To Germany (Lufthansa) when I was a kid.. I remember going up the stairs and was surprised at how loud it was.. in your case was it really loud upstairs? To me it sounded like engine noise or something.. those flights weren't packed so much - we were able to move around and sleep and stuff.. I think the two most brutal flights I ever took were from Tahiti to LAX.. 8 hours, AFTER the trip is done and you're depressed, tired, and sunburnt, plus you lost 5 hours..
Started with a 1 hour flight from Bora Bora to Tahiti, 4 hour layover, 8 hour red-eye to LAX, 5 hour layover, 3 hour flight to DFW, and hour to get through that mess, then a 3 hour drive home.. We left Bora Bora and 6pm Thursday, traveled NON-STOP and pulled into our driveway at midnight, Friday night.. next time we'll spend the night in LA, cuz that trip is flat out brutal..
Friendship is like peeing your pants.. Everybody can see it, but only you can feel the warmth..