Summary: I used to write off the first two days of every trip recovering from the flight. I thought it was my age. On a 13 hour flight the woman next to me, older than me, hadn't moved once while I squirmed the whole way. What she showed me changed how I travel.
1

You're Not Losing a Flight, You're Losing Days

Traveller lying down in hotel room on first day of holiday

Nobody books a holiday planning to spend the first two days of it horizontal. But somewhere after 55 that's what started happening to me. Land, get to the hotel, lie down, listen to everyone else go out for lunch.

Two days a trip, a few trips a year. That's a fortnight you've handed over without ever calling it a loss.

2

The Pain Doesn't Stop When the Flight Does

Traveller walking slowly through airport terminal after landing

You land and it carries on. Standing up takes effort you have to plan for. The walk through the terminal is slower than it used to be. By the time you get to the hotel all you want is to lie down, and the next morning it's still there.

The flight is fourteen hours. The recovery is two days. Here's what those two days actually cost you:

  • Buttock & Hip Pain
  • Lower Back Pain
  • Poor Circulation
  • Constant Shifting Fatigue
  • Numbness & Tingling
  • Muscle Strain
  • Dead Legs on Landing
  • Leg & Knee Pain
3

It Was Never Your Age

Older woman walking comfortably off a long haul flight

I assumed my body was giving up and that long haul was something I'd have to stop doing eventually.

The woman on that flight was twenty years older than me and she walked off that plane while I was still holding the seat in front to stand up. Same flight, same seats, completely different landing.

"She was relaxed and reading her book. I was squirming, trying to find a position that didn't hurt. Same seat. Same flight. The only difference was what she was sitting on."
4

Airlines Stripped the Padding Out of Economy

Thin economy airline seat cushion over bare frame

Economy seats used to have cushioning in them. Airlines removed most of it to save weight, and because an uncomfortable economy seat makes business class look worth four thousand dollars.

The seat is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

5

Less Padding Under You, Less Padding On You

Diagram of body weight pressing into an unpadded economy seat

Here's the part nobody connects. While the airlines were thinning out their padding, yours was thinning out too. The natural cushioning on your backside gets thinner with age. Everyone's does.

So you've got less padding on you, sitting on less padding under you. Your whole body weight pressing into the thinnest part of you for fourteen hours.

6

Foam Doesn't Fix It, It Just Delays It

Memory foam cushion flattened compared with air cell cushion

I'd tried a memory foam cushion. Felt brilliant for an hour, then bottomed out, and once foam is crushed flat you're back on the hard seat with a pancake in between. In one study memory foam scored second worst of everything tested. Only thing worse was sitting on nothing.

Cushy Bum uses 36 sealed air cells instead. Air doesn't compress, so hour twelve feels like hour one, and there's a pump built in so you can firm it up mid flight.

7

It Costs Less Than One Lost Day

Cushy Bum air cell travel cushion value comparison

I used mine on a 14 hour flight to Tokyo. No pain at all, I actually slept, and instead of wasting two days recovering I was exploring from the moment I arrived.

Under a hundred dollars, once, and you get the first days of every trip back from here.

Business class upgrade $3,000+
Medical seat cushion (that stays home) $400
Single physio session after a bad flight $150
Cushy Bum — works on every flight, forever Under $100