Do you travel? Eight products that will improve your flying experience

The year ends with the start of summer, the favorite season of a large part of the population. These days, many people take stock of the last twelve months. They report – happy or sad – on what has been achieved and what remains to be done. At the same time, they light candles and fill 2024 with promises: “This year, yes.”

Among the recurring end-of-year wishes is that of traveling. Board a plane to fly within or outside the country. Nothing more landed, given that summer begins the peak travel season.

Invoking luck by walking around the block with suitcases in hand remained an ancient and comical custom of the ancestors. “Folklore”, some will say, those who have already secured their yellow underwear for New Year’s Eve.

Now what is useful is rather to “decree”, to concentrate and write in a notebook, as if it were a law, that this long-awaited trip, which will bring rest, a change of scenery and beautiful photos for social networks, will arrive immediately. good time

It is very possible, on the other hand, that there are those who will not wait for the change of folio to give in to their desires, and have their tickets ready to spend the holidays in other latitudes. Rio de Janeiro, Cancún and Punta Cana were among Chileans’ favorite international destinations for New Year 2023, according to travel agencies. And among the nationals? Iquique, Antofagasta, La Serena and Puerto Montt.

Whether they submit the cards to travel during the year 2024, whether they do so in the coming days, whether they are those who will be sent to change on international territory or those who will remain within national limits, everyone must first go through this intermediate site, capable of reconfiguring the clocks, generating jet lag and separate our feet from the ground up to about 10 thousand meters in height: the plane.

12 years ago, the journalist Constanza Fueyo He decided to follow his own path and align his profession with one of his greatest passions: travel. It is now recognized influencerwith more than 173,000 followers on Instagram, which shares information of interest to travelers and promotes the “nomadic” life.

“I always wanted traveling to be my job, so when I opened Instagram, I did it with the mission of sharing data that would help others living and/or studying outside of Chile, but that would end up by leading me to live alone, to put on a television program or something similar,” explains Constanza.

“How much does it cost to go to Egypt for nine days?” begins reading his last post, before sharing the answer, as well as other useful information for visiting the land of the pharaohs. This year, Fueyo also had the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Ireland, England and Scotland. To this he adds residences in New Zealand, Tonga, Hungary and Australia. “I love being able to show people the possibilities and different lifestyles. “This year, I lived on a boat!”, adds the journalist.

Constanza has logged thousands of miles and countless hours of flying but, despite the experience, there is still something she is not completely used to. “Taking off scares me a lot,” he admits. “I’m afraid of heights and sometimes flying is very stressful.”

What do you do to calm your nerves? “I write a lot on the plane. “I buy Wi-Fi, if there is one, so I can talk to family and friends,” he replies.

There may be other issues that remain uncomfortable during a flight, but there, experience counts. Cold, hunger, physical discomfort, boredom, effects of a hyperconditioned environment are factors that usually affect passengers, especially when traveling long distances. But not in Constanza’s case. She knows what to have on hand to prevent discomfort from taking precedence over pleasure.

Francisca and Andrea also know this very well. Both worked as cabin crew for an international airline for six and seven years respectively. “I decided to dedicate myself to this despite having another job and doing it, because I no longer felt in my place. I wanted to reinvent myself and I started flying. Here, I found my work and my happiness,” says Francisca, who makes around fifty trips a year.

All three gave us their best advice on what tools are allowed on board an airplane that can improve passengers’ flying experience.

Such a simple element can provide a solution to several possible problems. “No one knows that you can bring your own water bottle empty: this way you can ask the flight attendant to fill it with water and you don’t have to keep asking for a glass” , explains crew member Francisca.

“A lot of Argentinians bring their empty thermos and we fill them with hot water and they drink their yerba mate,” he adds by way of example.

Andrea explains that airlines don’t always have individual bottles to distribute to passengers. Bringing a personal bottle is therefore a good way to ensure you have one during the flight. Constanza, for her part, says that she always carries her bottle: “One, so as not to pay for water; and second, avoid single-use plastics.

If you have ever traveled and taken long-haul flights, you will know how useful this tool is. There is no better way to sleep comfortably and avoid a horrible stiff neck. Although they are sold in all airports, they are usually very expensive, so it is recommended to buy them in advance or ask a family member for them (there is always an aunt who has one of side).

Along the same lines as the neck pillow, the eye mask is an essential tool to help you sleep without visual distractions, such as artificial light in the cabin, screens from your seatmates or, worse yet, the natural lighting that prevails during a daytime flight. “This way you suffer less from jet lag,” explains Constanza Fueyo.

The physical inactivity that comes with sitting for several hours in a flight has an inevitable physical repercussion: your feet swell. This is generally harmless, but can be very annoying if you don’t wear the appropriate clothing. What is recommended is to wear a pair of slippers or another type of cut that guarantees flexibility, temperature and does not generate pressure on the feet.

Be careful, staying on the fence is not the best idea. “The floor of the plane is very dirty,” admits Francisca. Additionally, air conditioning can be very dangerous.

It is also advisable to flex your joints and take a few steps from time to time to avoid further discomfort.

Another highly recommended tool to prevent leg swelling. Compression socks help blood circulate better in the legs and prevent water retention generated by the effect of gravity, known as gravitational edema.

It is said that a plane can reach 120 decibels on takeoff and stay above 80 dB during flight. If we add to this the ambient noise – conversations, carts with food, films, music, etc. – we obtain a sound panorama that can displease and even affect the hearing of anyone. Especially for those who want to sleep.

An ideal tool for this context are headphones with active noise cancellation, a function that is responsible for attenuating and even canceling environmental noise through technological processing. “We cabin crew always take care of them; They are super comfortable to wear, because the noise from the plane is continuous and becomes unpleasant. The headphones block this and make the journey more pleasant,” says Francisca.

A budget-friendly and super-efficient option is the Edifier W240TN model, which has an AI processor that cancels ambient noise. And if you want to keep costs as low as possible, there will always be the classic foam earplugs.

“The plane is not a restaurant,” say the flight attendants. One of the most common mistakes among passengers is expecting that there will be food on the plane for every taste and need. “In general, it is allowed to bring food at your own expense,” Francisca explains, as long as it is closed and sealed.

Of course, you have to pay attention to the weight allowed on each flight. Andrea recommends bringing snacks, like nuts or other options that are easy to grab and eat.

“There are people who are afraid to travel and who need to eat. Although there are catering services on board planes, they are not sufficient for this type of passenger. They recommend the same for those with specific dietary needs. “If they want to eat something specific, they shouldn’t think there will be something on the plane,” says Francisca.

“You end up with very dry skin after traveling,” says Francisca. This is due to the artificial environment created in an airplane cabin, in which there is less humidity, less oxygen and more carbon dioxide. Constanza says that to do this, she always carries a cosmetic bag with essential skincare products.

“Moisturizing skin and lip creams, sunscreen and contact lenses, which I never fly with if it lasts more than 3 hours, because they dry much more than outside the plane , so I take them off before going to sleep.”

Likewise, it is advisable to have personal hygiene items on hand, such as a toothbrush. “Not all airlines offer them,” says Andrea.

*Product prices in this article are current as of December 20, 2023. Values ​​and availability are subject to change.