TRAVEL
levels risks damage to hearing if
listening for more than short
periods of time. On a long haul
flight, it can mean quite a few
hours with headphones on or
ear buds in. So, always use good
quality, noise excluding
headphones or ear buds and
enjoy a film or some music with
the volume set at a safe level...
keep the volume down and keep
your hearing!
HIDDEN COSTS
Obviously cost is a big factor in
the long haul market, a search
for prices of tickets to say San
Francisco in the second week of
November showed prices for
£604 direct return, however
prices from the 22nd of
December, during Christmas
week and the school holidays
showed prices starting from
£922 each way.
Apparently Tuesday is the
cheapest day to book a flight,
Friday is the most expensive.
Afternoon flights are also
pricier whilst red-eyes – those
flights that travel at night are
the cheapest. So plumping for a
Tuesday night flight could save
the pounds rather than a Friday
afternoon flight.
LEGROOM
Legroom is like the gold of
long-haul, cramped up for
hours on end can make even
the sanest of us looking at that
emergency exit and thinking
“go on… pull it…”
Momondo’s have come up with
4 hot tips to get a little bit more
leg room:
Q Be seat savvy
If you want the most legroom it
often pays to choose the front
seats or seats at the emergency
exits in the middle of the plane.
These have the most legroom,
and this is the same pretty
much no matter which airline
you travel with. To sit by the
emergency exit though, you’ll
be required to be healthy and
mobile, so you are able to help
open the doors in case of an
emergency. With some airlines
you can choose your seats for
free when booking the flight,
whereas with others you can
select a seat for a small fee.
Prices for choosing seats vary
depending on which company
you go with, and how far you
fly.
Q Again, arrive early
If you have not selected a seat
in advance, we recommend
showing up at the airport early
to check in. The seats are often
allocated on a first-come, firstserved basis, and you can be
lucky enough to get a seat with
more legroom.
Q Try DIY check-in
Some automatic airport checkin machines allow you to pick
your seat for free at check-in
time.
Q Aisle be back
If you want to stretch your legs
during the flight, it’s always
wise to choose a seat near the
aisle too, where it is easier to
get out.
GETTING OVER
JET LAG
Jet lag happens on journeys
where the time difference is
over 3 hours, so it is possible to
get jet lag on intercontinental
journeys from east to west, west
or east across vast countries
like, Canada, USA and
Australia. However you won’t
get jet lag from north to south
flights – say London to Cape
Town in South Africa. Of course
you may still get general
aircraft fatigue. Read our five
tips on beating jet lag on page
76.
ALTERNATIVE
ENTERTAINMENT
Even though most airlines offer
a substantial entertainment
system the likelihood of finding
LGBT programming on board is
highly unlikely. In the airline’s
quest to cater for every
passenger in their
entertainment choices, you
might still be left unsatisfied
with the offering, but you can
always bring your smartphone
or tablet on board packed with
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