Red-eye flights

[dajop]

Another thought on the subject. Wikipedia notes that:

A red-eye flight typically moves from west to east during the overnight hours

Has anyone taken any that move in the opposite direction that still are short enough to be "overnight" and count as a redeye?

The one that comes to mind (but I haven't taken) is MEL-DRW on DJ 0115/0415, a four and half hour flight.

 

[kamchatsky]

Well once I did NZ NAN-AKL at 03:40am - 06:55am. There was no timezone change. But I had to check in at 01:40am (NO!!!!!) and then waiting in the hot and steamy airport in Fiji with crowds of people (it was a B747). I could hardly get any sleep at all (not to mention meal interruptions in that 3 hour flight). Of course, being NB and flying Y made it even more difficult. In fact, these kind of schedules seems to be a common occurance for NZ-Island flights .....

As a result of this, I promised that I will NEVER do that again!

 

[albatross710]

Re Red-eye on returning from holidays. I am now much more aware of trying not to return from a great holiday on a red-eye.

 

[chrisb]

Being PER based, i've done way too many of these.

To me, it's an overnight flight with timing such that you think you can get some sleep and function the next day. I usually end up crashing at about 10-11am.

 

[drewbles]

Being PER based, i've done way too many of these.

To me, it's an overnight flight with timing such that you think you can get some sleep and function the next day. I usually end up crashing at about 10-11am.

Yup used to do these all too often (as you know already Chris). Used to do PER-SYD every month pretty much on the red-eye. Each time I swore I'd never fly it again. I finally held myself to that when I moved back to MEL. Since then, I did one red-eye by force of necessity (it was $300 cheaper than QF776, the usual PER-MEL I now take). Never again though

 

[Mal]

Being PER based, i've done way too many of these.

To me, it's an overnight flight with timing such that you think you can get some sleep and function the next day. I usually end up crashing at about 10-11am.

I had a couple of weekends in Perth as trips away. Even in J coming back home on the red-eye (to make the most of the weekend!), I was shattered arriving in Brisbane. Somehow managed to make it to work both times, but it was like I'd had an all-nighter drinking session. My mate didn't handle it as well.

The same occurred coming back from DRW - have done the red-eye back to Brisbane. At least that flight was less full and I managed to stretch out over three seats. Much better sleep!

 

[codash1099]

Yup used to do these all too often (as you know already Chris). Used to do PER-SYD every month pretty much on the red-eye. Each time I swore I'd never fly it again. I finally held myself to that when I moved back to MEL. Since then, I did one red-eye by force of necessity (it was $300 cheaper than QF776, the usual PER-MEL I now take). Never again though

These days I have the luxury reserved for the elderly and retired - if it's a red-eye or nothing, I'll take nothing every time.

 

[anat0l]

Thanks for your comments, 737.

You'd be surprised with how many people actually eat, i would say maybe 75%, but that can vary, but most people usually tuck in and have something to eat

Very interesting. Guess most people don't know better, or are basically crashing when they land.

Feel sorry for us F/A's who have to work the horror Quite often we will do the horror ex PER and arrive in MEL/SYD/BNE, and then continue on one of the morning flights to MEL/SYD/BNE, all those fresh passengers who have had a good nights sleep, and here is us, the walking dead, trying our hardest to look nice and fresh but we still love it.

LOL "You still love it?" Come on, we are an understanding crowd here - you can be brutally honest. :mrgreen:

Don't get me wrong - I can imagine working the midnight horror is bad enough let alone us pax having to try and endure / make the most of it. And I'm willing to wager that there aren't a lot of pax that will get any sort of decent sleep on the flight, if the evidence on this thread isn't telling to some degree. Like I said, some of them aren't probably looking at a full day when they arrive from off the red-eye, e.g. people on holidays or students (and sometimes I look around at the surprisingly full plane and notice people like this).

I suppose if you do a red-eye and then a short haul domestic (not back to PER!) then that's about 12-14 hours all up including (hopefully, and I'm assuming here, so please don't shoot me) your necessary preparation (briefing, debriefing, other bureaucratic rigmarole). By the time you get off work, you really do need to sleep (in a darkened room no less!).

In any case, bravo to you and your fellow crew in attempting to look fresh and perky I honestly don't know how you do it (I know coffee is only part of the solution). Trust me, I don't envy doing what you're doing one bit. I'm hoping that when you're giving out the pre-landing juice to the Y pax on the red-eye that you don't get too many glares or emotional people (think the wake-up-in-the-morning face).

I feel sorry for those pax in Y on a 737 on the horrors as well, all squished in trying to sleep :shock:

I really don't know why they continue using 737s on the PER flights (using a 738 is bad enough but when they use a 734 this is nuts!). Apart from that, if you are tired enough, you'll sleep anywhere, and as pax in Y will have to realise, if they want to sleep, they'll have to learn quickly anyway!

