4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I actually have one of those cushions from back when 'when working from home' was a thing....

I discovered there's a big difference in quality with these seat cushions. And paying more doesn't necessarily guarantee a better one. I was using another type of memory foam cushion before which wasn't nicely contoured like this one. It cost the same price, but night and day. This one is so much better.

8 minutes ago, Harry Tuchas said:

No, you do not need to sit upright and straight. It helps, but the nice thing about it is that it is contoured and form fitting, with a slight lip at the bottom of the back. So if you start to sink down, it still supports your lower back. And it's made of memory foam, which means that it should adjust your own shape a bit over time.

These pillows are not just great for flights. You can use them on any chair where you sit for a long time. A desk chair is perfect. It is a game changer if you spend a lot of time at a computer.

I would say it is not just about the comfort of the pillow itself, but about how it takes pressure off the lower back. Try one at home first, then see whether you think it would be good for a flight.

Think I'll look at one today

3 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Think I'll look at one today

Your welcome. I would suggest going for the best quality one. The one that says "advanced cushion" on the product selection page. Two different colors offered. It shows as ฿468 for me. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

57 minutes ago, Harry Tuchas said:

I take 320 mg of aspirin about 30 minutes before a flight. It helps thin the blood for a week and may reduce the risk of DVT, as well as muscle pain and lactic acid buildup. Occasionally, I also take a muscle relaxant.

The biggest improvement, however, comes from using a memory foam seat cushion. Sitting on one for a long flight makes a noticeable difference in comfort. It reduces pressure on the lower back, which tends to build up over extended periods of sitting on a poorly made seat. It is something I always bring.

There are several quality levels available for these cushions on Shopee. They appear similar externally, but the internal material varies. The options range from Basic to Standard to Upgraded and Advanced. I chose the Upgraded version, which cost ฿400, and it has been well worth it.

I do not use neck pillows, as I have not found them useful.

My last flight with Qatar on one of their new planes, they got the same horrible new seats as every other low priced company, so I will look at your memory foam seat. The long haul good seat comfort is on the way out for light weight seats on economy seats.

Do you have a link to one of the better ones. Not to thick

26 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Okay, I didn't know that but is that limited to Lufthansa or other airlines? I always book through Justfly or Cheapoair and get whatever seats are available, without knowing about the seats next to me until I arrive. I'm guessing booking with the airline directly isn't the same.Most seats international seem to be booked, and I've noticed very few free seats on the flights I've taken back and forth from here to Texas.

26 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Okay, I didn't know that but is that limited to Lufthansa or other airlines? I always book through Justfly or Cheapoair and get whatever seats are available, without knowing about the seats next to me until I arrive. I'm guessing booking with the airline directly isn't the same.Most seats international seem to be booked, and I've noticed very few free seats on the flights I've taken back and forth from here to Texas.

Booking directly with the airline helps, but I believe you can check in online as well if you book through travel company and reserve a seat or seats

15 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Do you have a link to one of the better ones. Not to thick

The best one is on the link that I posted earlier. As I told Fred, the one that says "advanced cushion" on the Shopee product selection page. Two different colors offered. It shows as ฿468 for me. Or you can buy the one that says "upgraded cushion" for ฿390, but the quality of the cushion inside the fabric will not be as high as "advanced cushion". Both excellent though.

4 hours ago, Kyoto Kyle said:

If you’re going to fly from Bangkok to Europe in cattle class, and at least one of your flights will be 10-12 hours long, what kind of things do you try to do to make your flight experience more tolerable?

Do you bring a neck pillow or a seat cushion? Your own extra food? Wet wipes in case you want to take a dump on the plane? Your own hoodie to avoid freezing? Your own bottle so that you can fill it up when needed and have plenty of drinking water? Or do you survive on coffee and wine and go the full dehydration route?

I see some people who do absolutely nothing except take a bag of pills after the fasten seatbelt sign goes off, snore nonstop, and then wake up 12 hours later with their head buried on the shoulder of the bloke next to them.

One thing I try to do is stop myself from the temptation of watching too many terrible movies on the flight, ones that I would never watch if I were not stranded in the air for 12 hours. Actually, I bring my laptop so that I can watch a movie or two of my own choosing.

And nothing beats the bliss of great ANC from a pair of high quality blu tooth earbuds to drown out the engine noise. I travel with two pairs so that when the battery dies in the first pair, I can switch to the other while the first one recharges.

Perhaps you overthink this. Its all a state of mind over matter. Meditation if you like. If you cannot control your mind to deal with a 12 hours flight, medication is an alternative for some.

15 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Booking directly with the airline helps, but I believe you can check in online as well if you book through travel company and reserve a seat or seats

With Justfly, you'll have to pay for the seat. I just checked for the heck of it, and the price for Justfly round trip is over $1000 less then booking directly with Japan Airlines for the same itinerary. I've always used Justfly or Cheapoair and saved a lot of money.

13 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

With Justfly, you'll have to pay for the seat. I just checked for the heck of it, and the price for Justfly round trip is over $1000 less then booking directly with Japan Airlines for the same itinerary. I've always used Justfly or Cheapoair and saved a lot of money.

Still you should be able to check in 24 hours before online with the airline and choose available seat for free

Bulkhead / exit seat + a good long book+I get up and walk a bit.still not much fun but the time to distance covered never ceases to amaze me!

Spouse and I have been to Europe from Thailand 4 times, always flying 'peasant class'. It helps to be flying with a companion, to help pass the time. I try to catch up on movies I haven't seen, as I usually have trouble sleeping on a plane.

Of the 4 trips, the best one was with Thai Airways round-trip. It was non-stop both ways and both flights were great. The other 3 flights were with Emirates and Qatar, with stops at their Middle East hub airports.

