I fly to England every summer. Typically I leave from Baltimore, MD or Philadelphia, PA. The flight over is usually over night, and takes about 7 to 8 hours. The retourn trip is generally 8 hours, and generally during the day. I have been doing this for about 14 years now, and sometimes I will go over to Paris or another European city at another time.

Personally I prefer to fly direct, get on the plane here, get off the plane in England or Paris or wherever I'm going. But in the past I have done flights where I had to make a change. Which is why I now prefer to fly direct whenever possible.

I have a routine, as soon as I board, I settle in with magazines and or books, and have my laptop at the ready. I also have snacks. If we're lucky the wait time to actually get in the air–no delays for weather or back up of other planes isn't too bad. Once at cruising altitude, they almost immediately come around and offer a drink and snack. Once they finish that, I take my first walk, generally just to the loo. Not long after they come around and deliver the evening meal. I usually request vegetarian, so am usually served before others. As soon as they clean up from dinner, I go to the bathroom again, even if I don't need to, just to stretch my legs.

I then decide if I want to watch the plane entertainment or my own on my laptop. Reading is OK until they turn the lights down. Even with a book light, I just find it hard to read when it's that dark. I rarely fall asleep, at best I might doze for a few minutes at a time. I usually get up and take a walk to the bathroom at least 2 or 3 times during the flight, again just to stretch my legs. I pay attention to in flight tracking and just before they bring breakfast, I pack everything away except maybe a book or my mp3 player.

I think it's just a matter of now being used to the flight. I always fly British Air or Virgin. The few times I have flown other carriers I've just realized how much I prefer to fly BA or Virgin. I think the carrier makes a big difference in the overall experience and have never been disappointed with BA or Virgin.

The return flight is always harder–leaving England, just the thought makes me want to cry!!! And, as you have the headwind it's a longer flight. But, I try to just repeat the process. But, I enjoy flying. The longest flight was to Hawaii, with a layover in Texas, fortunately that is a very short layover, just long enough to grab some nibbles and visit the bathroom. And, no I don't have a condition. I just like to wash my hands and face and stretch my legs frequently when traveling.

If you want to visit a place, then flying is the way to go. It probably won’t be as bad as you imagine. Go with a good attitude, accept what happens, and travel prepared with nibbles, baby wipes to refresh yourself, and enough entertainment. Trust me, England is worth any minor discomfort you might experience–as is Paris, Rome, Athens, etc. Go for it.

Gloria