• I've taken a handful of economy long-haul flights but never loved the traditional travel pillow.
• So, I'm determined to find the viral accessories that actually work.
• I tried a foot hammock and an inflatable travel pillow. In the future, I'll only pack the hammock.

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: Long-haul flights suck. Long-haul flights in economy suck even more.

While it's a privilege to travel and explore destinations all around the world, getting there isn't always easy.

I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so. A quick search on Amazon shows over 10,000 results for travel pillows, and the market has expanded beyond the traditional crescent-shaped neck pillow. There are inflatable options, foot hammocks, compression socks, eye masks, and more.

As someone who has embarked on plenty of long-haul flights, I've set out to make the experience more bearable — and figure out which of the tens of thousands of plane accessories actually make a trip more comfortable.

I tested two viral products this year: a foot hammock and an inflatable pillow. Here's which one is permanently on my packing list.

TikTok convinced me to ditch the typical travel pillow

I've had my fair share of issues with the circular travel pillow. The few I've tried never sat high enough on my shoulders. The result left me craning my neck and in pain.

For years, I booked window seats, bundled up jackets as pillows, and used plane walls as my support.

The system led me to my first viral product: the foot hammock.

I often wanted to scrunch up into a ball in my window seat. I longed to press my knees against the seat in front of me or dig my feet into the plane seat pocket, but I also wanted to avoid annoying the person in front of me.

With the foot hammock, I could wrap a strap around my tray table and position the hammock so my knees could hug my chest. In this system, my weight pressed down onto the floor versus against the seat in front of me.

I used the hammock on a 10-hour flight to Switzerland and loved it. It was easy enough to use, and when I wanted my feet on the ground, the product was so small that it didn't take up space. Plus, the one I bought off Amazon from the brand Zoklu cost just $9.

Now that I had figured out comfort for the lower half of my body, I was ready to figure out a replacement for my bundled-up jacket.

Another viral product I had eyed for years was the cube-shaped inflatable travel pillow.

Instead of leaning to the side, the traveler places the pillow in their lap or on a tray table and leans forward. I thought I'd prefer this sleeping position over craning my neck, so I went to Amazon and purchased the $21 Kimiandy inflatable travel pillow.

Well, it was a purchase I regret. I used the pillow for 13- and 15-hour flights and my biggest complaint was its size — it was enormous.

I was lucky to have empty middle seats when I tested the product, but if a passenger were next to me, it would've been impossible not to bump them with the pillow. Since there wasn't enough space to put the pillow by my feet, I also needed to inflate and deflate it throughout the flight, which felt like an unnecessary hassle.

Of course, no passenger is the same. Plenty of positive reviews highlight why people love the inflatable pillow.

"It has completely changed flying for me," one person wrote. "It is decently compact, inflates with about 4-5 breaths, feels durable, and supports my head/neck just right."

Meanwhile, others didn't love the foot hammock. In reviews, some mentioned that the hammock wasn't large enough for both feet and might not be the best product for taller people.

Each accessory has its positives and negatives, but I'm figuring out what I love and hate. I'll try more flight accessories in the future, but my foot hammock will be on my packing list.

• My journey from Denver to Zanzibar, Tanzania, took about 33 hours and included four flights.
• It was one of my longest journeys, and I searched for ways to make it bearable.
• The best thing I did was get a credit card with lounge access.

When I landed in Tanzania, fellow travelers, lodge staff, and safari guides were amazed that I had made it all the way from Colorado.

When I mentioned that the trip took over 30 hours, they were stunned.

Having crossed oceans and continents to get to destinations like Japan and New Zealand, getting to Tanzania didn't seem all that different.

When I booked my flights and realized I'd have three layovers and four flights over 33 hours, I set out to make the journey more bearable.

I bought a new travel pillow, downloaded podcasts and shows, and wore comfy outfits, but the best thing I did was get a travel credit card.

I got a credit card with airport lounge access

Before heading to Tanzania, I had visited an airport lounge once on my way to New Zealand. My seven-hour layover was filled with the comforts of prosecco, ramen, and comfy seating.

It felt like a luxury, but as someone who shows up to airports right on time, prioritizes nonstop flights, and tries to travel as cheaply as possible, I wasn't sure paying hundreds of dollars for a credit card would be worth the airport lounge access.

Then, I looked into options, and it became clear that the perks outweighed any annual fees.

I settled on the Capital One Venture X card. It would give me access to Capital One lounges and a Priority Pass membership, which includes lounges around the world.

The annual fee is $395, but the perks include a $300 travel credit. Since I travel often, it felt like the card's fee was closer to $95. I figured I'd easily eat $100 worth of food in the lounges over a year.

Other perks, such as access to luxury hotels and a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry statement credit, helped me justify the credit card fee.

I likely ate $100 worth of food on my round-trip flight

I kicked things off with a five-hour layover in the Washington Dulles International Airport. I pulled up my Priority Pass app and looked at the lounge options near my gate.

I had three to choose from and ended up at the Etihad lounge. Without the card, entrance into the lounge would have cost $75.

I had a breakfast spread of smoked salmon, bao buns, pastries, and access to a full bar. I also had comfy seating — much nicer than the leather benches at my gate.

While guests are allowed to visit the lounge for three hours, I was there early in the morning, and no one seemed to mind that I was there for closer to four.

For the rest of my journey, I made shorter stops in lounges to grab quick bites and use the restrooms.

