Last week I flew United’s 767-300 Polaris business class from Newark to London. I’ve flown a countless number of times between the New York area and London, but there was something that made this flight unique — this was my first time ever taking an eastbound daytime transatlantic flight.
That’s to say that I left Newark at around 9AM, and landed in London a bit after 8PM. Most transatlantic flights operate on the other side of the clock, maybe leaving around 9PM and then arriving around 8AM.
So, having taken my first-ever transatlantic eastbound daytime flight, what did I think of it, and would I take it again?
In this post:
I Usually Dread East Coast To Europe Flights
Rarely do I look forward to flights from the East Coast to Europe. For example, when I think of a typical New York to London flight I might take:
- I usually have to stay up past my bedtime to even board the flight
- Then there’s a meal service for the first and last 90 minutes of the flight (about half the flight), and as a light sleeper that usually prevents me from sleeping, should I choose not to partake in the meal service
- I get at most a few hours of sleep
- Then I arrive at my destination and my hotel room usually isn’t ready, unless I booked for the night before as well; so then I either leave my luggage with the hotel, or I sit in the lobby working for several hours
- That whole first day is a struggle no matter what, and I’m spending hour after hour trying to avoid napping, which more often than not ends with me sleeping until 8PM and then being up all night
There’s simply not much glamorous about these flights, no matter what cabin you’re in.
This Is The Best Way To Avoid Jetlag & Misery To Europe
In fairness, I returned from London to the US the morning after my daytime flight there, so I didn’t get to experience the full jet lag impact from this flight.
But I do know for sure that with my usual schedule, this is pretty ideal. For example, I’m someone who usually gets up at around 5AM and goes to bed at around 8-9PM.
These flights are perfect in that sense — I can get up at my normal time, work for a bit, go to the airport, land, have dinner, and then go to bed, all without even adjusting my time schedule. If I make it to bed a bit after midnight in London then I’m basically maintaining my normal schedule.
For me that’s ideal. I’ve learned over time that the only way I can beat jetlag in Europe is if I don’t adjust from my “normal” US schedule, which means getting up a bit later and going to bed a bit later.
Wifi Is A Game Changer For These Flights
There are obvious positives to these daytime flights, but the biggest downside is that you’re essentially “wasting” a day. In that sense, Wi-Fi is a game changer, in my opinion, since I don’t at all find these flights to be wasteful as a result.
Of course I have the benefit of being able to work from anywhere in the world, so I can be just as efficient on a plane as on the ground.
I most definitely wouldn’t feel the same about these flights if there weren’t Wi-Fi.
Markets With These Flights Are Limited
A major problem with these daytime flights is that the markets in which they’re offered are very limited. They’re mostly just to London, but I believe there are also at least seasonally some to Dublin and Paris. I can’t think of any other markets with these flights, though someone correct me if I’m wrong.
That’s probably what would prevent me from taking these flights more frequently. They don’t help me when going to Europe from Miami, but rather I think these are only useful if there’s a nonstop daytime between your origin and destination (so markets like New York to London).
It Could Make Sense To Downgrade On These Flights
If you’re looking to save miles on a ticket and book premium economy rather than business class, then these flights are so much better. It’s much more comfortable to be in premium economy on a daytime flight that’s about six hours, rather than taking that same flight overnight.
I want to start doing some premium economy reviews, and I think a New York to London daytime flight is the ideal flight for that.
Bottom Line
As I get older I try to do everything I can to avoid redeyes and other flights that make me feel kind of miserable. I’m valuing getting good sleep over most other things nowadays. A daytime Newark to London flight was the most relaxed I’ve ever felt when arriving in London from across the Atlantic.
I absolutely love these flights, and think they’re great for beating jetlag, for being able to check into your hotel when you land, and for just generally avoiding the misery associated with short overnight flights.
I’d take these again in a heartbeat, but mainly because I have the ability to work from anywhere. To me there’s no opportunity cost to flying during the day rather than overnight. If I had limited vacation days or were “wasting” a whole day of work, I wouldn’t be as much a fan of these flights.
The other downside is the limited markets in which they’re available. If I needed to fly from New York to London I’d consider one of these flights again, but I wouldn’t position to New York to take one, because that would take away most of the benefit.
What do you make of eastbound daytime transatlantic flights?
I have been taking either JFK - LHR or IAD - LHR daytime flights for most of the last 20 years - almost always on United when United flew from JFK instead of EWR. However, once United stopped the 767 service from IAD and replaced it post-Continental merger with 757s NO. I tried that twice and never again - a long haul on the narrowbody 757 just doesn’t work for me
For the daytime...
