flygirl

hi all

thought I'd start a new thread so the subject would catch some attention.

has anyone flown a day flight to London or elsewhere in Europe, and how do you like it compared to the usual way (arriving tired and loopy).

I don't know that I want to give up a vacation day, just to save a little sleep, but, if it really improves on the arrival day's experience, maybe it's worth it after all. (or does it throw you into real jet lag b/c your first night you didn't go to bed really all that tired, even if it's 1 AM.)

I've flown a day flight to Peru and it was fine, but, they are practically on the same time zone, depending on the time of year.

thanks!

m_kingdom2

Shall we start discussing types of detergent?

flygirl

discuss whatever you like! I suspect you usually do anyway - a conversation of one.

jsmith

flygirl, don't understand why the time of year would make a difference in comparing the time zone in Peru to wherever you are. I'm not trying to be smart.

Patrick

Actually there was a very similar thread just this week regarding someone making a decision to do the day or the night flight with two kids going to London. Mixed answers.

I've only done the day flight once and loved it. Arrive in the evening (but it seems early in the day from the US time zone still in my head) and do a walk or something and go to bed about midnight. Wake up refreshed and raring to go the next day.

Actually when I fly at night, I lose most of that day anyway, getting to the airport or making another connection, so I don't necessarily feel it takes another whole day of the vacation period.

Joanel

Just had a day flight bos to london. left boston at 9 AM so was up before 6AM to get picked up to get to airport by 7 or so,since had to be there 2 hours ahead. arrived in london 8:20 pm their time - at our sons by 10 pm.

since we got up so early our time, not much trouble falling asleep. went to bed between 12 and 1AM. their time. day flights seems ok, since can't sleep easily on plane anyway.

Also bos to london barely 6 hours going, so if go at night - really leave around 6 or 8, by the time they do food, etc. not much time to sleep.

flygirl

jsmith:

flying to Peru (same time zone) all day, you arrive at night, you go to bed at night (still your own time zone) and you wake up at your body's normal time.

London would be pretty different. you will go to bed at night but it is 5 hours earlier for your body.

I don't jetlag, not really, b/c I plow through the first day, tired, but when I go to bed that evening I sleep HARD and wake up refreshed and that is it. no waking up at weird hours, which I wonder if a flight and arrival schedule which doesn't exhaust you a little and force you into the new time zone won't keep you in your old time zone. you won't ever be soooo tired that you fall asleep naturally at say midnight, without your body saying HEY it's not even happy hour yet.

make sense?

thanks Patrick.

flygirl

and Joanel! thanks.

flygirl

oh wait, sorry jsmith, didn't read your Q closely enough.

Peru is in the southern equator. so, their daylight savings time and winter 'normal' time are flipped from ours. it doesn't make so much of a difference... but in Brazil and Argentina it can! for instance, I think in the summer, in Brazil, we are only an hour apart. we have jumped forward, they have jumped backwards for it is their winter. there is an hour difference.

in the winter, it is opposite. we jumped backwards an hour. they jumped forwards an hour (their summer). thus, that hour apart just became 3. one already, then add another to us and another to them. weird huh?

Peru I don't think is as radical. they are already an hour behind - 6 pm for them now, 7 pm for us. so next month, they go forwards, we go back. it will be 7 pm for them, 6 pm for us. so it's close enough to our time zone to not make a difference.

capisce?

obxgirl

flygirl, I was one who responded to the other thread and previous ones about taking day flights to London. I'm a big advocate of them as I found they significantly reduced jetlag, ditto for my family. The obvious drawback you mentioned about using a vacation day to fly....well, if my trip is 2 weeks or more I happily donate a day. 10 days....well it depends. A week or less, I'll deal with the fatigue.
As a gauge, I plow through the first day too, hallucinate in the late afternoon but rebound enough to make it until 9 or 10 pm. Feel mostly normal the next morning.

mk2, how about you scurry off and recalculate the square footage of your too too wonderful Mayfair flat.

tedgale

I did the day flight once Toronto to London and swore briefly that I'd never do the overnight again. Lost a day but no jet lag.

Alas I live east of Toronto and more usually fly from Montreal not Toronto -- far fewer daily flights to London available. So I economize on my time by flying overnight from Montreal -- and hating it.

rex

<<I've flown a day flight to Peru and it was fine, but, they are practically on the same time zone, depending on the time of year>>

Perhaps this is a reference to the start or ending of daylight savings time (I don't know what is practiced in Peru) - - or an attempt to refer more "generally" to all four time zones of the continental US, vis-a-vis Peru (on mountain time? Central?)

As for the original question, there have been several threads on this - - but I can't think of any unique words they contain, to be able to locate them by search. I do view it as a waste of a day (or more specifically, a wasted hotel night <i>in London</i>, in comparison to the &quot;get-what-you-pay-for&quot; overnight &quot;accommodations&quot; you get on the plan, during typical overnight trans-Atlantic travel).

Best wishes,

Rex

jsmith

Now I understand, flygirl. Thanks.

This is the address of the other post.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34526730