Kate Holmquist and family shivered their way through a recent flight
On a long-haul flight with my children on Aer Lingus I asked one of the crew to give me some blankets for the children, so they could settle down to sleep. I was told to wait, even though the blankets were in a locker above my head.
After take-off I asked another crew member, who said this wasn't her section.
It wasn't until after the meal service that crew from another part of the aircraft arrived en masse, grabbed bin bags full of blankets and made off to the front of the cabin.
When the crew member I had originally asked turned up again, I requested blankets once again, and she stared at me blankly: there were no more blankets. They'd been handed out to everyone but the section in the back where we were sitting.
Why are aircraft (not to mention the occasional crew member) so cold? One possibility is that the cabin crew are on their feet working, so they don't know it's cold.
How cold you feel also has to do with your body clock: sleep makes your body cool a little.
Essentially, though, you're at the mercy of the crew, so your best defence is to dress in layers and take a silk sleep sack, which takes up little room and is easy to slip into. Or you can bring your own light blankets, if you have room in your bag.
Seething with resentment also tends to raise the body temperature.
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