I have been taking either JFK - LHR or IAD - LHR daytime flights for most of the last 20 years - almost always on United when United flew from JFK instead of EWR. However, once United stopped the 767 service from IAD and replaced it post-Continental merger with 757s NO. I tried that twice and never again - a long haul on the narrowbody 757 just doesn’t work for me
For the daytime flights, I was happy enough in the old United EconPlus or the 767 exit row, but, again, not on a 757
One thing I was surprised you didn’t cover was that the daytime flight requires the London-arriving plane to sit overnight rather than have a turnaround in a few hours; therefore, it is an expensive use of equipment, unfortunately
As for using the daytime flight itself, yes, it is certainly an option to get work done and, while, perhaps, I don’t have energy for the gym for a couple of days, I certainly don’t have two or three days of insufferable jetlag that interferes with normal business activity
As for now reverting to the overnights from IAD, like you, I am a fairly light sleeper and just the aroma of breakfast is enoigh to wake me up.
I did the maths: on a seven hour flight, roughly 3 hours are taken over by announcements and meal service at the beginning and the end, so that’s about a four hour nap on an overnight night flight Just enough to make me grumpy
I've never done a US-Europe eastbound daytime flight, but in the early 1990s I did several 8-hour daytime flights between Miami and Santiago, Chile, both northbound and southbound. It was so much nicer than the overnight flights. Wish they still had those flights.
Booked BA JFK-LHR day flight late May 2020 with with wife and 2 boys (age 6 and 10). 4 tickets for $1200 RT (basic). Wouldn't have done overnight in basic w/ fam in tow but day flight made sense. And the price is right.
+1 daytime flights don't result in jet lag
what a waste of miles, flying to london and sleeping only 1 night then flying back to the US...at least enjoy the city a little, see a show visit a museum eat some nandos......
Pretty sure the Royal Air Maroc flight JFK to Casablanca works extremely well for them. They have a lot of late evening flights to West Africa so this is a fantastic connection for anyone trying to get to Nigeria/Ghana/Benin/Togo/Mauritania/Niger/Liberia/Mali - as opposed to a red eye to Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam with a much longer connecting flight from Northern Europe than from Morocco.
A friend of mine works in Liberia and this is her preferred method for the...
Pretty sure the Royal Air Maroc flight JFK to Casablanca works extremely well for them. They have a lot of late evening flights to West Africa so this is a fantastic connection for anyone trying to get to Nigeria/Ghana/Benin/Togo/Mauritania/Niger/Liberia/Mali - as opposed to a red eye to Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam with a much longer connecting flight from Northern Europe than from Morocco.
A friend of mine works in Liberia and this is her preferred method for the 2-3x a year she comes back home.
I live in New York, so luckily I have access to a bounty of NYC-London daytime flights and have used them whenever I can. My favorite has actually been Norwegian's flight to Gatwick because they offer great one-way fares and they leave later in the morning so I don't have to wake up so early.
I wish they would offer these to more cities... for me, a daytime flight to Frankfurt or Milan would...
I live in New York, so luckily I have access to a bounty of NYC-London daytime flights and have used them whenever I can. My favorite has actually been Norwegian's flight to Gatwick because they offer great one-way fares and they leave later in the morning so I don't have to wake up so early.
I wish they would offer these to more cities... for me, a daytime flight to Frankfurt or Milan would be a game changer. Without these options, I'd still opt to take the daytime flight to London, stay overnight in an airport hotel, and fly the next morning to continental Europe. Yes it takes a lot more time than flying direct overnight, but I waste a lot less time on exhaustion when I arrive.
(I realize this is an older comment) The reason there are no eastbound daytime flights from the US to places like Frankfurt and Milan is that they are 1 hour ahead of London, and also require an extra hour or so of flying time. That would mean they would either need to depart very early (6 am) or arrive very late (like 11 pm). That would make them much less attractive than the timings for...
(I realize this is an older comment) The reason there are no eastbound daytime flights from the US to places like Frankfurt and Milan is that they are 1 hour ahead of London, and also require an extra hour or so of flying time. That would mean they would either need to depart very early (6 am) or arrive very late (like 11 pm). That would make them much less attractive than the timings for say NYC-London. Frankfurt has a night-flight ban that starts at 11 pm, which also makes it too risky to operate a eastbound daytime flight from the US - even a minor delay could force a cancellation.
Same issue heading back from Hawaii...hate the redeyes but very few day flights and if connecting east, it is tough.
Looking forward to PE reviews. Just flew back from HKG to JFK on CX PE and surprisingly slept longer and better than any of my J or F flights to and from Asia.
I love the daytime AC YYZ-LHR flight. The challenge is it is very popular and and thus always $200 or so more than the overnight flights. The only quibble I have is that it leaves at 0900 I think, would be better to leave around 7 or so and get in to London a bit earlier.
