How to Make Your Flight More Comfortable

Fitzgerald warned us about the dangers of trying to repeat the past, but these days it seems we’re all mired in mid-century nostalgia.

First came Mad Men. That oh-so-suave 1960s set piece, which returns for its fifth season this spring, had viewers pining for a time before BlackBerrys, when a business lunch could occupy an entire afternoon and you’d never have to hide your bottle of Canadian Club in a drawer.

Then another gleeful exercise in retrospection, Pan Am, launched last fall on ABC. The show took a rose-colored look at the Jet Age—those halcyon days of air travel when airport attire meant suits, not sweatpants, and in-flight meals ran several courses, from Champagne to Chateaubriand to cherries jubilee. The golden era of glamour in transit.

So what on earth happened? We all know the story: The democratization of air travel led to the commoditization of air travel, and as ticket prices plummeted, those cushy amenities quickly perished. Soon terrorism thrust us into the Fret Age, our present epoch of humorless pat-downs and sample-size shampoo.

But the reality is, glamour isn’t dead—it just demands a bit of extra ingenuity. “Travel isn’t easy now,” says Brad John, cofounder of the Flight 001 chain of travel boutiques. “But if you’re well-organized and select the right products, it’s absolutely possible to enjoy your journey, not just your destination.”

Every frequent flyer has a few tricks up his or her sleeve that help ease the stress of flying. “Business travelers have their own quirky routines,” says Jerome Griffith, CEO of Tumi, who stores a complete outfit for each day of a trip in its own Tumi packing cube. “When you have to wake up at 5 a.m. to catch a plane, the last thing you want to think about is what to wear.”

Some of these tricks also offer a sorely desired injection of style, a way to reclaim the luxe, calme et volupté of one’s voyage. Judy Reeves, North American PR director of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, lathers up with Caudalíe Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask. “It’s an easy way to pamper myself on long-haul flights, and helps me look my best upon landing,” she says.