Article: How I Made Red-Eye Economy Class Bearable Without Upgrading

[AFF Editor]

Canonical URL

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/red-eye-economy-bearable-without-upgrading/

How I Made Red-Eye Economy Class Bearable Without Upgrading is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

How I Made Red-Eye Economy Class Bearable Without Upgrading

Rather than paying $650 to upgrade to a lie-flat Business Class seat, Matt booked a $119 day-use hotel room to sleep after landing on his short overnight flight.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[Ecco]

Glad I’m not the only one who struggles to sleep when I’m not tired. I also stay up that late too!!

 

[kpc]

I have reached the stage of life where I don't fly Y overnight full stop

I will fly Y up to 8-9 hours during the daytime only.

 

[serfty]

I will fly red eye economy but sleep planning is important. Ensuring the opportunity before and/or after such a flight is part of the planning.

Over the decades I have worked out that if I can get 6 hours sleep in 24 I'm generally OK.

To be honest, my smartwatch generally indicates I rarely get any settled sleep while flying, even on a flat bed. So such post red eye accommodations are an important consideration.

 

[bussyboy]

Day use rooms are an unknown and overlooked option by many. I recently recommended some friends to do this on arrival to BNE overnight from PER, ahead of their cruise departure later in the day.

 

[aikman]

So you're saying that a comfortable hotel room immediately before and/or after an economy flight is better value than paying for a business class seat.

That's always been the case but it has never really caught on with the AFF crowd. I doubt it ever will.

 

[aspro2]

Maybe there could be a thread about day room options around the world? The info is typically unpublished or lacking detail for many places, in my experience.

 

[dmgale]

This is a great idea and a definite option for my next overnight flight from Asia.

 

[Kceips]

Great strategy. My Garmin told me I had 12 mins of sleep on a recent overnight Sin-Mel economy sector.
I’ve been spoiled flying J too many times.

 

[IrishPete]

There's a website and app for Day Use hotel rooms.

Some hotels don't list on it, and you have to investigate with them direct.

Sadly, not all cities/airports are as good value as the excellent and really convenient Park Royal at Melbourne Airport. Some are REALLY expensive, and some in-airport hotels are ridiculous prices.

 

[Haplo]

I guess you could try to early check in to your hotel if you have status, pay an early check in fee or pay the night before, these are all options.

Would come down to cost.

 

[aspro2]

There's a website and app for Day Use hotel rooms.

Some hotels don't list on it, and you have to investigate with them direct.

Sadly, not all cities/airports are as good value as the excellent and really convenient Park Royal at Melbourne Airport. Some are REALLY expensive, and some in-airport hotels are ridiculous prices.

Comparing the airside option pricing at Changi between 15 years ago and now it has gone from Ouch to OUCHWTF.

 

[AuSammy]

Comparing the airside option pricing at Changi between 15 years ago and now it has gone from Ouch to OUCHWTF.

Same at BKK. Landside a few minutes away by rideshare 25-50% of the cost depending on your preferences

 

[Scarlett]

I read this article as “how I made my overall whY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE bearable” rather than just the flight.

Aside from getting the whole row due to a lower load on that particular flight, it was still the same coughpy overnight whY endurance test. What made the travel experience better as a whole was having lounge access beforehand and having dedicated 1G sleeping access very soon after arrival and the (some) ability to manage your own time for after arrival.

Semantics maybe, but it’s managing the whole travel experience not just managing the flight experience.

 

[DaleS]

Comparing the airside option pricing at Changi between 15 years ago and now it has gone from Ouch to OUCHWTF.

There are advantages to airside/airport rooms though. On my last long trip I used VA points to fly Air Canada redeye in J from LAX to YYZ. I got to use the Star Alliance lounge at LAX before transferring to the AC lounge before the flight which was delayed by 2 hours. It was an unmemorable 6 hours and I did not get much sleep. I my research for day rooms near Pearson Intl I looked at various options but they all involved a shuttle or Uber where as the Sheraton was a quick walk inside the terminal. I had a painless and very quick early morning check in and I got 4-5 hours sleep in a comfortable bed before meeting a friend for lunch. As a snowstorm moved in early afternoon and there was 4" of snow on the ground by the time I checked out for my next flight that evening, I was greatful for the quick warm walk to check in rather than lugging my bag thru the snow to a cold shuttle and a 15 min drive to the terminal. It probably cost me CAD$100+ more but it was completely worth it and that's what we all have to weigh up. I'll also never forget the queue of planes lining up for and going through de-icing which for us Oz travellers is definitely a cool and unusual experience.

 

[Mattg]

I read this article as “how I made my overall whY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE bearable” rather than just the flight.

Aside from getting the whole row due to a lower load on that particular flight, it was still the same coughpy overnight whY endurance test. What made the travel experience better as a whole was having lounge access beforehand and having dedicated 1G sleeping access very soon after arrival and the (some) ability to manage your own time for after arrival.

Semantics maybe, but it’s managing the whole travel experience not just managing the flight experience.

I totally understand your point. For me though, knowing I would have access to a real bed immediately after landing did actually make the flight more bearable.

I personally don't mind flying Y if I'm not trying to sleep. Watching movies etc. helps pass the time. The thing I find most uncomfortable is when I'm trying to sleep in an economy seat, but just can't. For me, this makes the flight feel much longer. But when on an overnight flight that lands at 5-6am, I often feel pressure to sleep because I know I won't be able to on arrival. The thing that made this overnight flight bearable (which would have been the case even without a whole row of seats) was that I wasn't pressuring myself to sleep - because I didn't need to.

YMMV of course