I swear by these ever since I did the BA BOS-LHR one in Y and arrived without any jetlet. With wi-fi I was able to keep working the entire flight. I've since done AA's ORD-LHR one as well (in Premium Y) and that was great too (although for some reason the FA's still insisted on hard-locking the windows on the 788 to full dim, even though it's a day flight).
As you rightly point...
I swear by these ever since I did the BA BOS-LHR one in Y and arrived without any jetlet. With wi-fi I was able to keep working the entire flight. I've since done AA's ORD-LHR one as well (in Premium Y) and that was great too (although for some reason the FA's still insisted on hard-locking the windows on the 788 to full dim, even though it's a day flight).
As you rightly point out, even in J or F you barely get any time to sleep from the East Coast. The day is wasted anyway.
Royal Air Maroc operates an early morning daytime flight to Morocco from JFK.
Once upon a time. TWA had a daytime flight from JFK to Paris.
I also cashed in BA miles as my 30th birthday present to myself to fly the Concorde (RT) to London and Club Europe on to Italy.
Lucky i'm with you. MUCH prefer the daylight US-UK flights.
The problem with them is more for the airlines.
1) Aircraft Utilization. Airlines HATE keeping aircraft parked on the ground (not making money) longer than they have to. In the case of your UA EWR-LHR flight with a 20:35 scheduled arrival into LHR, say a standard two hour turnaround that would put a departure time from the UK of 22:35 and an arrival time...
Lucky i'm with you. MUCH prefer the daylight US-UK flights.
The problem with them is more for the airlines.
1) Aircraft Utilization. Airlines HATE keeping aircraft parked on the ground (not making money) longer than they have to. In the case of your UA EWR-LHR flight with a 20:35 scheduled arrival into LHR, say a standard two hour turnaround that would put a departure time from the UK of 22:35 and an arrival time back into EWR of around 02:00. With no option of connecting flights onwards and hardly attractive for people leaving LHR or arriving at EWR. So, UA keeps their aircraft parked at LHR overnight. BA has to do the same at JFK. The last flight arrives into JFK around 22:30 then sits on the ground until 08:30 the following morning to operate the daylight back. The USA evening departures are much more efficient for the airlines. In UA's case they operate overnight to europe, arrive in the morning, two hour turnaround and fly back to the US. Conversely for the european airlines....daylight flight from their euro hub to the US, two hour turnaround, overnight flight back.
2) Onward connections. A huge part of business for the legacy airlines is feeder traffic. I know at BA anything from 25%-50% of passengers on a JFK-LHR flight will be continuing onto elsewhere in europe, India, Africa, Mid East. From the euro airlines perspective a 20:35 arrival into their euro hub pretty much excludes most onward connecting flights. And for the US airlines an 08:35 departure from their hub will not allow many inbound domestic connections to make the early departure time. Hence why these flights are few and far between - they only really appeal to people travelling direct from A-B.
@Lucky Best piece ever
I very much prefer daytime flight to Europe when at all possible. BOS/NYC-LON is simply too short to get any good sleep plus the jetlag, arriving in the am and having to stay up all day etc. I've done daytime flights from BOS and JFK to LHR and with onward connection to CDG. I believe connecting immediately onward LHR-DUB/MXP are a couple other options.
DY offers JFK-CDG 09h00 nonstop only during the summer and...
I very much prefer daytime flight to Europe when at all possible. BOS/NYC-LON is simply too short to get any good sleep plus the jetlag, arriving in the am and having to stay up all day etc. I've done daytime flights from BOS and JFK to LHR and with onward connection to CDG. I believe connecting immediately onward LHR-DUB/MXP are a couple other options.
DY offers JFK-CDG 09h00 nonstop only during the summer and only on Sundays and Tuesdays. I believe its the only daytime nonstop to Paris from the US or Canada. I very much hope B6 offers daytime flights BOS-PAR/LON when they start service.
And I completely agree that PY is perfectly acceptable on the short daytime flights BOS/NYC to Europe.
Yes, EI and FI have offered daytime US-Europe summer only service.
https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/07/03/why-daytime-to-europe-is-a-great-option-for-us-coach-flyers/
and
https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/aer-lingus-news/early-morning-flight-to-jfk/
@Corey Sacken
You are in for a rude surprise since there are NO daytime flights from SEA-NRT. It may leave at 11:30am but you won’t get there until the next day at 4-5pm. This is not the same as the daytime TATL flights from BOS, JFK, etc.
Seattle to Tokyo has a daytime one that gets in at 1030pm, leaves at 1130am. Will be doing that with my daughter in year or 2.
Sea to HNL of course.
HNL to Asia does them (Japan, Korea,
HNL to Australia has it as well. Loads of opportunity for real premium economy or business class flights to try out day trans Pacific too.
