Long Haul Flight Tips

mxyzptik on 05/03/2012 - 15:43

I am thinking of going with China Southern Airlines to London return (June/July).

I've read horrendous reviews but they are far the cheapest at the moment - $1,715 - and with good flying times (my other son is on the $1,099 Emirates bargain).

So the challenge is to equip myself with enough of my own refreshments and in flight entertainment (eg. an iPad or two, great noise-cancelling earphones and a 'hamper' of goodies) so as not to worry too much about possibly uncomfortable seating, almost no entertainment, smelly toilets and little service! The bigger challenge is to do the same for my 12yo son who complains on short trips!!!!

Is this an impossible task? With over 3 months to get ready, surely not.

Any tips welcome :)

Travel

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2012 - 15:49
    +2

    What about taking the virgin Deal to LA and picking up a flight from LA to London.

    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/65021

    $1100 to LAX then $US800 to London (air canada) = about $1850

    Advantage is better planes, frequent flyer mileage and greater baggage allowance as flights in and out of USA has about twice the baggage allowance. (A US trip on Qantas = $100 in Woolies gift cards - I guess virgin would be around the same, so factor in that savings as well)

    Also have a break in the middle at Los Angeles and clean up etc Even do Disneyland for your son.

    • mxyzptik on 05/03/2012 - 16:24

      Yep sounds great …. I saw the $1,100 deal but wasn't sure about the connections. Also I didnt mention but we may meet the other son in Barcelona for about 5 days out of a trip of about 23-4 days, but I am sure we can fit it all in.

      Thanks Ozpete, I'll get right onto it!

      • mxyzptik on 05/03/2012 - 19:08

        My travel agent said Melbourne-LA-London would cost around $2,600 when we want to be away for three weeks, departing around the last week of June or first week of July. I'll check it out when I get time later.

        I really appreciate all the tips.

  • ynot1985 on 05/03/2012 - 16:28
    +2

    I recently flown with China Southern Airlines.. horrible airline..

    we were told to wait on the airport tarmac for 2 hrs only after the whole plane was boarded and every one seated.

    an experience that prompted me never to fly with them again

    • mustkill on 06/03/2012 - 22:42

      China Eastern are pretty damn horribad as well.

    • PlagueistheCheap on 14/03/2012 - 13:19

      Any reason given? This can happen to any airline if it ATC imposed….

  • Davo1111 on 05/03/2012 - 16:34
    +1

    My advice is to have products that can charge via usb (and also bring a charger adapter that takes 110-240v range). That way you can plug it in to almost anything.

    As for entertainment, i find i just sleep on the plane, disposable earplugs are amazing. Howard Leight LASER LITE are the ones i like, those cheapo yellow ones just don't cut it.

  • spacemansam on 05/03/2012 - 18:31
    +1

    I just purchased tix for quite cheap
    MEL - SING Jetstar $350 with 15kg checked baggage
    SING-LON and return MILAN-MELBOURNE $1150 with Etihad
    Flying Aug-Sept

    But still not as cheap as china southern…

  • uncyspam on 06/03/2012 - 08:52
    +1

    I'd chew my own eyes out before I flew China Southern again. Always late, terrible seats, service, food, entertainment… can't describe how bad China Southern really is.

    Although watching everyone on the plane doing Tai Chi together was pretty funny…

    iPad for movies and games is highly recommended, as are decent noise cancelling and ISOLATING headphones (canalphones are best if you can handle them in your ears) Get a decent battery pack charger too,(http://www.zylux.com.au/aus/veho-pebble-xt-portable-battery-…) so that you can keep your devices charged for as long as possible.

    If your 12yo is bad on a short flight however, then I would suggest you are setting yourself up for a failure, and are only going to drive yourself, and the passengers around you mad.

    • mxyzptik on 06/03/2012 - 11:43

      Thanks, unless a better offer comes along it'll be China Southern + iPad + Bose & Sony Noise Cancellers + battery pack charger (thanks for the link) + lots of goodies to eat & drink.

      Lots of books on the iPad as well as the movies, games, music and BBC plays. Will add some travel videos.

      Point taken about driving other passengers mad … but we're up for the challenge … 3 months to prepare … son's committed now to making it work!

  • hello007 on 06/03/2012 - 12:21
    +1

    Use the iPad as a carrot and stick.

    If your 12 year old is as obsessed about using the iPad as most are … Well make access to the iPad a privilege not a right.

    Good behaviour, homework done, room clean - whatever - is rewarded with iPad time.

    Bad behaviour is greeted with the words: 'I'm about to give you a one hour iPad ban' … And that time starts only after all behviour/task goals have been met.

    So the longer it takes for kid to behave … The longer they wait.

