Long Flights

[Epigonos]

Thought I would separate this topic from the Palm Springs Weekend thread. As I have aged I have come to hate long flights more and more. Living on the West Coast, as I do, means Europe is, at least, a ten or eleven hour flight. I still have a couple more European trips to do but that will be enough for me. I am planning a non stop flight to Singapore which entails being in the air for eighteen or nineteen hours. I am going business class and if the price gets too outrageous before I plan to go I'M NOT GOING. Three to five hours is about all I'm up to anymore. That consideration will allow me to visit most places in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and that's just fine with me.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Epigonos

[+ azdr0710]

I have a 13-14-hour flight coming up fairly soon.....but the 17-hour flight (SFO-SIN) I took a year ago will probably never be beat......

 

it can help to try to "engineer" the departure and arrival times in an effort to coordinate pre-flight sleep/awake time and post-flight awake/sleep time......I'm not a status kinda guy and can't justify to myself the extra cost of lie-down seats, so I go with upgraded coach in an effort to at least choose a decent steerage seat......

 

if I'm lucky, the couple glasses of red wine and double dose of Xanax do the trick.....

[+ aeikaryoko]

I have that same flight from SFO to SIN coming up in January. I’ve done it in April of this year and it feels like an eternity on that flight. I slept twice and was still en route ( didn’t sleep as well as I thought I would). Thank goodness I actually have status so I book a fare class that allows me to use my upgrades to a business class seat. It would be rough sitting in economy plus.

Edited December 5, 2019 by aeikaryoko

[+ Tarte Gogo]

I find cattle class unbearable after 4 hours.

In Business class tho, I could stay 20 hours on the same airplane, no problem.

As long as I know I am flying long distance, I bring my own entertainment on my iPad (YouTube videos, books, podcasts etc).

[+ nycman]

Upright coach....my limit is 6 hours.

 

Pseudo flat (which in my book is anything short of 180 degrees flat)...I despise.

 

Flat.....I can do 12-30 hours pretty easily (Jet lag is another matter).

 

Business vs First isn’t that important as long as I’m flat, my shoulders have room, and my legs are straight.

[+ tassojunior]

Go west young man. Go west.

 

I have zero trouble headed west and gaining time. Headed east losing time zones is over twice as hard. I've decided if I ever do Australia/Far East again, I'm coming back with a stopover in Europe around-the-world.

[+ WilliamM]

I don't mind flying coach at all, if it is direct flight.

 

Don't care how long.

[+ FreshFluff]

I have a 13-14-hour flight coming up fairly soon.....but the 17-hour flight (SFO-SIN) I took a year ago will probably never be beat......

 

it can help to try to "engineer" the departure and arrival times in an effort to coordinate pre-flight sleep/awake time and post-flight awake/sleep time......I'm not a status kinda guy and can't justify to myself the extra cost of lie-down seats, so I go with upgraded coach in an effort to at least choose a decent steerage seat......

 

You're lucky that you can sleep on a regular seat. We delicate Persians need a flat surface and preferably a pillow under our feet to snooze. 3 flat seats in coach can work too, but that rarely happens nowadays.

[+ FreshFluff]

Pseudo flat (which in my book is anything short of 180 degrees flat)...I despise.

 

Absolutely. It's nice to recline further, but it does nothing for sleep.

[+ Charlie]

Go west young man. Go west.

 

I have zero trouble headed west and gaining time. Headed east losing time zones is over twice as hard. I've decided if I ever do Australia/Far East again, I'm coming back with a stopover in Europe around-the-world.

I agree. I bought an around-the-world ticket once for a vacation in Japan, and then I just kept flying west, stopping in Moscow, Warsaw, and London before returning home.

[+ Charlie]

You're lucky that you can sleep on a regular seat. We delicate Persians need a flat surface and preferably a pillow under our feet to snooze. 3 flat seats in coach can work too, but that rarely happens nowadays.

I lucked out once in the 1970s in coach on a flight from Philadelphia to London: no one else in the four seats across the middle, so I could stretch out across them all and go to sleep. Nothing like that ever happened to me again.

[+ tassojunior]

I agree. I bought an around-the-world ticket once for a vacation in Japan, and then I just kept flying west, stopping in Moscow, Warsaw, and London before returning home.

 

Is it just me or do others feel cheerful and energetic getting off a west-bound plane, while feeling near-dead getting off a long flight east?

 

I lucked out once in the 1970s in coach on a flight from Philadelphia to London: no one else in the four seats across the middle, so I could stretch out across them all and go to sleep. Nothing like that ever happened to me again.

 

I have a knack for getting 2 or 3 seats off season all the time. I go to the back row and get an aisle seat. Of course high season there are no empties.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Long-haul flights are one reason why I've spent time building up extreme loyalty to certain airlines. I spent a fair amount of time in the beginning doing those 12-18 hour flights in coach... And now, I don't.