For left coasters. It’s similar returning from Hawaii. Used to take red eye, but realized earlier is best. Outbound arrival is rarely a problem with hotels, and you get a little aloha time no matter the arrival time. Going home, earlier the better.
Trans Atlantic from left coast, I’m wrecked no matter what:)
"I want to start doing some premium economy reviews, and I think a New York to London daytime flight is the ideal flight for that"
But as you pointed out, that doesn't represent the majority of premium economy flights. It would work better to compare to an overnight flight on the same route. Or just fly from Europe to the US on a premium economy flight.
I’ve done 2-3 day time flights back to LHR arriving circa 10pm and back home just past midnight. 30 minutes to have a cup of tea and check the house is OK before going straight to bed then awake normal time after a good nights sleep feeling human.
Whilst for me it doesn’t eliminate jet lag entirely it has certainly made it more bearable. MY last trip in July meant me landing on the Wednesday...
I’ve done 2-3 day time flights back to LHR arriving circa 10pm and back home just past midnight. 30 minutes to have a cup of tea and check the house is OK before going straight to bed then awake normal time after a good nights sleep feeling human.
Whilst for me it doesn’t eliminate jet lag entirely it has certainly made it more bearable. MY last trip in July meant me landing on the Wednesday night and then having a weekend away from the Friday and whilst I was still a little more tired during the day I wasn’t exhausted and demanding sleep which had I done a night flight I would have been.
The flights have been pretty good as well with the first meal being brunch served around an hour or so after departure then time for a nap or watch a few films.
For me it’s a balance against where I have been in the US and how a day flight back affects my trip plans plus what I’m doing the next few days once I get home. also there’s an extra nights hotel to take into account as well.
Totally agree Lucky! Once took the daytime flight BOS-LHR on New Year’s Eve. Arrived just in time for the festivities and had plenty of energy to get through midnight! The best way to travel to LHR in my opinion.
Derek,
For me I'll take the overnight LAX-LHR over the LAX-NYC sleep day flight NYC-LHR every single time. BA A380 F is fantastic and easy to sleep on and be ready for London upon arrival.
If I was NYC based I would take the day flight every time.
I believe there is a royal air maroc daytime flight JFK to CAS
Always land in the evening when there is a significant time shift. Try flying Newark to Singapore and landing at 6:00 am. Day one is pure torture.
I would always opt out for a daytime flight if at all possible. Those red-eyes killed me when I had to do business, and now that I am retired, the very last thing in the world I ever want to do is land and be in London at 8 AM and some clerk tell me that check-in will not be until 3 PM...Nope, I want day time flights. I only wish they were available from BNA.
Love the BA BOS-LHR flight. I live in the Boston area and this is my only way to get to Europe now. The jetlag after taking the redeye to DUB or BRU is very unpleasant, and I always seem to get sick upon arrival as a result of the missed night of sleep, airplane recirculated air, etc. It's WELL worth the premium, in my opinion.
@Corey Sacken We just did flights to Australia and back from New Zealand. We flew YVR-MEL in J leaving around 11pm, arriving around 9 am 2 days later. We both slept plenty and had no jet lag. Return flight AKL-IAH in J left around 9 pm (hour late) and again, we slept and no jet lag. Of course, if you are in economy, that's a whole other thing.
We live in the NYC northern suburbs, are recently retired (3 years ago) and my husband cannot sleep on a plane unless he has a lie flat seat. Or so we thought. 3 years ago we flew on award tickets in business to LHR on a redeye - what with dinner and breakfast service he didn't sleep a wink and was a basket case. By the time we got to our London hotel, he refused...
We live in the NYC northern suburbs, are recently retired (3 years ago) and my husband cannot sleep on a plane unless he has a lie flat seat. Or so we thought. 3 years ago we flew on award tickets in business to LHR on a redeye - what with dinner and breakfast service he didn't sleep a wink and was a basket case. By the time we got to our London hotel, he refused to leave the hotel lobby until the room was ready (couple of hours) and then took a 3 hour nap. Needless to say, it wasn't pleasant. I was so stressed over him, I got sick, so we "lost" another day of our trip before we both were OK.
Then I remembered that years ago we had flown a daytime flight to LHR. So for our next 2 trips to LHR we flew daytime in economy (we are not big people so regular economy is fine for us). Last time was on Virgin and it was a low mileage award and not big $ fee - and we stayed in the recently opened TWA Hotel the night before as a special treat. Yes, added expense, but we considered it part of the vacation experience. Besides, it was way less miles than biz.
On arrival, LHR has some good options for on-airport hotels now (to avoid the Hotel Hoppa). One time we took the Tube into central London - it was empty until we arrived at Leicester Square. If we are going to LHR we would always opt for the daytime flight.
