I travel quite a bit because of my job and I've often had to think of things to do on a flight. Sometimes I'll just work through the flight, but in many cases, I find myself simply board to tears. So, I've tried to come up with a list of things to do. And I'd like to share these with you.
A video iPod (or an equivalent device) is one of the best things to have as it provides both music and video. For music, the battery will last a long time (10 hours or more). But for videos, you will only get about 2-3 hours. So, unless you have some external power source, you're out of luck on a long flight. By the way, you can also play video games on the iPod as well.
In addition to or perhaps instead of an iPod, plan on bringing several good magazines or a book(s). If you have a subscription to some magazines, resist the urge to look through them until the flight. That is, plan it out so that you can take the unread magazines with you.
If you're willing, you could also strike up a conversation with one of your neighbors. One of the easiest ways to do this is to start by asking where the person is from and where he/she is headed. Then let him/her know the purpose of your trip and that you hope the weather is OK at the location you're headed to. And then just keep going with whatever comes to mind.
If you're feeling a little adventurous and have nerves of steel, you might want to consider performing a vocal of one of your favorite songs out loud. But make sure it's a crowd-pleasing song. Otherwise, it might seem lame. And don't keep it too long either. At the end, you could pretend to be surprised and say something like, "I didn't realize I was singing that out loud. You may annoy some folks but mostly will give everyone something memorable to talk about.
