Flying to California: any tips?

Make sure you can carry or wheel around your own luggage.
We moved over to New York in December and had 4 large suitcases. Went to get a trolley and found out that it costs $6 a trolley and at the terminal we were in, the machine gave no change and didn't accept cards.

Politeness works wonders with officials so even if they annoy you, keep calm.
If you are bringing food with you, make sure you fill in the landing card and admit it on there. The airline should hand you a landing card before landing and its best to fill it out then rather than in the terminal.

Enjoy.
 
agentrfr said:
Nah they'll help you in the phone shops. If you have a sort of modern phone that can do GSM and CDMA then dont worry. If you have an older phone you might want to check...

Sprint, Verizon and the US one are GSM. AT and T and T-mobile are CDMA. Since you are using a SIM card it is likely your phone can do GSM, so go for a Sprint or Verizon SIM card when you get there
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I think you got that backwards. ;)
 
Take off your shoes once in the air. I also keep my earphones in most of the time to block out the noise. Think everything else has been covered. Also, try not to get food poisoning before the flight (worst dam flight of my life, thanks Subway)
 
Archer said:
Take off your shoes once in the air. I also keep my earphones in most of the time to block out the noise. Think everything else has been covered. Also, try not to get food poisoning before the flight (worst dam flight of my life, thanks Subway)
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Interesting, somebody else here suggested just undoing laces rather thank taking the shoes off altogether lol. If you do take off your shoes, do you just walk up and down the plane in your socks?
 
Say, here's a practical question: is there any airline you'd recommend for this flight, or any I shouldn't use?

They all seem to have routes like this, but the ones I'm seeing most of are:
SAA pairing up with JetBlue
Delta the whole way
Qatar Airways
British Airways [personally I've flown BA in South Africa locally and it's terrible but I understand that's because it's operated by Comair and not BA itself]

Other ones - like Virgin - aren't even coming up on TravelStart because I think they're just too expensive. The ones above are about R17K all in, which seems very good.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Interesting, somebody else here suggested just undoing laces rather thank taking the shoes off altogether lol. If you do take off your shoes, do you just walk up and down the plane in your socks?
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Pretty much, some airlines will even give you an extra pair of socks, guessing that way you can keep your own socks clean while walking around.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
So if all goes well, in just over a week I'll be settling into a lengthy SAA flight from OR Tambo to JFK, New York; and then on to San Jose, California.

I don't want to count the number of hours (it's around 30 all-in isn't it?), but rather ask people who do flights like this what tips you guys have to survive.

It doesn't matter how basic, I'm keen to hear it!

Things I'm wondering about specifically:
- Keeping yourself entertained on the plane for that long (there are only that many movies you can watch back-to-back)
- Best way to fall asleep on a long flight
- Anything to do at JFK airport if you're staying air-side
- How to get a prepaid sim card in the US and which one is recommended for cheap data and calls back to South Africa
- Recommended stuff to do in San Jose. That's where I'll be with a few hours to kill on the day before I fly out.

Thanks in advance :)
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Entertainment - phone/tablet with netflix series downloaded. 6 hours of that and 6 hours of sleep
Sleep - Melatonin and champagne/wine
JFK - no, airports are boring
SIM - yeah you can buy them at the airport, but it'll cost you stupid money (about a grand for a couple gigs). Off airport might be better. I ended up discovering my SIM works in US anyway without roaming charges. Wasn't an SA SIM though

US borders take a while to get through. :/
 
HavocXphere said:
Entertainment - phone/tablet with netflix series downloaded. 6 hours of that and 6 hours of sleep
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Last time I flew internationally I went with Emirates, and although the back of the seat entertainment system was good, it was immediately nullified as soon as the people in front of me reclined their seats as far back as they could (the screens don't tilt much and the viewing angles are pathetic). Is that still the case?
 
Flew Emirates to Dubai about a month back only a 8hr flight .My recomendation stay away from the isle seat if you plan on sleeping alot.The ladies with their trollies tend to decimate your knee while you are sleeping as your body tries to find the most comfortable way if sitting and you tend to put your leg slightly in the ile for comfort whlle sleeping

They also have this way of bumping your shoulder the whole time while helping the people seated on the other side of the isle.If you are a light sleeper this is terribly annoying .

See if you can get one of those neck cushion things look on take alot at the travel pillows.If anything it will give your head a different way of resting in the long flight.

Check in online for the flight . Most airlines then let you pick the seats . Try get a seat in the front Isle. If not a window seat offers you some extra sleep possessions with the least amount of disturbance.