@Clem - Norwegian has a JFK-CDG flight that leaves at 9a and lands at 9:50p
Took the DL 5:00PM BOS-AMS flight in June. Arrives around 5AM local time. Even though I flew DeltaOne on the A330, I could barely sleep because the flight left so early. I arrived at my hotel at 6:30 AM with a major event that evening. Obviously, my room wasn’t ready so I had heard about dayuse.com and rented a room at the Renaissance for $100 from 9 AM to 5 PM. A few hours of...
Took the DL 5:00PM BOS-AMS flight in June. Arrives around 5AM local time. Even though I flew DeltaOne on the A330, I could barely sleep because the flight left so early. I arrived at my hotel at 6:30 AM with a major event that evening. Obviously, my room wasn’t ready so I had heard about dayuse.com and rented a room at the Renaissance for $100 from 9 AM to 5 PM. A few hours of sleep, a shower and time for a little work did the trick. I was in total good form that evening.
Of course AMS is an easy airport with easy access to the city. Much better than CDG or LHR.
Dayuse is a game changer for me and would make me be fine with an Econ+ or PE seat knowing I had a morning arrival crash pad for a few hours.
I've flown transatlantic daytime several times. Personally I really prefer it. Less rushed - you just get a shorter day which I can deal with.. easier than little to no sleep and yes.. you're right maybe premium econ with wifi would be better option here .... interesting ...
While the morning flight has always intrigued me, I'm simply to frugal (read cheap) to consider them. Since I live in Michigan and fly to Europe through Boston, it would require I spend two extra nights in hotels, with one of them being in Boston. Simply too much extra cost for me to consider.
Can we get a companion post on the best early bird restaurant specials in London?
Since my main airport in Europe is Paris, I really wish they had at least one day flight from the East coast. Air France has 5 flights a day but they all depart on the evening. More and more I'm tempted to take day flights to LHR and just connect onwards in the evening.
As far as wasting a day, personally the day I arrive in Europe after a red eye is always wasted and miserable. So I'd rather spend it in a plane entertaining myself or working , that's for sure.
Lucky please don't tell everyone how awesome these daylight flights are! I need this top-secret weapon to avoid jetlag all for myself. Even if I'm going beyond London I would rather sleep at a LHR hotel and connect the next morning. It's a game changer to which keeps me productive.
What took you so long to figure out the best kept secret in flying to London. I have been doing it since the 1980's with 0 jet lag which is great if I have to work the next day. I fly it for all the reasons you stated in your review and by the time you land at night there is no traffic into London if you want to grab car transportation or even the...
What took you so long to figure out the best kept secret in flying to London. I have been doing it since the 1980's with 0 jet lag which is great if I have to work the next day. I fly it for all the reasons you stated in your review and by the time you land at night there is no traffic into London if you want to grab car transportation or even the train is less crowded at night.
I've also flown into London omg the day flight and then stayed over night at the airport as the all the Heathrow hotels are good and then flown the next day to anywhere in Europe I need to go on a nice, less stressful and usually short hop to Germany, France, Spain, etc.
The most important news is Lucky mentioned he will start doing Premium Economy reviews. Finally -- we've been asking for this for a while. There's a lot more variation in both hard and soft product among PE offerings compared to business offerings, so the reviews are very welcomed.
It's the only Ive done flights my kid for London 10x easier.
If you are going to be Australia from LAX find a way on 11am plane. Gets there next day at 630pm. Stay up till 10pm and you adjust to Australia time immediately. Way back sucks no matter what.
Earlier this year I flew JFK to LHR after an earlier flight into JFK and a day stay in the newly opened TWA Hotel. We were still exhausted after our arrival in London. We were fortunate our hotel expedited the cleaning of our room and let us check in early. I'd prefer a day flight arriving in the evening and getting a good night of sleep.
US/Canada to Europe daylight flights scheduled Friday 7/26/2019 pulled from Diio (All London)
Mkt Al Orig Dest Dep Arr AC Flight
BA BOS LHR 0730 1905 777 238
BA JFK LHR 0755 1945 744 178
UA IAD LHR 0815 2055 752 122
VS BOS LHR 0815 1950 333 158
VS JFK LHR 0815 2010 346 26
UA EWR LHR 0830 2040 764 934
AC YYZ LHR 0900 2100 788 868
AA ORD LHR 0915 2245 788 90
AA JFK LHR 1020 2210 772 142
DI JFK LGW 1115 2315 333 7014
I take this all the time...even if it means staying at the T5 Sofitel and connecting the next morning. Best kept secret in Europe travel...please don't tell anyone.
I've only been able to take advantage of this JFK to LHR flight once, but loved it for all the reasons you mention.
