Side Trips / Air Fare

It’s getting ugly up there. As airlines squeeze every last nickel from their on-board services (First and Business, natch, are exempt), the humble coach passenger finds increasingly compromised personal space and an in-flight cupboard distressingly bare. Solution: Bring your own stuff. Here are some uplifting suggestions.

A Kind of a Hush

It won’t silence your nattering seatmate, but Noisebuster aims to take the edge off engine noise and other low-frequency audio jetsam by analyzing incoming sound waves and canceling them with mirror-image “anti-noise.” $99, from Noise Cancellation Technologies, (800) 278-3526.

Getting Away Clean

Even the pre-moistened towelette, that stalwart of the skies, is getting harder to find in-flight. Filling the void is the Citrus Travel Towelette, $3.50 for 12 at Crabtree & Evelyn. No Camay in the lav? Whip out these pocket-size soap leaves. $3, Going in Style, Century City.

Scents and Sensibility

Appalled at the rank air in jetliners? Conduct your own aromatherapy session. A little dab of these essential oils--sandalwood and lavender to bliss out, ylang- ylang to start your motor at flight’s end--will definitely do you. $11, $9 and $7, at Apothia, Fred Segal Melrose and Brentwood Gardens.

Flight Socks

Slip off your shoes and tame your whimpering dogs with travel slippers, the same perk offered in First Class, minus the cheesy embroidered airline logo. $6, Going in Style.

Vibeology

In-flight massages are becoming quite the thing--they just haven’t hit the cheap seats yet. In the meantime, catch a buzz with this palm-size, battery-operated Mini Muscle Massager. $10, at Brookstone.

Rest for the Weary

Few have mastered the knack of sleeping sitting up in an airline seat. This neckpillow at least makes the feat plausible. It’s filled with buckwheat husks that can be removed to adjust firmness. $24, Going in Style and other travel stores.

Air Relief

“This is your Captain. We’ll be flying into unbelievably annoying turbulence . . .” Words of doom for mal de mer sufferers. In a pinch, these wristbands stimulate the acupressure points thought to relieve nausea. $10, Going in Style.

Pie in the Sky

The ubiquitous Wolfgang Puck now plies his pizzas (plus salads and focaccia sandwiches) gateside at Terminals 2 and 7 at LAX--a handy thing when the flight itinerary that says “snack” really means “tasteless fat-free pretzels.”