Every frequent flyer has airline horror stories. If you fly first or business class, presumably, your bad experiences are minimized, but not necessarily eliminated. Perhaps your cabin buddy snores louder than a buzz saw. Maybe there is a screaming baby within earshot. Whatever the annoyance, finding a level of comfort can be daunting. Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue with new high-tech gadgets and gizmos to make air life a littler easier. My research starts long before I request seat assignments. To ensure the best possible seating arrangements I log onto www.lovemyseat.com. This new Web site has a wealth of advice for most of the major air carriers. A color-coded system tells you which seats are good, bad and, well, ugly. Other helpful information includes the location of bathrooms, power ports and video screens. It will let you know what are the best first class seats on United; or what are the most comfortable business class seats on a particular Northwest aircraft. With a 0-10 star rating system the Web site provides reasons for its conclusions—ranging from seating width to the number of legroom inches. Spending a few minutes on this site will add to your comfort. Regardless of the seat assigned I always carry an inflatable lumbar back pillow. Most seats are not designed to suit my back. In the past my attempts to correct that included cramming an airline pillow or piece of clothing behind me. Lewis and Clarke® makes one that works well and is available at many retail airport gift shops (http://www.lewisnclark.com/). Speaking of south side comfort, many airline seat cushions have been compressed to the point that you feel like you are sitting on a hard piece of Styrofoam. The new Gseat® Light uses memory foam and a center groove to disperse the weight and take the pressure off your lower back and tailbone. It folds in half for easy packing and is available from Magellan’s®. I learned long ago that airlines can quickly run out of pillows and blankets. And, most of the time they are reused during flight cycles. As the saying goes, “You never know where they have been.” Not one to leave anything to chance, I carry TravelSmith’s® Silk Airplane Comfort Kit which contains my own personal silk pillowcase, adjustable eyeshade and blanket. It even has a built-in foot pocket designed to keep toes warm when the cabin temperature falls. Much of what I now carry in a small kit was born from bad experiences and is now considered travel necessities. If, like me, you have ever flown with a cold or allergies, you know how painful takeoffs and landings can be. During one trip I felt like my eardrums were going to explode. Consequently, a small package of TravelSmith Earplanes® is standard when flying and fits neatly in my pocket and my ear canal. These gizmos use a special ceramic filter to equalize the pressure and eliminate the discomfort. Although they work immediately for takeoff, they must be reinserted one hour prior to landing. On another occasion, I had just fallen asleep only to be aroused by a noxious odor. Blurry-eyed, I looked across the darkened aisle to see a passenger, with his T-shirt pulled up over his nose, looking at me. He pointed to the floor of the seat in front of him and I could see a puddle of…well, vomit. Apparently, the flight attendants wanted nothing to do with this mess and the smell quickly permeated the airplane. I immediately pulled out a surgical facemask and added a few drops of some lavender, wintergreen essential oils. Magellan now has an advanced Viramask with Viraseal™ that fits on your face like a band aide and prevents any leaks. The manufacturer also says that this mask offers “substantial inhalation protection against airborne bird flu particles” and has a “99.9 percent bacterial and viral efficiency.” The smell was now gone, at least for me, and I didn’t catch whatever he had. Another device that can help clean your own personal air space is the Ultra-Mini Personal Air Purifier from Travelsmith®. The unit fits around your neck and uses plasma technology to destroy allergens, pollutants and viruses while cleaning the air. Virtually silent, this little wonder weighs less than an ounce and half and runs on a Lithium battery that’s good for about 50 hours. On those occasions when I fly coach I seem to be a baby magnet. Unhappy infants are seated either directly in front or behind me. There is nothing quite like the high-pitched cry of an infant to add to the ambiance of flight travel. Having learned this lesson early, I now keep a Bose Quietcomfort® 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones handy. Using the latest technology, these headphones help to eliminate most noises—including children, background and jet engine noise—and it also helps improve the clarity of any audio or video programs. An added bonus is that I don’t have to pay for some airline’s own flimsy headset. Personal hygiene while flying is another one of my bugaboos and a couple of new products help me stay fresh and clean. A 2000 report by the Surgeon General states that oral hygiene is directly linked to overall health. They also found that a single toothbrush could harbor millions of bacteria-laden microorganisms. Enter the VIOlight™ travel toothbrush. This ingenious device uses a Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV) bulb, the same type used in hospitals, to eliminate up to 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria. The toothbrush and its sleek container fit neatly into any toiletry kit. Other indispensable items include vitamin C tablets, lip balm, alcohol wipes, Charmin To Go Toilet Seat Covers, cough drops and a small first aid kit. Many of these are sample-sized and are available from http://www.minibiz.com/. Flight delays, crowded cabins and reduced services aren’t likely to disappear anytime soon and certainly add to the general frustration of business travelers. The good news is with a little planning and a few accessories, we can greatly increase our comfort and reduce our stress no matter what obstacles the airline gods may throw our way.
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Frequent Flyer will no longer be published. For all the latest in travel information please go to www.OAG.com
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