Flying economy, I like day time flights the most, also when flying TPAC.
As a left coast passenger, I would never position on domestic a red eye in order to arrive on time for an east coast daytime departure to Europe.
Yes this makes sense. Arriving in Europe earlier in the day is extremely rough. People may worry about wasting a day but to be honest the times I have done it I have been soo exhausted on the first day that it was quite miserable and pretty much almost a completely wasted day anyway. The flight is a bit too short to get a proper sleep. What I wish is that I could figure out...
Yes this makes sense. Arriving in Europe earlier in the day is extremely rough. People may worry about wasting a day but to be honest the times I have done it I have been soo exhausted on the first day that it was quite miserable and pretty much almost a completely wasted day anyway. The flight is a bit too short to get a proper sleep. What I wish is that I could figure out a way to handle jet lag coming back to New York from Asia. Every time I come back from Japan or China I'm messed up with jet lag for like a week and a half even if I get some sleep on the plane.
I did a daytime transatlantic JFK to LHR once. While the flight was much more comfortable, I found the jet lag to be so much worse. I ended up keeping my east coast schedule for the 3 day business trip and only having meetings in the afternoon. I was awake until 4-5am every night and slept until 11-12. That worked fine since I had the flexibility to only have meetings in the afternoon, but had...
I did a daytime transatlantic JFK to LHR once. While the flight was much more comfortable, I found the jet lag to be so much worse. I ended up keeping my east coast schedule for the 3 day business trip and only having meetings in the afternoon. I was awake until 4-5am every night and slept until 11-12. That worked fine since I had the flexibility to only have meetings in the afternoon, but had I needed to be on my game at 9am London time it would have been a nightmare. While the redeyes are rough, I just push through the first day until evening and then get a goodnight sleep at which point I'm recovered and on the right schedule. So I find overnights generally more practical.
Funny you are just discovering this. Prem Econ on BA and Virgin become very worth it. Obscene surcharges but very reasonable miles requirements... especially now with the 50% off on BA. Also student universe often has prem Econ on these flights (and others) at very reasonable rates of students and youth.
@1KBrad no, @Lucky is not 80. He's unusual. If he were normal, the blog would be very different.
@1KBrad:
I'm a younger Gen-X fella but work with teams on three continents and need to be at my desk by 5:45 am. If I'm going to be at all functioning, I need to be in bed by 9:15 pm. I'm not a lot of fun at parties on the weekend, what with the enormous yawns and all.
Hooray, Premium Economy reviews! I hope you fly Air New Zealand's at some point. We had a great experience and I'd love to get your take. Too bad it's 3x the price of economy and difficult to book with miles...
I did one of these once and it was great. You don’t need to have a direct flight though. You can still connect on a 6am flight from close locations, like Cleveland. The only issue is they typically fly regional one class aircraft at that time from Cleveland so despite paying a pretty penny for business class, the first flight will be in economy and sometimes goes into the dreaded UA Express gates in the A concourse at Dulles!
"I’m someone who usually gets up at around 5AM and goes to bed at around 8-9PM."
What, are you 80-years old?
I'm usually connecting in London, so it doesn't for me. I much prefer the late night departures from JFK to Europe (post 9 pm). I can get close to a full night's sleep and I have less time to putter around waiting for a hotel room in the morning. With eyeshades and earplugs, I am oblivious to what else is going on in the cabin.
Young parents also love these daytime east bound TATL flights. I have Irish friends who only take this schedule when visiting relatives because it helps with jetlag for their small children. If you think adjusting to the time difference is rough, you should see a toddler try to deal with it! LOL
Personnally it would feel like a wasted day to me since I usually coffee up and walk around after arriving to adjust to the local time when on vacation.
During the summer FI offers an afternoon day flight from JFK to KEF. It departs around 2 pm and arrives before midnight local time. It offers an eastward TATL day flight for those who like to sleep in.
“@mitch cumstien he is just Banned from MileagePlus“
Is there a thread discussing this? I’d like to read the story.
@Michael.
It stays overnight in London before returning the following morning as one of the first return flights LHR-EWR.
@mitch cumstien he is just Banned from MileagePlus
How do they schedule the return flight London-Newark? Depart midnight GMT arrive 4 AM Eastern Time?
I'm trying one of these for the first time this coming April. BOS-LHR-BUD.
In theory, to me, it seems great. Arrive LHR 7 pm with a connection to BUD at 8:45p
We don't arrive till just after Midnight. I figure we'll get to the hotel about 1:30 ish which sounds late but that will be 7:30pm by my internal clock. We can just go right to bed and be ready for the day's...
I'm trying one of these for the first time this coming April. BOS-LHR-BUD.
