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Eight hacks to turn your next long-haul flight into a holiday

While there’s a lot of wisdom to the saying ‘it’s the journey, not the destination’, it’s probably a safe assumption that when travelling by air, most people don’t view the flight itself as the highlight.

Published: 26 June 2018 12:15 CEST
Eight hacks to turn your next long-haul flight into a holiday
Photo: WOW air/WOW air Instagram

Airline travel is wonderful for getting you where you want to go quickly, but long-haul flights can challenge even the most eager explorers. If you’ve got a big journey coming up, why not break it up with a stopover in one of the most gorgeous places on Earth? With Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air, you can fly to 37 destinations in Europe, North America and Asia – all with a layover (or longer) in majestic Iceland.

Book your next trip with Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air

With that in mind, here are eight flight hacks for achieving the ultimate in-flight comfort:

1. Find the perfect Spotify playlist

Nothing gets you in the mood for, well, pretty much anything, like a great playlist. Kick back and relax on your next WOW air flight with some tunes picked specially for the occasion. 

Need some more inspiration? Check out the playlist below, and there’s plenty more where that came from. Simply do a quick search on Spotify to find something that’s just right.
 
Can’t find the winning combo? Build your own playlist (and don’t forget to include Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Fly Away’ which sounds even better while cruising at 45,000 feet).

2. Stretch your legs with WOW comfy or WOW premium

There’s nothing worse than being packed like sardines on a long flight. That’s why you’ll want to take advantage of Wow air’s large seats that provide extra space between you and your fellow passengers.

With WOW comfy, you’ll be able to reserve an XL seat that gives you plenty of room to really stretch out. XL seats have a 32-33 inch (81cm – 84cm) seat pitch (that’s fancy airline speak for the amount of space between your seat and the one in front of you).

With an XXL spot, you get a seat pitch of at least 35 inches (89cm). If you really want extra legroom – and who doesn’t? – WOW premium is the way to go. A premium ticket features WOW’s BigSeat, the airline’s biggest and most comfortable seat with a seat pitch of 37 to 45 inches (94-114cm).

3. Take your own in-flight entertainment

Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air has two things all travellers love: low prices and comfortable seats.

One of the ways the airline can keep its prices low is by leaving it up to passengers to come up with their own in-flight entertainment. If you can’t imagine a long-distance flight without the classic movie options, fear not. All you need to do is plan ahead a bit and download a few movies to your favourite device.

Prep for your layover with Iceland-themed movies like the Ben Stiller action-drama ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ and ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (both the classic 1959 version and the 2008 remake).

Photo: Seydisfjordur church in Iceland was one of many Icelandic filming destinations in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’. Vichie81/Depositphotos

There’s also this little-known show called ‘Game of Thrones’ (perhaps you’ve heard of it?). Its ‘Beyond The Wall’ scenes were all shot in Iceland, so if you’re one of the few last holdouts who hasn’t gotten around to watching the global smash hit, why not start while you can catch a glimpse of its remarkable setting out your window?

There are plenty of acclaimed Iceland-linked films and TV shows to choose from, but of course Iceland isn’t the only country that makes binge-worthy offerings. Why not try ‘Goliath’, from the creator of ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Ally McBeal’, or Golden Globe winning series ‘The Affair’? Whatever you choose to watch, remember that a long-haul flight is practically the one time you can binge an entire series without any of the usual guilt.

4. Go old-school and load up on books

Long-haul flights are perfect for losing yourself in a book. Whether it’s that novel that you swore you’d read but just never seem to get around to, or the latest summer blockbuster, be sure to have some books with you and treat yourself to a needed screen break.

If you’re interested in books from Iceland, a good place to start would be Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s series of crime novels featuring the Icelandic lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. In a similar vein, Arnaldur Indriðason’s series of crime fiction featuring Detective Erlendur has also received international acclaim.

Once you’ve torn your way through those Icelandic literary gems, check out these 73 recommendations for summer reading. Whether you fancy sinking your teeth into some true crime with Michelle McNamara’s groundbreaking ‘I’ll be gone in the dark’ or kick-starting your adventure with the travel tale ‘Couchsurfing in Iran’ by Stephan Orth, this list will have you covered.

5. Break up your trip with an Iceland stopover

Photo: TTstudio/Depositphotos

Wherever you’re there overnight or you’ve only got a few hours between flights, you’ll have more than enough time to fit in a few sights. Ideas include catching one of the hourly buses to and from the Blue Lagoon or getting in some shopping and drinks along Laugaveger Street, there are plenty of locations worth exploring.

Use your flight to read up on the options, and remember that when you’re flying with Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air, you always have the option of scheduling a stopover in order to better explore Iceland.

6. Find inner peace with these mindfulness apps

Whether you’re flying from Stockholm to San Francisco for a pitch meeting with the newest hot tech company or visiting Copenhagen from Pittsburgh for a green energy conference, you may want to use your in-flight time to relax your mind.

There are no shortage of effective mindfulness and relaxation apps out there, but the ones we like best include Calm, Headspace and Breethe. Open one of these, settle into your extra wide seat and feel the calmness overtake you.

7. Skip the queues by going premium

Photo: Wow Air

One of the worst things about flying is the constant queuing. With WOW premium, you can significantly cut down on your waiting time by gaining access to a separate fast-tracked security lane at Keflavík Airport that allows quicker access to the departure hall. Plus, you’ll get priority boarding at all airports, giving you more time to get comfy on board.

8. Take control by customising your flight

Are you a window or an aisle person? With WOW comfy and WOW premium, you can pre-select your seat rather than leaving things up to chance (after all, no one wants to be stuck in a middle seat on a long haul).

Plus, you don’t have to worry about unforeseeable circumstances wreaking havoc on your plans – or your wallet. Both comfy and premium tickets ensure that you will receive a refund if you need to cancel a reservation.

Book your next trip with Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by WOW air.

TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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