    Initially they hate it!

    But once they get the idea …. And modify their behaviour … The iPad becomes a heaven sent child behaviour tool.

    Stick to your guns … In the weeks leading up to the trip … And during the trip and u will have a calm, happy wonderful time.

    The child always needs to know that bad behaviour means increasing hours … Even days of no iPad …

    It gets to the point where u only have to look at him and say: "one hour" to get immediate co-operation.

    I tried this with two Korean homestay students - worked an absolute treat!

    Hope this helps :-)

    • mxyzptik on 06/03/2012 - 18:14

      Helps a lot - never too late for Mr Softee (me) to become a strict disciplinarian (I hope) :)

  • humdingaling on 06/03/2012 - 17:41
    +1

    just came back with china southern from guangzhou actually wasnt that bad
    you get what you pay for

    • mxyzptik on 06/03/2012 - 18:16

      Good to hear. Thanks!

  • Jason_dealfox.com.au on 06/03/2012 - 23:24
    +1

    As quite a frequent flyer I use to focus a lot on entertainment, books, activities to keep me up. I found it better for myself now to concentrate on being comfortable and trying to get the best sleep and rest I can. NC headphones from bose, clothing, blankets if you prone to airplane cold, water, lipbalm, good healthy food and the best investment I've made to date, a pair of $2 eye shades.

    But of course with kids its a different situation. But I would try to encourage them to sleep rather then stay awake to be entertained. Another benefit is rest at the right times gets your bodyclock adjusted to beat jet lag faster.

    • mxyzptik on 07/03/2012 - 11:42

      Thanks. I'm not a frequent flyer so can use and appreciate all the tips I can get.

      Will add eye shades (and pillows) to the list … and take on board the benefits of rest and sleep so we enjoy ourselves at the other end! I'm a good sleeper and will have Plan B in case the 12yo isn't.

  • voteoften on 08/03/2012 - 01:09

    Sit in a completely different area of the plane than the child. He won't act up around strangers. He will probably make new friends. Pack massive amounts of junk food. Have a FURURE treat if he agrees to refrain from being a pain in the ass. And a future punishment. If you have been inconsistent in discipline, firm up and do the treat thing for short term things, ensuring that he fails so he knows there will be a withholding and that you will be true to your word. (It is important that he experience you being firm in the lead up.)

    Make sure he has a watch and that he knows when you are supposed to land and that he is not to continually ask how much longer. He can check himself.

    When my daughter was 5, we went with my BF to dreamworld. I told her that she would get 20 of those stupid ripoff prize games of her choice if she refrained from being annoying. Everytime she was annoying, she lost a game. She ended up with about 12 games. I think I gave her a couple of bonus games when she was particularly gracious. She was 5, you really can not be on a plane and allow too much latitude with a 12 yo. A much higher expectation is natural.

    Over the years I have explained to my daughter that a lot of adults do not want kids anywhere near them in certain circumstances and that it is up to her not to contribute to the misconception that children will invariably be pains in the ass. Just tell him the way it is.

    • mxyzptik on 12/03/2012 - 21:46

      WOW! :)

      I'm in shock just reading this :)

      I'd forgotten some people don't like kids around - probably like I was before we had some :)

      Where can I get a backbone, cheap?

  • PlagueistheCheap on 14/03/2012 - 13:30

    I have flown with CSN twice and both times were ok. The seat pitch isnt as generous as Qantas but the flight attendents are not as rude, im sure the language barrier has something to do with that. You can also get away with extra luggage over the allowance, they have trouble explaining why in english. Well this was the case flying FROM China for me. The bad part of the flight is the noise, its very noisy. The other passengers are all over the place talking loud, its like a school bus so I suggest taking ear plugs.

    Being in the aviation industry and watching it degrade into a lowest bidder, massive corner cutting business, I always would suggest flying with an airline that has the newest aircraft. Not the newest models, but newest airframes. Also consider the language barrier. English is the international standard and alot of airlines have a translator on board and in many cases this has caused issues. Lots of left and right confused….In some cases this cannot be avoided but I make my desicions with this in mind. Alot of airlines hire native english speaking pilots but of the Chinese airlines only Cathay seems to do this. However even with the great reputation it is known that a common training practice is to not use reverse thrust on landing to save some fuel. The old school captains ignore this but it is taught to Jnr FOs.

    So that being said CSN aircraft are new enough for me to fly them. But for the cities I want to fly to, I have no other choice. If Cathay flew there, I would take them.

    • ozAzn on 25/03/2012 - 20:50

      Technically, Cathay is American but Hong Kong seems to love it so much, Cathay rooted itself there. There is actually a Hong Kong Airlines, but its tiny compared to Cathay.

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