The new Aer Lingus A321LR business class seat is revealed

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• Shoestring says:

  1 Feb1 February 09:55

  O/T how to get a decent sleep on LH flights. Obvs popping a pill can work for many: but how can you get an effective sleeping pill in the UK without a prescription? I’ve tried a few as I suffer a bit from insomnia/ sleepless nights. My thoughts:

  1. Best by far is Zopiclone – but this is prescription-only. You really wouldn’t want to take this on a shorter LH flight (eg 6-7 hr TATL) if you are going straight to work afterwards as you’ll not be very alert for a few hours. Addictive & hard to get for a good reason – but in specific bad circumstances eg stress/ bereavement causing insomnia your doctor should give you a 2 week prescription. Half a pill can be pretty effective.

  2. Next best is Doxylamine Succinate tablets – not sold over the counter in the UK (which is a big warning sign about over-use) but freely available in the USA. You can get 192 tablets for £9.87 delivered from USA on Ebay UK (my trusted seller is jccecommerce & brand is Kirkland Signature Sleep Aid) – no customs duty was payable. About 5p each.

  3. Next & quite good is OTC drug Nytol, active chemical is Diphenhydramine, a powerful anti-histamine that makes you drowsy – this comes in 50g & 25g, I use 50g & get a great 7-8 hrs’ sleep with no heavy head in the morning – though those of slighter build complain they feel hungover for a few hrs in the morning so in that case 25g would be better. About £6.25 for 20 tablets, 31p each. Pharmacist cautions against overuse but this is more because it loses effectiveness over time.

  4. Not forgetting the herbal remedies, obvs OTC as well. Tesco sells a herbal Sleep Aid, 30 for £2.50 (8p each), currently 3 for 2 so 5.55p each. These work quite OK for me as well.

  One key thing to think about is the ability of these remedies not just to make you drowsy but also to keep you sleeping soundly. The first 3 have quite a long ‘half-life’ in terms of this, whereas the Tesco herbal remedy makes you drowsy easily enough but you might wake up 5 hrs later and find it hard to nod off again.

  • BJ says:

    1 Feb1 February 10:21

    Ask cabin crew for a banana and a glass of milk or buy them after security.

    You finally decided to go back to Asia?

    • Shoestring says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:24

      Counting the days, BJ – we love it out there, esp Thailand & still to explore Indonesia, Vietnam etc

      • BJ says:

        1 Feb1 February 10:31

        Goof fir you. Btw, my suggestion was serious, they stimulate production of seratonin which not only helps sleep but mkkes you happy and relaxed.

      • BJ says:

        1 Feb1 February 10:32

        *Good for

      • Cat says:

        1 Feb1 February 23:28

        Have an amazing time! My advice, FWIW, allow as long as possible for Indonesia – the different islands are wonderfully varied. Between the way belief systems change from one island to the next, the way the flora and fauna change (what with the Wallace line dividing the archipelago), the varied geology, the wonderfully friendly people, the buskers on buses (it has to be seen to be believed), the incredible biodiversity of the oceans and the stunning beaches, it really makes for quite the destination.

    • Genghis says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:51

      As soon as I step on the plane, I’m on destination time. I try to limit booze and drink plenty of water. I don’t take sleeping tablets on the plane. If heading west will have a snooze after some food. If heading east will have a good night sleep after lunch / dinner.

      When I arrive at destination, for the first couple of nights I’ll take one of the strong nytols. This works well for me heading east and is OK for me heading west though I’ll still wake up early for a few days.

      • tartan says:

        1 Feb1 February 12:29

        I’ve always relied on an antihistamine – Cetirizine is dirt cheap and if taken 3-4 hours before the flight it allows me to sleep fairly easily

  • meta says:

    1 Feb1 February 13:44

    I am a fan of 1Above tablets. If nothing else, they help with dehydration even when drinking alchohol. I feel much more refreshed. I drink about 0.5L of water for each hour I am awake and switch immediately to the normal hours at the destination.

  • @mkcol says:

    1 Feb1 February 15:44

    Get amitriptylene. Often prescribed for back pain to help you sleep at night, it’s a godsend for me when I’m working nightshifts & just not getting any unaided sleep during the day. Was easy enough for me to get from online pharmacies by just telling them I had sciatica from an injury (which ironically I did have but had never been to a UK GP about) and they quickly prescribed, sold & sent it to my home address.

  • Alan says:

    4 Feb4 February 01:04

    never used tablets – just get on to destination time when I get on board and work sleep around that, seems to do the trick!

• TripRep says:

  1 Feb1 February 10:09

  I would argue that not going OTT on taking anything, you don’t want to be too sluggish and you should wake-up to move uncomfortable limbs to avoid DVT.

  I sometimes take an antihistamine as the dry cabin can make me sneezy taking CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE has the added effect of making me snoozy too. I find with a little alcohol, it’s just enough to get me under… Zzzz

  • Shoestring says:

    1 Feb1 February 10:26

    Of course alcohol can work fine but I’m doing my best not to self-medicate with that stuff at the mo 🙂

    • mike says:

      1 Feb1 February 10:51

      fallen off the wagon again?

      • Mikeact says:

        1 Feb1 February 11:04

        I guess I’m one of the fortunate ones re time differences, sleeping etc. Whatever is going on at the other end, then I join in…if it’s breakfast in Auckland or dinner in Vancouver then that’s what I’ll do.