 

SWU, mileage, etc. Anything to get up to that larger seat.

 

I still love seeing the world with some great guys, but agree that the longest of long-hauls are a lot less exciting to me than they used to be. I've got an EWR-SIN coming up, as well as DFW-SYD in late spring... Both suck no matter where you're sitting.

[Rod Hagen]

I don't mind flying coach at all, if it is direct flight.Don't care how long.

 

Same with me. I've never understood why people let coach impact significantly their trip or, worse yet, just don't go on the trip if faced with Coach. Assuming your not taller than 6', you're fine. It's only 10+ hours out of your life. Get an aisle seat, a good book (fuck videos and tv), two awesome playlists-one for reading and eating and one for preparing to sleep-children's liquid benadryl in addition to an Ambien and earplugs and an eye mask and a quality neck pillow and you'll be fine.

[+ tassojunior]

Same with me. I've never understood why people let coach impact significantly their trip or, worse yet, just don't go on the trip if faced with Coach. Assuming your not taller than 6', you're fine. It's only 10+ hours out of your life. Get an aisle seat, a good book (fuck videos and tv), two awesome playlists-one for reading and eating and one for preparing to sleep-children's liquid benadryl in addition to an Ambien and earplugs and an eye mask and a quality neck pillow and you'll be fine.

 

Internet. All that matters.

 

I could care less while I'm online if I'm at home or in a plane seat.

[mike carey]

Is it just me or do others feel cheerful and energetic getting off a west-bound plane, while feeling near-dead getting off a long flight east?

No difference for me. What matters is how comfortable I was on the flight and how well, or whether, I slept. Getting off a 12 hour flight*, east or west bound makes no difference, it's adjusting to the time-zone difference after arrival that is the kicker. I find arriving in the morning then forcing myself to stay awake until the normal clock time (not body clock) for going to bed is the best approach. Incidentally, I found that it worked on my SYD-LAX-JFK flight which arrived in the late afternoon. It arrived in LA early morning so I treated the transcontinental flight as part of the 'staying awake all day' regimen.

 

One thing that Qantas is experimenting with on their long-haul research flights is how they manage time changes on flights. Rather than serve a meal then turn the lights off at the start of the flight, then turn them again shortly before arrival for another meal, they are telling people to change their clocks as they board, then run cabin activities to match time of day at the destination. They've flown JFK-SYD and LHR-SYD so they're covering both directions.

 

* I find that if you can deal with 12 hours, extending it to 14 or 16 hours makes only a marginal difference.

[Guest europeanman]

I fly on business almost every week. Short flights within Europe and Europe to Dubai. A few times per year I fly from Europe to California and NYC. All business or first, but I still hate flying.

[+ FreshFluff]

Internet. All that matters.

 

I could care less while I'm online if I'm at home or in a plane seat.

 

Gogo isn't allowing streaming. It's still fun to be online but it reduces the options.

[+ tassojunior]

Gogo isn't allowing streaming. It's still fun to be online but it reduces the options.

 

But airlines have onboard movies, although they have yucky screens. Its common for me to be online 12 hours and doing that on a plane is little different than my desk. I forget Im on a plane.

 

Also, I learned last week traveling that while the Pacific used to be an internet dead zone, airlines have planes equipped with Panasonic for pacific routes and those can get internet there. I can't imagine a 13 - 17 hour flight with no internet.

Edited December 5, 2019 by tassojunior

[+ WilliamM]

I care far more about the destination (Asia, Europe, Australia) than the fligho, jet log or the cost

I agree. I bought an around-the-world ticket once for a vacation in Japan, and then I just kept flying west, stopping in Moscow, Warsaw, and London before returning home.

 

Why?

[+ Tarte Gogo]

I don't mind flying coach at all, if it is direct flight.

 

Don't care how long.

I am impressed!

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Why?

I presume because jet lag is much easier to deal with westwards than eastwards.

At least it is for me, so I think that is what they are saying.

[+ Billsboy4]

On these long haul flights, if I can't go business, I won't go. Went to Dubai and Kenya last year on Emirates Airlines. It was like business class on steroids! The 16-17 hour flight was not bad at all.....I can't imagine going economy for all that time being cramped. Going to Singapore, I'd try to use Singapore Airlines, because they also have a nice business class.

[+ WilliamM]

Why?

I presume because jet lag is much easier to deal with westwards than eastwards.

At least it is for me, so I think that is what they are saying.

 

I was really asking why Moscow and Warsaw. Should have been clearer.

[cany10011]

I'm good with any seats for up to 13 hours... i go stir crazy after that.