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Diana Fairechild
interviewed by Anthony Qaiyum on 23 October, 1995
"We're actually kind of swollen up like the Michelin Tire Man."
Diana Fairechild is the author of "Jet Smart", a guide for airborne travelers.
Tripod: For most people, flying takes up such a small part of their lives. Is there really a whole book's worth of things that people can do to improve their flying conditions?
DF: Yeah, I wrote a whole book about it. People don't have to follow everything. They can see what fits into their mental paradigms. They may be doing some of the things already. Maybe intuitively they know that when their throats are dry they should drink a lot of water, but maybe they don't know the details behind that. Once they know everything, it may give them a stronger resolve to learn more. For instance, I'm recommending that people don't eat the airline food.
I think it's easier when you read the book and you understand that the inside of the plane is pressurized, therefore it makes our bodies swell up in a compensatory reaction. In other words, we're actually kind of swollen up like the Michelin Tire Man. So it's very hard to digest food at high altitudes.
Tripod: What is the most significant health problem we face when we fly?
DF: There's a lot of health problems ... The most important factor depends on the specific circumstances of your flight. For instance, if you're leaving Boston at midnight and arriving in Paris at five or six in the morning, the most important thing for you might be sleep deprivation. Whereas, if you're going from Boston over to Tokyo, a 14 hour trip, sleep deprivation might get lower on the list, and it might be dehydration and time zone changes.
Tripod: Some of your advice seems to require a lot of nerve on the part of the passenger. For instance, you suggest handing a doctor's mask to someone near you who is coughing a lot. Don't you think this could create tense situations, especially on longer flights?
DF: [laughs] I think that sitting here in our comfortable living rooms picturing it, it's kind of funny. But in the airplane when you're feeling claustrophobic anyway and you are possibly aware that the Center for Disease Control and other important agencies have now said that [tuberculosis] is contagious in airplanes, then it doesn't seem so ridiculous ... When you think about that when people get TB, they get it for life -- I mean it sounds a little paranoid, but the reality is, it's very serious. And over 95 percent of it can get cut down by stopping the droplets [from coughing], and the mask will cut it down. It seems like a very viable idea.
Tripod: You mention the poor air quality on most airplanes. Can this cause any long-term problems, or only immediate discomfort?
DF: I'm an example of a long-term health problem. My condition is called multiple chemical sensitivity, and at some point the body cannot detox, because it's had such overwhelming toxic conditions ... The body is overloaded with toxic substances and it has a weakened immune system. In the long-term, it's like your health is your bank account and you make deposits when you eat right, exercise right, go to bed at a decent hour. Staying up and partying all night is a withdrawal, for example. Flying on an airplane is a withdrawal under the best conditions. You can make it less of a withdrawal by taking care of yourself. And if you get to the point where you're making more withdrawals than deposits, then yes, you're going to have long-term permanent health risks.
Tripod: What is the secret for sleeping in economy class?
DF: I have a whole chapter on it in Jet Smart. Basically, there's two parts to it. One is that you bring a few props to prepare, like eyeshades and earplugs and a cotton handkerchief. Two is that you be aware that the easiest time to fall asleep is on takeoff. From the moment that the airplane leaves the terminal, and the umbilical of the air-conditioning unit is disconnected from the terminal, there's really no fresh air introduced until the plane is airborne. So people automatically get sleepy during that period, because they're not getting enough oxygen.
If you know that the easiest time to fall asleep is on takeoff, and you're prepared -- you get your pillow and your blanket right away ... and you lock your seat belt outside your blanket so the stewardess doesn't wake you to make sure your seat belt is on, and you put on your eyeshades, and you can even put masking tape across the front of it, that says do not disturb so they don't wake you for the cocktail service -- then when you get sleepy, you can just go for it.
And on takeoff there's something called increased G's. Normally we all weigh one G, but on take off we could weigh maybe three G's. What do you weigh normally?
Tripod: About 160.
DF: Okay, what would three times that be?
Tripod: Ummm -- 480?
DF: So could you imagine how sleepy you'd feel if you weighed almost 500 pounds. You'd feel heavy and groggy and sleepy. And even though it's just for a brief period of time, you can take advantage of that, and go to sleep.
Tripod: Is there any quick tip you can give to help prevent jet lag?
DF: Well you can use your mind to program your body ... One way to do that is setting your watch to local time as soon as you take off, and don't keep remembering what time it is at home.
Tripod: How safe is flying, really?
DF: USAir has had a lot of bad luck. I was reading the other day that they've had five accidents in five years. I don't know if that's a company thing, or just bad luck for them. There's a lot of problems, and everybody's trying to stay ahead of them. One of the problems is called metal fatigue ... Much of the world fleet of airplanes is pretty old, and on some of them the fuselage actually cracks. So there are problems, I guess like in every industry, particularly when they're trying to cut corners, and stay in the black.
Tripod: On your Web site, in a quiz question excerpted from your book, you mention that vibrators will not interfere with the navigational systems of the plane. Have you found that the vibrator is a popular travel accessory?
DF: [laughs] I don't know.
Tripod: That was just an example?
DF: Yes -- I mean we can only give examples from our own experience.
Tripod: If you could tell travelers one thing about improving their flying experience, what would it be?
DF: Carry your own water. There are many times where water is not available to airline passengers ... If you're going to follow my recipe for falling asleep, you'll be missing the major services, so it's always good to have your own water to sip on. Also, there are no cleanliness standards for aircraft water, so you really can't count on quality water ... According to airline medical experts, you should be drinking eight ounces of water an hour to prevent dehydration.
Want to learn more about Diana Fairechild and Jet Smart? Try these places:
Web: http://www.maui.net/diana/index.html
Email: [email protected]
Or call: (808)248-7700
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