Not good. Both airports are huge--and super-busy, even at 2am in the morning. You would think, being in both cases the host country's airline, that Qatar and Emirates would have priority with airport plane bays. Not the case when we flew. Changing planes meant, even at 2am in the morning, deplaning out in the middle of nowhere, a very long, standing up, bus ride to the terminal, a very long walk to the next flight's check-in counter, then a train ride to another terminal, followed by another bus ride to the airplane. It's a wonder we didn't cross over into another country. After enduring this several times with Emirates, we decided to try Qatar. No difference with the airport experience, but not as good meal choices on the flights we were on.

Wow. A couple pages of comments on just a 12 hour flight and no one seems to just sleep like I do and I see soo many others doing. Going back to the States next month and have a connection via Hong Kong then on a 15 + hour flight home. I eat then sleep a good 7/8 hours. Walk around a little watch some vids then sleep again then eat rest and home. Pretty uneventful. I also think during awake times.

On 3/20/2026 at 10:16 PM, Kyoto Kyle said:

If you’re going to fly from Bangkok to Europe in cattle class, and at least one of your flights will be 10-12 hours long, what kind of things do you try to do to make your flight experience more tolerable?

Do you bring a neck pillow or a seat cushion? Your own extra food? Wet wipes in case you want to take a dump on the plane? Your own hoodie to avoid freezing? Your own bottle so that you can fill it up when needed and have plenty of drinking water? Or do you survive on coffee and wine and go the full dehydration route?

I see some people who do absolutely nothing except take a bag of pills after the fasten seatbelt sign goes off, snore nonstop, and then wake up 12 hours later with their head buried on the shoulder of the bloke next to them.

One thing I try to do is stop myself from the temptation of watching too many terrible movies on the flight, ones that I would never watch if I were not stranded in the air for 12 hours. Actually, I bring my laptop so that I can watch a movie or two of my own choosing.

And nothing beats the bliss of great ANC from a pair of high quality blu tooth earbuds to drown out the engine noise. I travel with two pairs so that when the battery dies in the first pair, I can switch to the other while the first one recharges.

I prefers a (non stop) night flight, leaving BKK some time around midnight, preferably THAI. Get a meal meal, perhaps watch a film/perhaps not, sleeps – I bring an inflatable neck suppurt pillow – being waked up for breakfast and lands on destination early morning...👍

On return – i.e., Europe to BKK – I'll take an afternoon flight and same procedure, apart from I normally can keep awake during the whole film...😄

On 3/21/2026 at 8:31 AM, Harry Tuchas said:

And it's made of memory foam, which means that it should adjust to your own shape a bit over time.

Do all pillows and mattresses not adjust to the shape of whoever is using them.

I thought the Memory bit was that it returns to it's original shape when you get off it.

I have one, but unfortunately it has developed Alzheimers!

We've done it a few times. From the US and from Europe. I am going to give you a trade secret. It is cheaper than upgrading but makes your flight first class, well, almost first class. We check which plane we will be flying on. From there, you can find out how many crew members will be on your flight. We buy some small mesh bags and fill them with chocolates, thank-you notes, a small trinket or toy, and the equivalent of 1 Euro in whatever currency you have locally. This is the van tip. The attendants all have a van that takes them to their lodgings, and they tip the van driver. I have had champagne brought to me, extra pillows, cheese plates, wine, and tons of attention. Once we were given merch from the first class. In all, it cost me about 30 Euros. The gratitude alone was worth it. Those attendants have a pretty crappy job.

I have 12 hours of audio books I listen to entitled how to get the best out of a 12 hour boring restless flight.

What is this peasant class the OP speaks of? 😆😂😆

2 hours ago, Front Row said:

What is this peasant class the OP speaks of? 😆😂😆

In the UK, it's Ryanair pax.

Other low-cost carriers are available.

Before a long flight, I try and make for an extended day, sometimes skipping sleep depending on the time of departure. Usually I am asleep before push-back and miss the takeoff. If I don't want to eat, I tell the cabin crew, so I don't get woken up just to say no thanks. A lot of airports have water dispensers these days, so I tote a couple of bottles and fill up before boarding.

Being 6'4", I avoid aisle seats as everyone on the 'inside' seems to need frequent trips to the dunny. Women are the worst; must be anatomical? Having a bladder the size of Idaho, I always get a window seat as the curve of the cabin affords me extra wriggle room, especially if the middle-seater is bulkier, a manspreader or armrest hog. I can usually catch toilet break when one or other of the 'outsiders' goes.

The window seat can be colder and noisier but layering clothing, using the blanket and noise-cancelling headphones solve those issues. Since I am batting 70, my arse has lost its natural padding, so I will be investing in a cushion this year.

I also carry an inflatable neck support as their usefulness varies on what the seat headrest adjustment is like, or where the window placement relative to the seat is.

6 hours ago, Back Stage said:

We've done it a few times. From the US and from Europe. I am going to give you a trade secret. It is cheaper than upgrading but makes your flight first class, well, almost first class. We check which plane we will be flying on. From there, you can find out how many crew members will be on your flight. We buy some small mesh bags and fill them with chocolates, thank-you notes, a small trinket or toy, and the equivalent of 1 Euro in whatever currency you have locally. This is the van tip. The attendants all have a van that takes them to their lodgings, and they tip the van driver. I have had champagne brought to me, extra pillows, cheese plates, wine, and tons of attention. Once we were given merch from the first class. In all, it cost me about 30 Euros. The gratitude alone was worth it. Those attendants have a pretty crappy job.

There's so many social media videos suggesting gifts as a way to try and get an upgrade, surely any flight attendant is cynical of the under lying objectives when gift are offended...

IMO it might be viewed as being manipulative.

Depends how the gifts are offered & how genuine the passenger appears.