I fly one of the longest flights in the world at least twice per year, and I’m always on the lookout for ways to pass the more than 24 hours of travel time – especially as I find it hard to sleep on planes, don’t like the in-seat entertainment, and the only tech I fly with is my phone and a few accessories. After much experimentation, here are my fixes to stay entertained on long flights.
A Note on In-Flight Wi-Fi
Virtually every airline offers in-flight Wi-Fi, but it costs an arm and a leg. My last flight charged $7 per hour, which seemed like extortion. As I’m a frugal person and think Wi-Fi should be complimentary considering the price of tickets, I don’t shell out for Wi-Fi access. Therefore, all of my suggestions consist of completely offline options to stay entertained on long flights.
Install Mobile Games
Mobile gaming has proven to be a serious platform for developers and gamers alike. There are many quality titles that cover every genre you can imagine. Long haul flights are the perfect time to dig into them. Unfortunately, many mobile games require an Internet connection, mainly due to multiplayer or in-app purchases – but not all of them. There are plenty that only need to be installed once.
My go-to mobile games on long flights can be enjoyed completely offline, including Vampire Survivors and Fallout: Shelter. Alternatively, if you don’t consider yourself to be a gamer, you may be interested in more casual apps that offer puzzles, like crosswords and Sudoku. Solitaire is always a good option as well.
If you have a Netflix account, you can install those Netflix games too as they can be played offline and are ad-free.
Make Use of Emulators
Speaking of games, a long flight is the perfect time to revisit old favorites with emulators. If you’re an Android user, there are many available emulators. Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 – name a console, and there’s probably an emulator for it. Sourcing games is a legal grey area, but it’s easy to get your hands on them. You can even opt for a frontend app like DIG or Daijisho to organize and manage all of your emulators and games.
Unfortunately, Apple users are not so lucky. The iOS store only recently allowed emulators, so there aren’t as many options compared to Android. But you should be able to track down enough emulators to get you through pretty much any flight. While you can get by with the onscreen controls, a Bluetooth controller practically guarantees a better experience.
Listen to Podcasts
Most of us know that staring at a screen for hours on end is not ideal. Blue light tricking our brains into staying awake, eye strain, etc., can contribute to making a difficult flight worse. However, if you’re like me and have trouble sleeping on flights, there aren’t many other ways to pass the time. I’ll be the first to admit, I jumped on the podcast bandwagon later than most, but after I gave them a try on a flight, I became a full-fledged convert.
The biggest advantage is that I can simply shut my eyes and listen, giving my eyes a much-needed rest. It lets me focus on something other than the drone of the engines or the crying baby. Streaming apps like Spotify allow users to download podcasts for offline listening. One of my go-tos is Bandsplain, which does deep dives into the history of popular bands. Some podcasts give listeners the ability to download episodes as MP3s directly from their website, like a personal favorite, The Flop House, dedicated to reviewing bad movies.
Download Plenty of Music
I was recently on a flight that just happened to be ferrying a group of Swifties to the Eras Tour in Melbourne. Their exuberance quickly abated when they realized they wouldn’t be able to stream their Spotify playlists once they put their phones in Airplane mode and lost access to the Internet. Cue a mad rush to download as many songs as they could before the flight commenced.
To avoid the panic and ensure you have enough to last your entire flight, make sure you download your music from Spotify beforehand. If you’re a physical media collector, rip your CDs to digital and transfer them to your phone. If you’re like me and have a phone that supports external storage via microSD card, chuck them on there to free up storage space on your phone.
Download Shows From Streaming Services
As mentioned above, I’m not a huge fan of in-flight entertainment units. The screen is too close to my face, and the libraries are somewhat lackluster, only offering the latest blockbuster movies and incomplete TV series. I’ve also seen them fail. Once, I was flying from Sydney to L.A., and the entertainment unit of the guy sitting next to me didn’t work. Since it was a fully booked flight, he couldn’t swap his seat, and there was nothing the cabin staff could do. He was given complimentary Wi-Fi, but still, it was pretty brutal.
To avoid these pitfalls altogether, don’t rely on the in-flight unit to watch movies or TV shows. Load up your phone with the movies and TV shows you want to watch. If you’re in the middle of a show before you’re scheduled to take off or want to binge something new, download the episodes to your phone beforehand. Most streaming platforms, like Netflix, allow subscribers to download content for offline viewing.
Read Books
I always bring one paperback with me to reduce the amount of time I’m staring at screens. But if you want to be super minimalist, grab an e-reader app for your mobile device. You can’t do anything in the air but sit, so it’s a perfect time to catch up on reading.
As an Android user, I’ve been using Moon+ Reader for years. This is largely due to the fact that it can read virtually any file format you throw at it and is super-simple to use. That said, there are a ton of e-reader apps for both Android and iOS. Find the one that you like, and load some books on your phone. Of course, if you want to reduce eye strain, consider downloading some audiobooks.
Learn a Language
Obviously, if you’re flying long haul, you have a lot of time on your hands, which is perfect for smashing through some language lessons. However, while there are numerous apps that can help you learn a language, only a handful don’t require an Internet connection.
If you’re opting out of in-flight Wi-Fi, I’d recommend downloading Babbel (iOS, Android) to your device. Whereas most language apps store their lessons in the cloud, Babbel allows users to download language modules directly to their devices. You can continue your lessons even without an Internet connection.
Create Some Art
If you like to sketch to pass the time but don’t want to lug around a sketch pad and pencils, you’re in luck. There are a variety of drawing apps that allow you to flex your creative muscles anytime, anywhere, with virtual mediums. Whether you like charcoals, watercolors, or markers, there’s something for every artist on the go.
Fortunately, there are art creation apps that can be used completely offline. Check out Sketchbook (iOS, Android) and ArtFlow (Android) – just make sure you activate the app online before your flight. If you’re like me and have a phone or tablet with a stylus, you’ll have even more control to create your in-flight masterpiece.
Read Wikipedia
If you’re anything like me, you’ve definitely wasted time going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. You start reading about inflation only to find yourself reading about the Black Sox scandal hours later. For this reason, Wikipedia is a great time-waster while you’re stuck in a metal tube hurtling through the sky.
While Wikipedia has an official app, it requires an Internet connection. I’d grab Kiwix (iOS, Android) instead. Kiwix is a free offline browser that allows users to download content from educational websites like Wikipedia, TED and more. Before your flight, download the articles you want to dig into. I’d go with lengthy topics, like “World War II,” to make sure you have enough reading materials to get through long stretches in the air.
Don’t Forget Your Charging Cable/Powerbank
If you have noticed, most of the options above required use of your mobile device. Thus, you should have a charging cable around to charge your device when it runs out of juice. Alternatively, for those flight that doesn’t provide a charging port, you can bring a powerbank instead. You just have to make sure that it is within the specification to bring onboard the flight.
Long-haul flights can be an endurance test. However, with the right mindset and many options to keep you busy, your time packed like a sardine into a can, can turn into an enjoyable and relaxing experience! If you’re not into being entertained on your flight, pack must-have tech to stay productive on your next flight. Also, make sure you install these apps to hit the ground running when you land. Safe travels!
Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Ryan Lynch.
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