For example, I realized I needed drinking water and a bathroom when I landed in Ethiopia. I initially went to the airport's public bathroom, but a line stretched around the corner. So, I pulled up my Priority Pass and found a lounge nearby. I popped in, used the bathroom, and grabbed a snack and a water bottle. The 15-minute trip saved me time and money.

Some lounges, like the Capital One lounges, had to-go food I could eat during my flight. At others, the staff made sure that I knew when my flight was boarding, so I never feared missing the plane.

If I had longer layovers, I would've taken advantage of the showers at some lounges.

The perks were basic, but having a peaceful place to rest between flights, people to update me on departures, and plenty of food and drinks set me up for success on the long journey.

• Airlines are using more narrow-body planes across the Atlantic, opening new routes for flyers.
• New single-aisle planes offer cost efficiency, smaller capacity, and flexible cabins.
• The Boeing 757 used to be the main transatlantic workhorse but is losing market share to Airbus.

New narrow-body planes designed for long-haul flights are changing how people fly.

This evolution has been largely propelled by the Airbus A321neo family, smaller planes that can flyer further than previous single-aisle aircraft. Its longest-ranged variant, the newly launched A321XLR, can fly up to 11 hours nonstop and carry up to 240 people.

These planes are popular with airlines because they can connect profitable cities that previously required a high-capacity wide-body plane like the Boeing 767 or Airbus A330. Flexible cabins mean airlines can offer different cabin configurations, like all-economy or a mix of business and coach.

Airlines can also earn extended-range allowances that govern how passenger jets can safely fly over the open ocean.

In 2024, 39,000 flights between North America and Europe are scheduled on single-aisle planes made by Boeing and Airbus, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. That's a 14% increase from the previous year and 40% more than in 2019.

Airbus is pioneering this narrow-body shift

Such a focus on single-aisle planes that can tackle long flights has been a boon for Airbus.

JetBlue, for example, started flying between New York and Europe in 2021 with about 400 total flights on its A321neoLRs. In 2024, that figure is set to hit 7,200 in 2024.

The launch of Iberia's A321XLR has added at least another 1,400 flights for 2025, per Cirium, with more to come as the jet is delivered to more airlines.

Such growth has come at the expense of Boeing's 757. The jet has been a transatlantic workhorse since the 1980s but now only represents 23% of flights to and from Europe, down from 82% in 2019.

With no replacement available, airlines are turning to the A321XLR — paving the way for Airbus to continue dominating the growing market.

Long-haul narrowbodies are cheaper to fly

Before long-haul single-aisle operations became popular, airlines struggled to fly lower-demand city pairs with widebodies because the bigger planes weren't always full — meaning they weren't making money.

This effectively eliminated direct routes to smaller leisure markets, forcing flyers to make one or more stops to reach smaller cities.

New narrowbodies solve this problem thanks to their powerful engines, fuel efficiency, and lighter weight.

United Airlines, for example, uses single-aisle jets between unique city pairs that other carriers don't fly, such as those from Newark Liberty to Malaga, Spain, and Chicago to Shannon, Ireland.

United's SVP of global network planning and alliances, Patrick Quayle, told BI in August that a Boeing 787 or Boeing 767 widebody wouldn't economic make sense in these smaller markets. The carrier plans to expand its long-haul operations with the cost-effective A321XLR.

Meanwhile, Icelandic low-cost carrier Play learned from its predecessor, WOW Air, that using widebody planes in a budget transatlantic business model is difficult because the big jet requires constant high demand — prompting Play to use Airbus narrowbodies between the US and Europe.

Single-aisle jets offer versatile route options

One reason mainline carriers like United and Iberia are moving in the single-aisle direction is because it allows them to right-size their routes depending on demand.

Cirium data shows Iberia plans to fly two A321XLRs daily between Madrid and Boston in the summer of 2025, with each carrying up to 182 people.

This allows Iberia to capture the demand without oversizing the route with two 288-passenger A330s or losing out on potential business with just one widebody.

Flying two single-aisle planes across the Atlantic instead of one widebody, for example, could up daily frequencies from one to two and give travelers more flexible options.

Airlines like Tap Air Portugal and Ireland's Aer Lingus switch between A321neo and A330 planes throughout the year, flying the bigger jet during the summer and holiday months, per Cirium.

Single-aisle planes don't always fly long haul. Their versatility, especially the previous generation A321neos and the Boeing 757, allows airlines to efficiently deploy them on short or medium-haul routes.

Delta Air Lines has decreased its 757 transatlantic flying over the years in favor of more domestic routes, per Cirium.

Widebodies don't have the same flexibility, except on a few very high-demand cross-country treks like New York to Los Angeles.

Narrow-body planes can accommodate more flexible cabins

One of the draws of these small but powerful aircraft is their versatility because they can fit into both mainline and low-cost fleets with varying cabin layouts.

Some airlines, like JetBlue and Aer Lingus, equip their A321LRs with business and economy classes. Meanwhile, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air plans to fly a no-frills, all-economy A321XLR cabin where even water costs extra, and France's La Compagnie has all-business-class A321LRs.

Some flyers may be hesitant to fly on a narrow-body long-haul, but flying on these planes across the Atlantic is not much different from riding in a one cross-country.

Boston to Madrid lasts about seven hours, while New York to Los Angeles is about six and a half hours — though most flyers will get more perks on flights to Europe, like hot meals and linens.

Plus, single-aisle flying allows for quicker boarding and deplaning, which may be welcome time-savings for some customers — especially during tight layovers.