bellac

We leave on Nov. 21st from JFK to Cairo direct. I am sure many have done this treck and would appreciate any comments pro or con. This is the longest flight ever for us so comfort is a priority.

sf7307

Are you flying coach? I don't think it's possible to be "comfortable" in coach on a flight that long. Not sure what kind of advice you're looking for.

NoFlyZone

Have taken it several times. In coach it is a long uncomfortable flight, but not any more than on any other airline. In business it's still long but fortunately a bit more comfortable.

Note the flight is nonstop, not direct.

MissGreen

It's just over 11 hours non stop. I choose my flights according to flying time. I would rather have 2 legs of 6 hours each with a 2 hour stopover in between instead of an 11 hour plus flight. It would be a nightmare.

My recent trip to Cairo from Sydney took a total of 30 hours... OMG it was long. I could not of done it in economy.

My suggestion for a long flight is to choose an airline that has personal inflight entertainment so you can choose what to watch. This made the time go by a lot quicker. Oh, I enjoyed playing tetris and other childish games! lol It used up plenty of time!

Casual_Cairo

What does "direct" mean, if it's not the same as Non Stop? I am not an airline person, so I have no clue. I'm not contradicting you either, just wondering.

NoFlyZone

A direct flight is one with a stop on the way but no change of plane. Nowadays, some airlines also market "direct" flights with a change of equipment at some intermediate point, but with the same flight number. For example Delta 70 is a direct flight from JFK to BOM but it stops in AMS for a few hours.

Nonstop means just that ... no stops.

Reason for the distinction is 50 year old fare display rules and has just hung on as a marketing term.

wanttogo

We did the New York-Cairo flight last year on Egypt Air. It was not bad. I don't know the times of the Delta flights but
we departed around 6 pm, flew for an hour or two, served dinner,read a carefully chosen interesting material and went to sleep. It was not bad at all. You do have to get up and move. Also, find some simple exercises to do in the aisle or at seat.

Pat

bellac

thanks for the comments and please excuse my lack of proper airline lingo.
The Delta flight is non stop and after reading your comments I am sorry I didn' choose a stop over as 7 hrs in a sardine can is just about my max. I will contact Delta and see what the cost of an upgrade to business class would be. We do however have exit isle seats both ways which could make it more comfortable. I see that Egypt air does not serve liquor.
Hopefully Delta does as it would help to have a night cap to try and sleep. The flight leaves at 10:30pm so I am hoping by 12 I am sleeping but we will see.

Binthair

My family of four did Houston to LA to Sydney a few months ago in economy. The LA to Sydney leg was 14.5 hours. Upon arrival at 8 am, we checked into our hotel and spent a full day touring Sydney. Did the same thing going Houston-Newark-Beijing two years ago. Yes, it can be done.

ekscrunchy

What about carrying minis in your liquids plastic bag?

sf7307

<<<My family of four did Houston to LA to Sydney a few months ago in economy. The LA to Sydney leg was 14.5 hours. Upon arrival at 8 am, we checked into our hotel and spent a full day touring Sydney. Did the same thing going Houston-Newark-Beijing two years ago. Yes, it can be done.>>>

We, on the other hand, flew coach from San Francisco-Cairo (and missed our flight in Frankfurt and had to wait there 6 hours --- total time from home to Cairo 28 hours I think). When we finally got to Cairo at 9:30 p.m., we went to bed and slept pretty much all night and the entire next day.

JREwing

I've been on this several times. It's really not as bad as it sounds; the late departure makes it easier to get at least a little sleep. It's the return from Cairo to JFK that's the killer. The restrooms get really messy by the time you arrive in New York so use them early.

bellac

Jrewing

Why is the retun so bad. It leaves late 11>30pm so once again we will sleep and arrives at 5am . Other than the bathrooms what else should I expect.
thanks

sandi

I've done 12-13/hrs to/from JFK/DXB (on Emirates); 12/hrs to/from JFK/NRT (Japan on UA); 15/hrs JFK/JNB (on SAA); 15/hrs to/from SFO/SYD (on Qantas) and that didn't include the UA 6/hrs JFK/SFO and 5/hr layover. Obviously, these have all been long, but find that once you've passed the first 8/hrs, the rest is painless. A good book and drugs help me sleep and do for me!

Most all of these arrivals were evenings and while a bit exhausted, enough to sleep in real bed, have always been wide-eyed and ready to go next morning to commence my holiday.

johanna

Hi Bellac: We are flying Delta on the same flight a month later (although Business) I will be
anxious to hear how the flight it. Delta seems to have taken their 777's off these longer flights
and put the less comfortable 767 on this long flight. Now, we were wishing we had taken
Singapore Air to Frankfort and then EgyptAir to Cairo. Have a great trip. Johanna

NoFlyZone

I don't believe Delta ever used the 777 for CAI; it's been the 767 for years.

kak113

I did this flight in coach last year. it was bearable because we were in the 2 seats to ourselves (2-4-2 configuration). my husband took an ambien on the flight home (12:30 a.m.) and slept the whole way. I think the movie was one of the big screens, not personal entertainment, so you might want a portable dvd player if you are not one to sleep on a plane.

dutyfree

There is free wine and beer in economy on all Delta flights so you won't need to pack minis?

aowens

we were in the exit row too on this flight in sept - it is fine!! Just need to take and ambien and prepare yourself - truly, don't sweat it - i promise it isn't as bad as you think it will be!!!

bellac

well I am back from my trip and need to tell you about the flight. I will never fly Delta again. Although the times are good and the flight direct the negatives far out weight the positives. First off, the seats in coach are the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced. They are hard leather and not at all cushioned. The flight attendants were the worst.
They fed you dinner and then they never came back. Not even to bring water. Considering the 12hr. flight is very dehydrating the least they can do is bring small bottles of water. One passenger was so dehydrated he fainted in the isle. And the food, forget about it. It was unconsumable.
Good thing I brought a sandwich as I needed to eat something.
Duh! I heard Egypt Air was better. Lot of people took different air lines with European connections. I would look into those. Air France was mentioned.
I guess if you can afford business then it would be OK as they were very well cared for.