In theory, to me, it seems great. Arrive LHR 7 pm with a connection to BUD at 8:45p
We don't arrive till just after Midnight. I figure we'll get to the hotel about 1:30 ish which sounds late but that will be 7:30pm by my internal clock. We can just go right to bed and be ready for the day's activity. It is getting harder to stay up all day with the early morning arrivals. We'll see how it goes.
Also, if you don't want to "waste a day," simply travel on a Saturday or Sunday. Some of my favorite flights over the years have been flights on Saturday morning.
In the 70's and into the 80's there were more day flights from the east coast to Europe than there are now. I remember taking morning BOAC and Pan Am flights from New York to London and there was an Air France day flight from New York to Paris as well.
I liked these flights, but found it could be difficult to get to sleep after arrival because it was still only afternoon according to...
In the 70's and into the 80's there were more day flights from the east coast to Europe than there are now. I remember taking morning BOAC and Pan Am flights from New York to London and there was an Air France day flight from New York to Paris as well.
I liked these flights, but found it could be difficult to get to sleep after arrival because it was still only afternoon according to my body clock. I'd try to stay up very late the night before departing the U.S. in order to be really tired by the time I got to Europe.
In those pre-Business Class days I couldn't afford First Class and so opted when possible for day flights to Europe in order to avoid the awful exhaustion of sitting upright in Economy on overnight flights.
it's a shame that only one direction or the other can be daytime. Is it not possible to switch it around so half of the westbound and half of the eastbound are daytime? I never really thought about what that might mean. But I am sure most people don't sleep well on planes and would welcome the chance to go in daytime.
I don't know that I've ever had much problem with hotels having a...
it's a shame that only one direction or the other can be daytime. Is it not possible to switch it around so half of the westbound and half of the eastbound are daytime? I never really thought about what that might mean. But I am sure most people don't sleep well on planes and would welcome the chance to go in daytime.
I don't know that I've ever had much problem with hotels having a room ready when I arrive. They seem to be used to the fact that NA flights arrive early in the day and can handle it. Maybe I've just been lucky?
surfer - Take the 4 PM flight from LAX to JFK. You get most of the day in LA, arrive at NYC at midnight, quick cab home, up for work in the morning.
Lucky, I'm glad you are speaking out on why these flights make sense. There really should be morning flights from NYC to each of Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid and maybe Zurich as well. Once you start hitting Germany and Italy, the flights are long enough to justify the redeye.
I’ve not traveled a day-flight to LHR recently.
But for many of us, those older than Lucky, will remember Concorde. I flew about 20+ eastbound flights on that glorious bird!
The YYZ flight is great in theory, but AC has a <60% OTP on these flights - so chances are you ll be arriving much later than the 9pm scheduled time, and will be stuck getting to London very late at night.
@keitherson I think that is only part of it. By having the flights arrive in the morning, it gives passengers a chance to make connections in London, Paris, Madrid, etc. Plus, on the US side, an afternoon/evening departure allows passengers to connect onto a transatlantic flight.
Given that there is so much demand just between NYC and London, I'm not surprised airlines are able to offer this flight that may not require connecting passengers...
@keitherson I think that is only part of it. By having the flights arrive in the morning, it gives passengers a chance to make connections in London, Paris, Madrid, etc. Plus, on the US side, an afternoon/evening departure allows passengers to connect onto a transatlantic flight.
Given that there is so much demand just between NYC and London, I'm not surprised airlines are able to offer this flight that may not require connecting passengers to fill the plane. This also allows the airlines to make more money selling a direct ticket (as they don't have to split a fare between 2 or 3 flights).
YYZ-LHR morning flight is so popular that it is more expensive in PE than night-time flights....
Back in the late ‘90s, I regularly took daytime Eastbound flights NYC/LHR. They worked superbly for me, even before Wi-Fi on aircraft! I used to fly westbound on Monday, working on the flight. Had Tuesday and Wednesday in the NYC office, flew back during Thursday (again using it as flying office) and then Friday in the London office. Nearly as useful as Concorde!
I normally fly out of Atlanta these days and would like a...
Back in the late ‘90s, I regularly took daytime Eastbound flights NYC/LHR. They worked superbly for me, even before Wi-Fi on aircraft! I used to fly westbound on Monday, working on the flight. Had Tuesday and Wednesday in the NYC office, flew back during Thursday (again using it as flying office) and then Friday in the London office. Nearly as useful as Concorde!
I normally fly out of Atlanta these days and would like a daytime flight. The overnight, particularly with a stiff tailwind, wrecks a night and a day.
I love my O'Hare to Heathrow day flight as an expat of 12 years. I have no jetlag and can get to the office no issues the next day. The option is probably meant for true expats and travellers as no advantage to business travellers.