      • Alex Sm says:

        1 Feb1 February 13:07

        @Mikeact Me too. So happy of not having a jet lag. Probably still young and optimistic, this helps a lot. And sleeping on the plane easily as I am always ready to have a nap (my conviction is that most of insomnia derives from sleeping too much during the night, people need to limit themselves to no more than 6 hours sleep, them you will always cherish an opportunity to doze off)

  • tartan says:

    1 Feb1 February 12:30

    Another vote for Cetirizine – does the job nicely if taken 3-4 hours before the flight

    • Anna says:

      1 Feb1 February 14:13

      There’s a newish OTC one called Sominex – I only need half a tablet to knock me out for 10 hours and I am a life-long insomniac. It takes a couple of hours to kick in IME so needs to be taken early. Interestingly, I read recently that anti-histamine based sleeping remedies work by blocking the connections in your brain which keep you alert which sounds quite dramatic for a non-prescription substance!

      • Shoestring says:

        1 Feb1 February 16:02

        Yep Nytol 50g is pretty strong, I was pleasantly surprised that it’s over the counter as well. An hour or so after you take it, you feel quite dopey.

        I’ll give that Sominex you mention a go as well.

        And Cetirizene, I’ll research it, is that an OTC tablet as well?

      • Shoestring says:

        1 Feb1 February 17:38

        NHS: ‘Cetirizine is known as a non-drowsy antihistamine. It’s much less likely to make you feel sleepy than some other antihistamines.’

        Not so sure this fits what I need 🙂

      • Shoestring says:

        1 Feb1 February 20:36

        Sominex researches well, will give it a go. Also known as Avomine, Phenergan.

      • Shoestring says:

        1 Feb1 February 20:42

        Actually Phenergan sounds ideal, it is quite cheap to buy online and from FAQ:
        Can I drink alcohol when taking Phenergan?
        Alcohol should be avoided when taking this medication, as this could worsen effects of drowsiness.

• T says:

  1 Feb1 February 10:57

  OT: I have to book flights with Wizzair in a few months, and again later in the future (worth around 8-10k), however, as some of you may know, they don’t accept AMEX.

  What is the best way to make this spending ‘worth it’? Is there any way to pay with AMEX/which other card would you recommend?

  A few days ago, I didn’t have to think about this as Curve launched AMEX – however, this is no longer the case …

  • Mikeact says:

    1 Feb1 February 11:05

    Go through a TA that does?

    • Alex says:

      1 Feb1 February 12:45

      join wizz discount club – costs about 20-60 £ (depending on the level of membership) but slashes ticket price considerably. You can’t get this discounted price through TA though…

• Ben says:

  1 Feb1 February 11:04

  OT. I am currently silver with BAEC and will be very close to Gold this year. My year ends in April but I have a flight a week after my year ends. I have seen a couple of times on here people asking BA to push it back but im wondering how to go about it? Call, email, etc and also do I need to give a reason or are they flexible? Thank you

  • Rob says:

    1 Feb1 February 12:01

    This is is automatic BA policy so don’t worry. Simply call and say you want the 2-week extension.

    • Ben says:

      1 Feb1 February 12:14

      Oh ok thank you. I thought I might have to give a sob story about my first time achieving gold. hahaha.

• ADS says:

  1 Feb1 February 11:12

  “There will be 16 (business class) seats per aircraft”

  i’m guessing the layout will be:
  2-0
  1-1
  2-2
  1-1
  2-2
  1-1

  so 8 seats with undisturbed aisle access (assuming the front row does), and 8 seats where you either have to climb over, or have a climber overer! far from ideal.

  • Dwadda says:

    1 Feb1 February 18:11

    Pity the singletons don’t enjoy the sliding privacy door that Jetblue has with the same layout for their biz class.

  • ADS says:

    10 Feb10 February 01:27

    looking at the photo again – maybe it’s going to be:

    1-0
    2-1
    1-2
    2-1
    1-2
    2-1

• SK says:

  1 Feb1 February 11:37

  Can someone please tell me if its worth spending 107500 Avios + £510 for a flight to Beijing Outbound premium economy and Inbound Club World?

  • Rob says:

    1 Feb1 February 12:00

    No, not in my view. Better (probably) to pay cash for a PE return and use Avios to upgrade the return in CW availability is there.

    • SK says:

      1 Feb1 February 12:16

      Thanks!

• tartan says:

  1 Feb1 February 11:44

  The new BA ad is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2w2bCMhc9k

  Not exactly earth-shattering, but pleasant enough.

  • Nick_C says:

    1 Feb1 February 12:10

    Well that’s 90 seconds of my life I will never get back.

    What does it tell you about the airline? It was more like an advert for the (English) Tourist Board. Maybe it will appeal to the Japanese.

    Almost as pointless as the Boeing ad currently running on Sky News. They want us to go out and buy a going? Or choose flights operated by Boeing and shun Airbus? Who knows.

    Waste of money. Invest in the product and it will sell itself.

• Kai says:

  1 Feb1 February 11:52

  OT: Made an AA flight booking via Amex Travel last night and wants to change the dates now. Called Amex just now and they informed me I’d have to pay a change fee now since the cooling off was only until midnight yesterday. Doesn’t make any sense to me as it says 24 hours on AA’s website. Shall I push further or contact AA? Thanks.

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