When they come with the food and ask what to drink take a water and a drink since they can sometimes take some time before offering drinks again.

Try get the air-con vent for your seat setup properly before all the seats are taken, kind of mission to get this set right when everyone is seated.

As mentioned above take a spare change of clothes in your carry on or at least a spare shirt sitting that long in plane kinda makes you smell .

Gl with the armrest war ..
 
Sinbad said:
Set your watch to your new local time as soon as you're on the plane.
Take a sleeping pill at your "new" bedtime and sleep as much as you can on the plane.
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Sleeping pills is a no-no for me (well, it's not on the approve medications list for pilots anyway), but your first point is absolutely spot on.

And then stop checking the time at your departure aerodrome once you're in the air! Resist the urge!

Batista said:
I would suggest you only sleep 3-4 hours the night before.Then you will be comatose in the airplane.I slept 6 hours straight, missed a meal and some drinks.
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It's risky, but works for some. Issue comes in if you can't actually sleep onboard or struggle anyway - then you're even further behind in terms of sleep credits.

Foxhound5366 said:
Where would one buy a headphone adapter?
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Takelot, bought one with ebucks a while back - they're the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

Vegeta said:
Drink lots of fluids as a long flight like that will dehydrate you more than you realize. Don't drink tea or coffee on the flight don't drink alcohol(not only do these dehydrate they also disturb sleep and you don't want plane water in your tea/coffee(sies)), okay a beer might be okay.
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^This

So many people ignore this advice at their own peril. No alcohol...just don't, wait till you're on the ground. And drink roughly a glass of water every hour if possible.

Always take an empty water bottle with you and ask a flight attendant to fill it (it'll be filled with clean bottled water). The water from near the lavatory may be considered potable, but the chemicals they use to clean the pipes with is bad news and it only gets cleaned once in a blue moon. Also, the inlet is close to where the blue juice inlet/outlet is (yes, some aeries still use that stuff), so for me it's a big, massive no-go! Too high a risk of contamination.

Foxhound5366 said:
Interesting, somebody else here suggested just undoing laces rather thank taking the shoes off altogether lol. If you do take off your shoes, do you just walk up and down the plane in your socks?
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When I get to sit in the cabin, hell yes. But then I feel "at home" in an aerie - you feel me?

Nevar said:
Check in online for the flight . Most airlines then let you pick the seats . Try get a seat in the front Isle. If not a window seat offers you some extra sleep possessions with the least amount of disturbance.
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+1000000

I can't recall the last time I didn't pick a window seat. And if you forget all the other advice, just remember to check in online.
 
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Phew, what a post, thanks Idiosyncratic!

I'm not a pilot lol. I've never managed to sleep for more than a couple hours before on a plane, despite being desperately tired. It's pretty weird: I'm actually not even a light sleeper, but I guess I can't relax. Hopefully it works better this time around!

Good tip about the water, will see. I didn't know you could give over an empty bottle and get it back full. Won't they just use that dodgy airplane water anyway, so better to stick to the sealed stuff?
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Phew, what a post, thanks Idiosyncratic!

I'm not a pilot lol. I've never managed to sleep for more than a couple hours before on a plane, despite being desperately tired. It's pretty weird: I'm actually not even a light sleeper, but I guess I can't relax. Hopefully it works better this time around!

Good tip about the water, will see. I didn't know you could give over an empty bottle and get it back full. Won't they just use that dodgy airplane water anyway, so better to stick to the sealed stuff?
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You're welcome.

I know, but I am. My point is I don't recommend it and I'm not allowed to use it even if I wanted to

Nope, never seen a flight attendant fill a bottle with dodgy water - they have bottled/filtered water available so they'll use that.
 
Idiosyncratic said:
I know, but I am. My point is I don't recommend it and I'm not allowed to use it even if I wanted to
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Wait what, really? There's a rule for pilots that prohibits them from drinking plane water? *rofl* So not good enough for you guys but good enough for cattle class, huh. Nice!
 
maumau said:
Take a pen, take a pen, take a pen :)
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Yes! That's something else I was thinking about but forgot rofl - one needs a pen to complete that declaration form you get just before landing, right? Or do you use one to play Sudoku? lol
 
Slip on shoes, you will have to take them off at some point for security.
Comfy loose pants, don't need your testicles being forced up your...
No belt or watch, will have to take off for metal detectors.
Take 2 muscle relaxants before you take off, a back spasm in a plane is not fun.
Don't fly SAA
 
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