I have tried twice to book day flights east-bound through Chicago and both times have ended up with a canceled flight. This backfired big time because then you are hoping you can be placed on the overnight flight later in the day. Our first time around we weren't able to leave until the following evening and lost a day and a half of our trip, the second time we were booked on a 9pm flight...
I have tried twice to book day flights east-bound through Chicago and both times have ended up with a canceled flight. This backfired big time because then you are hoping you can be placed on the overnight flight later in the day. Our first time around we weren't able to leave until the following evening and lost a day and a half of our trip, the second time we were booked on a 9pm flight from Boston to Edinburgh sitting in middle seats! Both times we arrived at our destination exhausted and annoyed, not exactly how you want to start a trip!
So this would be great if things go as planned, but LHR has such a strict late arrival policy that it makes me hesitant to book this again.
My experience is these flights are great if your destination is a major European hub, but the arrival times are late enough that if you need any sort of connection to a secondary city they're just not available. I think to take advantage of the last bank of flights out of LHR/AMS/CDG/FRA you would need to depart the US between 4am and 6am.
Fairly similar to LAX-JFK. Depending on the time of year its ~60-90 minutes longer with a ~2-3 bigger time change difference. Still would prefer a redeye because of the "wasting a day".
Meal service seemed the biggest issue to me. Breakfast with a sundae cart? LOL.
Made you should review all of them? British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and AA
Agree with a lot of the points you make, and again a daytime east coast - Europe flight is hard to find. On the same overnight flights I count on about 2-3 sleep tops, then try and power that first day - retiring at about 6-7 pm if possible. It’s not fun, but again it’s just one day. Also I’m not doing quick turns in Europe. Another benefit to powering through that first day is...
Agree with a lot of the points you make, and again a daytime east coast - Europe flight is hard to find. On the same overnight flights I count on about 2-3 sleep tops, then try and power that first day - retiring at about 6-7 pm if possible. It’s not fun, but again it’s just one day. Also I’m not doing quick turns in Europe. Another benefit to powering through that first day is that we usually crash sleep that first evening in Europe, and mostly reset our internal clock to local time.
So about that schedule, idk - might work for short flights like NY to London, but longer flights are a nightmare. Try flying the daytime lh-flight between Mexico City and Munich, departing at 10 am and arriving around 5 am the next day. It’s not only that you lose a day but also a night. Your schedule get’s so messed up it’s not even funny. Worst flight ever for me. By the time I got...
So about that schedule, idk - might work for short flights like NY to London, but longer flights are a nightmare. Try flying the daytime lh-flight between Mexico City and Munich, departing at 10 am and arriving around 5 am the next day. It’s not only that you lose a day but also a night. Your schedule get’s so messed up it’s not even funny. Worst flight ever for me. By the time I got home in Munich I was so exhausted I slept till 8 pm and then was up all night. Going to work after that was hell.
How did you book this flight? I thought you were banned on United.
I disagree with some of your assessment, Lucky. There's a reason nearly all airlines offer arrivals lounges in London -- so business travelers on redeyes can arrive, get refreshed, and then head to work. Early check-in does not matter, and they're not sitting around in a hotel lobby working.
The daytime flights work for travelers needing to prepare or making sure they're not jetlagged the next day, but the market is limited because the flight...
I disagree with some of your assessment, Lucky. There's a reason nearly all airlines offer arrivals lounges in London -- so business travelers on redeyes can arrive, get refreshed, and then head to work. Early check-in does not matter, and they're not sitting around in a hotel lobby working.
The daytime flights work for travelers needing to prepare or making sure they're not jetlagged the next day, but the market is limited because the flight timings mean no connecting feed on either end.
Eastbound daytime flights to LHR are wonderful. Given a choice, I would choose such flight in economy class over business class on a red eye. I have flown eastbound daytime flights and experienced no noticeable jet lag.
As far as I know, there are daytime flights from ORD, YYZ, BOS, EWR, IAD, and JFK to LHR.
The tricky part would be if I had to decide on a LAX-LHR red eye or LAX-JFK day one,...
Eastbound daytime flights to LHR are wonderful. Given a choice, I would choose such flight in economy class over business class on a red eye. I have flown eastbound daytime flights and experienced no noticeable jet lag.
As far as I know, there are daytime flights from ORD, YYZ, BOS, EWR, IAD, and JFK to LHR.
The tricky part would be if I had to decide on a LAX-LHR red eye or LAX-JFK day one, JFK-LHR day two. The LAX-LHR is a bit less jet lag than JFK-LHR because there is nap time on the longer LAX flight somewhat offset by more time zone changes. Some West Coast to LHR arrive around noon, which is late enough for a hotel to clean rooms from the previous night since one might not arrive at the hotel until 2 pm.