JeanneinDoha's Guide to Surviving Frequent Air Travel in Economy Class

According to my Qatar Airways Privilege Club tracker, I have spent one week of the past fifty-two on an aircraft - that's 168 hours sat cramped like a sardine in a tin can. I wish I could say that I'd traveled this extensively for pleasure. But alas, I primarily fly for work and, these days, pretty much exclusively in economy. Should you, like me, ever find yourself acquiring squatter status aboard an airplane, here are a few tips for surviving routine air travel whilst travelling cattle class on Qatar Airways.

Choose a seat in an empty row towards the back of the aircraft.

In my experience, ground staff and computer algorithms try to assign passenger seating moving from the front of the cabin to the back. This means that if you pick an empty aisle seat towards the back of the plane, you are less likely to have someone placed next to you. Middle seats within the middle seating column that are also located towards the back of the aircraft are the least likely to be filled, so picking the corresponding aisle seat gives you the greatest chance of being able to stretch out. The earlier you check in, the better your chance of acquiring a semi-decent seat.

Lounge food is fresher than economy class food.

Airport lounges generally serve freshly-prepared and often relatively healthy food. I am particularly partial to the salad buffet available in most lounges at Hamad International Airport (HIA). Fill yourself up in the lounge and skip the heavily-salted and processed economy trays. If you want to hedge your bets, request a vegan meal option in advance. The fruit and salad bowls that come as part of the vegan meal are probably the freshest things to have graced an economy class cabin in a while. If you don't have lounge access or prefer to avoid lounge food altogether, try and pack yourself some healthy snacks  that reduce your reliance on in-flight fodder. Natural snack bars, nuts and fruit are some of my go-tos. 

Hydrate!

You might not be able to take a full water bottle past security but you can usually refill an empty water bottle at various points in HIA. In addition, cabin crew are generally willing to refill bottles on the flight, and I have also been provided with 1 liter water bottles on request.

Dress the part.

Wear something cozy and opt for natural, breathable fibers. Remove your footwear to allow for better circulation and moisturize when possible.

If you cannot sleep, try to meditate.

My forever-cheerful husband is a huge proponent of meditating whilst flying. It's not always easy to sleep when seated in economy class. Meditation, however, allows you to calm your mind and rest. With any luck, it might also help you drift off to sleep.

Happy flying!