe if I was on Emirates, in one of their first class private cabins that is like a room at the Four Seasons.
I am always crazy excited to fly, but by hour 3 the novelty is LONG gone. I can't sleep. By nature I am a crazy multi-tasker, so I am climbing the walls. And scarfing down not yummy airplane food I don't even really want….anyone else do this?
While we are trapped in our seats at 35,000 feet, make sure that you are plenty hydrated, and have all the things on-hand to make the flight as pleasant (as possible).
(Unless you are flying First Class Emirates, where they probably mist you like the vegetables at Kroger, your champagne flute in hand.)
Pro tip, before you depart, confirm your seat controls work and your in flight monitor is operational. If the flight attendant can't move you or fix it, you can sometimes score frequent flyer miles – but be polite. I've gotten 20,000 for a first class cross country seat that did not have a working monitor. If you are in business class and your lay flat seat is broken, you need to talk to the airline about a fare reduction. Ask the flight attendant. Believe me, they don't want to deal with your (justifiably) grouchy self for 8 hours so will likely help.
Here are a few of the things in my carry on