janisj

>> . . . and partly on your budget<<

Gardyloo

You could stay overnight at Heathrow; get a Priceline hotel room (I've never paid more than $100 for a 4-star near the airport) and catch a morning flight to Paris.

A one-way flight from LHR to CDG on Air France is £49, and flying on a separate ticket wouldn't be an issue because you'd be spending the night in the UK, so no worries about misconnecting.

I also love the daytime flights; it reduces jetlag by a whole bunch.

Fishnlines29

Oh thanks Gardyloo, that's another thought we will consider.

We just decided we are definitely not going to do the flight/train route.

janisj

>>We just decided we are definitely not going to do the flight/train route.<<

If so - then I'd get a hotel either right near St Pancras/Kings Cross (or at least along the Piccadilly tube line so you'd have easy access to the Eurostar in the AM. You want to book Eurostar as far ahead as you can. The fares only go up the nearer the date.

Fishnlines29

janisj, not we're NOT going to take Eurostar, that's just too much. I think we will just do the overnight and suck it up or possibly consider Gardyloo's suggestion, but likely the former.

But do you have any suggestions as to most comfortable airlines to do an overnight flight?

Dukey1

reviving this. Am I correct in assuming you are not planning to pay for a flatbed seat on a plane? If not then are you willing to consider so-called "premium" economy?

janisj

>>janisj, not we're NOT going to take Eurostar<<

Oh - I totally mis-read your earlier post. Sorry. Guess I read it as >>We just decided we are definitely <strike>not</strike> going to do the flight/train route<<

No airline is comfortable in coach, most are semi-comfortable in Economy Plus or whatever each airline calls it, and all are pretty comfortable in Business.

rialtogrl

-Or as I'm thinking this through and reading rialtogrl's post, I could fly direct to London, spend the night there, meet with friends for breakfast before taking the train to Paris. Hmm, I have to put some thought into that idea!-

I have not done the day flight (yet) but I do like to stop in London after an overnight flight. I fly British Airways non stop, the flight leaves at night, I arrive in London in the afternoon. I usually get a room in the city for a couple of nights, sometimes I even leave my luggage at the airport if I am flying out of Heathrow. It really helps with the jet lag.

amyb

I'm with socialworker, the one time I flew on the day flight from Boston to London (arriving in time to go to bed, despite the fact that I'd just gotten up before my flight) it was the worst jetlag I ever had. I just never bounced back the entire week.

I have flown Lufthansa, Delta and American Economy Plus to Europe (where you pay ~$100 or so each leg for 4 more inches of legroom and priority boarding) and it was quite comfortable. I'm 5'10" and wasn't bothered at all.

tuscanlifeedit

We just flew Delta economy comfort to ATL>LHR and I found it to be barely worth the extra $75.00. The seat was uncomfortable. My husband was glad to have the knee room, but that was about it.

The wanted us to take the exit rows, but knowing the seat didn't recline, I said no.

Which reminds me, I suggest reading about all the seat options on seatguru.com

Sarastro

<i>The wanted us to take the exit rows, but knowing the seat didn't recline, I said no. </i>

It´s not the exit row seats that will not decline, it is the row of seats immediately forward of the exit. These seats do not recline because in a reclined position, they can narrow the passageway to the emergency exits.

Dukey1

Good luck with this, folks. Why is it that those airlines continue to offer this option despite "the worst jetlag ever?"

socialworker

That is exactly what happened to me, amy. The whole time in London, I was so out of it--and this was back in '98 when I was a lot younger! We went to the theater several times that week and as soon as they would turn out the lights I could not keep my eyes open. I slept thru much of Phantom of the Opera. I truly felt as if I had been drugged.

HappyTrvlr

Everyone is different but neither my husband nor I have the regular jet lag we get on overnight flights when we take daytime flights. None at all. We have taken four or five of them and just booked another one for this summer.

janisj

>>Why is it that those airlines continue to offer this option despite "the worst jetlag ever?"<<

Because it seems the majority of people have <i>less</i> jetlag with a daytime flight -- you get into London and to your hotel just about bed time local time. So for many people there is less adjusting to do.

But not everyone reacts the same way. Heck -- some people sleep just fine on an overnight flight.

Me -- I can doze in Business but in coach it is pretty much wide awake the whole time. So for me the day time flight is great (unfortunately I've only ever been able to take one, when I had a meeting in Boston just before I was traveling to the UK)

socialworker

Absolutely, not only is everyone different, but for me, at least, every trip is a bit different.

Jet lag is generally less bothersome in months when days are long (w/that one daytime flt being a huge exception). When we went to Paris one time in cold weather w/shortish days, I found myself wanting to curl up in my merino wool cape and nap on top of the bed every afternoon. Of course that was a business trip for DH and being on my own during the day helped fuel the urge to nap.

kerouac

I have my worst jetleg westbound anywhere in the world, when apparently it is the opposite for most other people. The time of the flight makes no difference to me. I remember one flight from olden times when I flew on Japan Airlines from Cairns to Tokyo to Anchorage to London to Paris, and we had two complete nights and no day. Now <b>that</b> was pretty horrible.

Fishnlines29

That's correct, I didn't want to pay for business class, but I like everyone's ideas about buying up to a seat with extra legroom - and make sure the seat reclines a little.

CarolA

I have friends who only fly this way. And they claim it causes no jetlag. So perhaps the assumption that what happened to one person will happen to another is wrong? LOL!

pavot

I've always thought that the real problem when flying to Europe from the US is sleep deprivation, not jetlag.

Westbound (depending on how long I have been away), the jetlag is much worse for me.

Not looking forward to this summer's steerage flight on British Airways....