Hi, Thanks for all the info. Has anyone flown this flight? Several people on this board say leaving at midnight and arriving early AM works out fine but I would love to hear from someone who has flown the 1pm flight which arrives at 8:30pm. I think it would be nice to check into a hotel and have the option of sleeping right away. We are flying coach. Thanks again for info.
Susan

Sort of. My wife and I once took a flight from the US that got into Sydney around 10:30 p.m.

After customs, we immediately checked into an airport hotel and went straight to bed. I don't remember the hotel, but I do know that it was one of my easiest Australian jetlag-timechange recovery experiences. (The other one was staying up all night on New Year's Eve my first night there but I was 19 at the time!)

For your situation, it will be great to know that no matter how uncomfortable your flight is & how little sleep you get, a comfy bed is waiting for you! In fact, it might be better for you in the long run to try to sleep as little as possible on the plane so you can totally crash.

You also don't have to worry about getting in at 7:00 a.m. & having to stay awake all day, battling the urge to take a nap, and fretting about falling asleep at 8:00 p.m. only to be wide awake at 5:00 a.m. the next morning.

Enjoy!

Susan4,
I flew LA to Sydney leaving and arriving at very similar times to your flight. After arriving in Sydney, I had a further 1 hour flight to Melbourne. I was returning home to Oz after a US holiday.
After getting a lift home from the airport,I tumbled into my own bed at about 11pm and woke up at about 8am without the slightest trace of jetlag. And it didn't "catch up with me" later.

As some sort of comparison, even though it is a much longer flight- I flew from Heathrow back to Melbourne, leaving at lunch time and arriving in the early evening. I was totally "out of sync" for a week afterwards. I STILL remember regularly waking up at 3am feeling ravenous and dying on my feet by about 4pm.
Your lunchtime flight out of LA should be fine. You should be able to get a fairly good night's sleep before hitting the tourist trail the next morning.
I once remember reading somewhere that long haul East-West flights are generally easier on the body than West-East. I can testify to that!
Possum

>>>>>>I once remember reading somewhere that long haul East-West flights are generally easier on the body than West-East. I can testify to that!<<<<<<

Possum's experience, and apparently that of many other travellers, has been my experience too. Susan, this is not what your question was about, but if there is any way you can arrange to have a full day off work after your arrival home and before your return to work, I highly recommend it.

I have never flown to Australia on the schedule you've mentioned. I've always arrived in Oz around mid morning and have done the stay-awake-till-night thing. Arriving at night and going straight to bed sounds like a divine way to travel.

Have flown LAX to SYD twice on Qantas Flight 8. Left at 1PM and arrived about 10PM. Went straight to the hotel and to bed. Absolutely no jet lag. Got up the next morning feeling like I was at home. Highly recommend it.
John

Thanks for all the info. Because of price, schedule etc. we are flying Qantas, leaving late night and arriving morning.
For benefit of others, I want to mention that I found out (too late!) that Air NZ has 3 extra inches of legroom! I would take that any day over better food, entertainment etc. When we fly to Europe we take American Airlines for the same reason. I will not complain because I am just grateful to be going!
Also if you don't already know about it, check out www.seatguru.com for seating configurations and advice on where to sit on most planes flown by major carriers. Air NZ is not on it, which is why I didn't realize they had extra leg room.