 

[Keith009]

I would also consider SIN-ADL and SIN-MEL as redeyes (particular if winds are favourable, and particularly for early evening departures) as just as bad, even though 6 hours the time zone crossing is the killer. To illustrate SIN-MEL may be double the length of PER-MEL, but I don't normally go to sleep at 8pm, so essentially by the time bed time comes around at 11pm or so ... its only 3 and a bit hours to landing anyway, just like the PER flight.

Agree. If really needing sleep, I have found it best to skip all meals on these flights (and the brekky on both SQ and QF are of the continental variety anyway which I always skip in favour of more sleep). If one actually partakes in both meal services, you'd be left with 3-4 hours to sleep at most - and that's only if you manage to get to sleep.

 

[chrisb]

PER-AKL is fairly cough too - Depart 5.50pm Arrive 5.15am, 6h25min flight time.

 

[docjames]

I would also consider SIN-ADL and SIN-MEL as redeyes (.

You can add SIN-BNE to that - a shocker with a tailwind. So much so we're coming home LHR-BKK-SYD-BNE as BKK-SYD is a more reasonable length than SIN-BNE (plus the Y+ seating you cant get on SIN-BNE).

Semi-OT/
I cant believe QF wont put Y+ into the international A330s.

 

[Hvr]

Another thought on the subject. Wikipedia notes that:



Has anyone taken any that move in the opposite direction that still are short enough to be "overnight" and count as a redeye?

The one that comes to mind (but I haven't taken) is MEL-DRW on DJ 0115/0415, a four and half hour flight.

Have done a similar flight the other way, DRW-SYD, never again, landed in SYD about 6.00am and then connected through to CBR. A horrible night and then a day or so to recover.

 

[dajop]

Have done a similar flight the other way, DRW-SYD, never again, landed in SYD about 6.00am and then connected through to CBR. A horrible night and then a day or so to recover.

I did that once and connected through to Narrabri .... via Melbourne. DRW-SYD-MEL-SYD-NAA. Was in MEL, went home and then to office for all of 3 hours before turning around and going back to SYD again. Didn't get an ounce of sleep on DRW-SYD, but think slept on some on the later flights. Really having more flights after a redeye actually is much better than trying to be productive.

 

[Flashback]

Well once I did NZ NAN-AKL at 03:40am - 06:55am. There was no timezone change. But I had to check in at 01:40am (NO!!!!!) and then waiting in the hot and steamy airport in Fiji with crowds of people (it was a B747). I could hardly get any sleep at all (not to mention meal interruptions in that 3 hour flight). Of course, being NB and flying Y made it even more difficult. In fact, these kind of schedules seems to be a common occurance for NZ-Island flights .....

As a result of this, I promised that I will NEVER do that again!

You can add PER-SIN (JQ), BWN-PER (RB), PER-NRT (QF) vv. very little change in time zone but done overnight and not good for when you land.

I had a couple of weekends in Perth as trips away. Even in J coming back home on the red-eye (to make the most of the weekend!), I was shattered arriving in Brisbane. Somehow managed to make it to work both times, but it was like I'd had an all-nighter drinking session. My mate didn't handle it as well.

The same occurred coming back from DRW - have done the red-eye back to Brisbane. At least that flight was less full and I managed to stretch out over three seats. Much better sleep!

You can add SIN-BNE to that - a shocker with a tailwind. So much so we're coming home LHR-BKK-SYD-BNE as BKK-SYD is a more reasonable length than SIN-BNE (plus the Y+ seating you cant get on SIN-BNE).

Semi-OT/
I cant believe QF wont put Y+ into the international A330s.

I've been lucky in that I've only had 1 red-eye where I have been shattered upon arrival. Each other time I've been lucky to check into the hotel and get a 1-2 hour nap, or I've just powered on through the day through the excitement of not being in PER

 

[tuapekastar]

Are you sure we are not related somehow

Not sure about being related, but I think we both know the right way to handle red-eyes!

 

[harvyk]

I had a couple of weekends in Perth as trips away. Even in J coming back home on the red-eye (to make the most of the weekend!), I was shattered arriving in Brisbane. Somehow managed to make it to work both times, but it was like I'd had an all-nighter drinking session. My mate didn't handle it as well.

I know that feeling, in 08, my mate and I flew from PER-MEL on a red eye, leaving PER at 11:50 from memory and getting into MEL at roughly 3:00am (Daylight saving ended that night, thus meaning a very early arrival into MEL).

Whilst I could handle it (almost a veteran of red eyes by that stage) my mate had a "I'm going to kill harvyk for booking red eye flights" look in his very red eyes...

The prob was we then had 5 hours to kill at MEL before our flight to CBR took off, and the annoying thing was QP didn't open before 5am...