As ever, Herald Travel readers have proved adept at filling this column for me - er, I mean sharing some great travelling tips. Last week, we asked for your best ideas for surviving a long-haul flight in economy class and many of your answers were illuminating. There were the obvious ones (drink plenty of water, wear loose-fitting clothes), the creative ones (a couple of you saluted the wonders of saline Nasal spray for battling the dry air) and the pseudo-scientific (apparently washing and massaging your feet eases anxieties).
Michelle Pipping reckons she has developed some useful tricks over five years of trips to and from Britain.
"If I haven't managed to secure the perfect seats, then I wait for everyone on the plane to be seated before take-off, then jump up to use the toilet... I quickly walk up and down the aisles to see if there are any empty seats that are to my liking (bulkhead seats or three empty seats in a row). If I find some, then I nicely ask the flight attendants if I can move.
"Some ask you to wait until after take-off, but others will allow you to move immediately."
But it's her suggestion about fellow passengers that makes Michelle a winner in our Scholl flight essentials giveaway. Where some entries in the competition suggested befriending your neighbour in the interests of a cheerful journey, Michelle goes the other way.
