Can you write code on a plane?

I’ve always had mixed feelings about long-haul flights. On the one hand they usually mean travel and adventure; on the other, long hours sitting in a tin can are never fun.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find that both my recent flights with Singapore Airlines had Wi‑Fi! Streaming video was off the cards, but could you write code?

What’s the bare minimum?

It’s amazing what you take for granted. When I first asked myself this question, I thought all I needed was enough internet to Google the odd problem and read some Stack Overflow answers.

Then I remembered I need to:

• Download packages with npm and NuGet
• Commit (well, technically push) to Git
• Chat with Claude
• Make API calls

What I managed

My package.json and package-lock.json got out of sync, so I needed to do a full npm install.

So that was the end of that project until I could get packages.

I switched to this project, which has no packages to manage. I wrote an article and tried a git push. That didn’t work either.

I also spent plenty of time on Chrome Dino and general web browsing.

All in all, I think it’s very close to being possible and, for me at least, a great way to pass the time. I’ll definitely try it again next time I fly.