On a round trip of two 14 hour flights, I tried to binge watch a TV series, but while the series was fine, the experience was awful. Games got boring, too. Reading was better. Sleep was best.
Used to fly between Amsterdam and Melbourne couple of times a month in my last job. Combination of reading, watching series, chess puzzles, working, eating and sleeping normally made the time pass. Sleeping is also good if you need to adapt to new timezone fast.
Also don’t forget to take regular walks. Good for your circulation.
Used to fly between Amsterdam and Melbourne couple of times a month
I have to ask, how did that not drive you completely insane?
in my last job
Yeah, after a year or so. I’m kinda done with traveling.
The insides of my eyelids most of the time.
Recently I go for audiobooks and podcasts instead of movies for entertaining me while traveling. It works better for me than movies and series. That and diving into some interesting it-related project - it makes the time fly by.
I usually watch my eyelids as well. On rare occassions, I watch the back of the seat in front of me.
Not much of a movie person honestly, but I’ll play games on the plane if there’s space to do so. On an 18h flight, I’d hope there’s at least an outlet so I can plug in a handheld to charge.
I would rewatch:
- Firefly
- Farscape, or
- IT Crowd
And the audio book du jour from my endless list.
Puzzles.
And, of course, sweet sleep
Probably Star Trek of some sort, but more importantly, I misread the title as “18 hour fight” and it seemed way more hilarious
I’d probably choose the fight, to be honest.
As others have suggested, you’ll probably want to pack a combination of movies, books and audio.
I don’t know what kind of media you normally consume, but here’s what has worked for me and others in the past:
- 18 hours is a looong time. Your attention span and interests may vary wildly from one minute to the other.
- Download some series in addition to regular movies. 35-50min chunks are much more manageable with a reduced attention span.
- Get some e-books about various topics, ideally some fiction and some non-fiction. Again, some short stories can’t hurt. Or some entertaining science book such as What If? by Randall Munroe.
- Audiobooks are a great way to be entertained with your eyes closed. You can actively consume them or fall asleep while listening.
- Include some movies/books that you already know but don’t mind watching/reading a second time.
Only maginally related to your question:
- By all means, pack a bottle of eyedrops. My personal recommendation is Bepanthen Pro if you can get them where you live. A bit on the expensive side but absolutely worth it.
- If you plan to bring your own comfy headphones, consider getting one of those Bluetooth transmitters with a headphone jack so you can watch movies on the built-in screen with your own headphones. (Pick one that can handle most planes’ headphone plugs that use two jacks.)
I’ve not had a flight of that length since 1991. Back then, it was Discman with limited battery life (no outlets) and paper puzzles.
TNG or The Good Place
That would be the perfect time for me to rewatch all of The Golden Girls for the first time in a long time. That, or Soul Eater.
- All seasons/episodes of friends
- Breaking bad
- John Wick franchise
- Comedy specials
Last 12 hour flight I did had all of LOTR. Watched Fellowship minus Boromir and beyond that, I don’t know why I felt like skipping that. Whole of the Two Towers, and would’ve watched ROTK (minus epilogue) if I wasn’t feeling rubbish.
I’ve had an 18 hour flight. And there was no movie. Or alcohol 😭
I iust tried to sleep.
Will probably pay for wi-fi. Probably some combination of TV shows, movies, and reading. And start the flight by trying to sleep as long as possible.
Yuruyuri marathon. 3 seasons, spin off series and several OVAs.
