Would you fly at a less convenient time to get a nicer plane?

[Forg]

Ah, so it is about the seat, not the plane.

The ‘plane is normally a very good indicator towards how the seats’ll be arranged.
Occasionally you can cop a replacement aircraft & be stymied!

 

[drron]

as per my golden rule. Daytime flights and sleep in a proper bed. over 3 hours we travel J so a daytime flight with ecliner is not a problem.

 

[FlyingFiona]

Are you talking about the aircraft themselves or the seating configurations/types of seats that airlines are installing inside them?

Both but from the user experience perspective.

 

[Happy Dude]

Some WP/OWE fly across the country for some salt and pepper squid in a FLounge, so any sacrifice for a nicer plane is going to be a resounding yes.

 

[jase05]

As others have mentioned I try to avoid narrow bodies on TT routes and other routes round the 3hr mark if possible but sometimes it’s unavoidable

 

[jb747]

I'll take a less convenient time to get an AB.

 

[Seat0B]

Forgive my ignorance but what exactly makes one plane nicer than another and how is it noticeable to an average flyer? I assume we're talking about the plane itself and not the seat.

Well here's a live example.

I had booked a Y trip MEL-CBR for November. It was in an A220. I got notified yesterday of a "change to your flights" and the change is that this flight will now be leaving MEL 10 minutes later, in a Dash-8. To say I am not happy would be to minimise my absolute displeasure at this bait and switch. A Dash-8 (a noisy turbo prop with very cramped and uncomfortable seating that is bad enough between CBR and SYD) is a way, way, way worse aircraft than an A220 (a nice modern jet with comfy seats).

So I thought I might try for a different flight, using the involuntary nature of the flight change to allow me to make a free change. Then I found out that all the flights that day, Saturday 15 November, between MEL-CBR are now on Dash-8s. I couldn't believe it so I called, got the holy grail of Hobart, and my lovely customer service rep checked and double checked and it's true, they are all Dash-8s that day.

I was offered the chance to take a jet - either the day before or the day after. But I need to be home and don't want to incur extra hotel costs, so in this case, schedule trumped aircraft type. But I am still not happy.

 

[Seat0B]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I could select seats on the A220, but the Dash-8 does not allow for seat selection in advance.

 

[kookaburra75]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I could select seats on the A220, but the Dash-8 does not allow for seat selection in advance.

You can select Window or Aisle, not that helps your situation. I wouldn't be happy either with what they're offering.

 

[Forg]

I guess a Dash-8 has a random number of rows & a random number of seats per row, who knows, the people building them obviously just hammered & glued random bits of aluminium together.

 

[Daver6]

Well here's a live example.

I had booked a Y trip MEL-CBR for November. It was in an A220. I got notified yesterday of a "change to your flights" and the change is that this flight will now be leaving MEL 10 minutes later, in a Dash-8. To say I am not happy would be to minimise my absolute displeasure at this bait and switch. A Dash-8 (a noisy turbo prop with very cramped and uncomfortable seating that is bad enough between CBR and SYD) is a way, way, way worse aircraft than an A220 (a nice modern jet with comfy seats).

So I thought I might try for a different flight, using the involuntary nature of the flight change to allow me to make a free change. Then I found out that all the flights that day, Saturday 15 November, between MEL-CBR are now on Dash-8s. I couldn't believe it so I called, got the holy grail of Hobart, and my lovely customer service rep checked and double checked and it's true, they are all Dash-8s that day.

I was offered the chance to take a jet - either the day before or the day after. But I need to be home and don't want to incur extra hotel costs, so in this case, schedule trumped aircraft type. But I am still not happy.

I did the exact opposite. Finished up work a little earlier in CBR needing to head to MEL. Was on the A220 (front row of Y too) but decided to move to a flight 50 minutes earlier which was a Dash-8. Just wanted to get to my next hotel and be done for the day.

 

[Seat0B]

I guess a Dash-8 has a random number of rows & a random number of seats per row, who knows, the people building them obviously just hammered & glued random bits of aluminium together.

Not making me feel better @Forg

 

[Seat0B]

I did the exact opposite. Finished up work a little earlier in CBR needing to head to MEL. Was on the A220 (front row of Y too) but decided to move to a flight 50 minutes earlier which was a Dash-8. Just wanted to get to my next hotel and be done for the day.

I can understand the decision in that situation.

I wanted to use this flight to cheer up. We will have put Seat Son and almost DIL on their return flight to the UAE earlier that day absinthe know from experience I will be feeling a bit low. A noisy, crowded Dash-8 probably won’t do it for me. But hey, at least the catering can’t be any worse than my last 2 flights CBR-MEL-CBR in J. Or can it????

To return to the thread topic, it’s very hard to decide which is the most dominant factor in a decision about flights generally but easier for any given flight.

 

[Human]

Earlier this year I flew into Singapore at 5pm, on my way home to Melbourne.

I was using points, and two options were available:

Option 1: An overnight Singapore Airlines flight in Business Class after a transit of 6 hours or so.
Option 2: Emirates First Class, leaving at 10am the next day.

I chose to pay the extra to stay in a Singapore hotel overnight, for the sake of catching the Emirates First Class flight the next day. In my defence, it was the end of a long-awaited dream holiday, I knew that Emirates was soon to cancel the route, and it was one of the very few routes where Emirates’ carrier charges were non-exorbitant. I saw it as possibly my last opportunity to fly Emirates F, and an opportunity too good to miss.

So yes, if the circumstances were right I would absolutely fly at a less convenient time for the sake of (much) greater comfort! I definitely wouldn’t do it all the time, though.

 

[Stealthflyer]

My decisions are primarily based on the transit locations rather than price or plane or time. Living in Tassie, all my overseas trips require a transit in a domestic airport and MEL wins hands down for ease and speed of transit, even if I prefer the planes departing from SYD.

 

[moa999]

Would also say it depends on the airline. Some are known for switching aircraft more than others.

 

[HS-TQE]

As stated above, some carriers have a reputation for changing aircraft at the last minute. I tend to avoid those carriers if booked in J.

As for others, depends on the circumstances and carrier. 6-6.5 hours on a daytime flight is fine for recliner J or standard Y on a narrowbody,

Prefer widebody Y for longer flights or lie-flats (either NB or WB, doesn't matter) if in J.

 

[markis10]

A Dash-8 (a noisy turbo prop with very cramped and uncomfortable seating that is bad enough between CBR and SYD) is a way, way, way worse aircraft than an A220 (a nice modern jet with comfy seats).

Yet both were made by the same company at one stage!

 

[VPS]

Personally I'm not a early morning person , so unless it's significantly cheaper or I have to fly early
I'll look for a mid morning departure.

Hallelujah brother - me three. Personally I like after 12 noon

 

[frodo]

Yes especially for long haul Y where different carriers and planes/configs makes a big difference to comfort - e.g 777 vs 350.