Hello. I have always thought about doing this, as I am never a morning person and waking up at 4AM for a 6AM or so departure is very hard for me. I have always thought "I'll just stay up, grab some breakfast and then sleep on the plane". I don't recall ever taking a flight and having the previous day off in order to go to bed early, and wake up early. I have never been able to go through with it, although I hardly get shut eye because I am flying the next day.
Anyone try it? Stories? Tips?
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
Yes, I've done it a couple of times, both when taking 0600 departures--once last year flying BNA-EWR-PVG and then again a couple of months ago flying BNA-IAH-ABQ.
It depends what you're doing after the flight. I slept most of the BNA-EWR flight and then was in pretty good spirits to board the 14-hour PVG segment, where I could doze off as needed. The ABQ trip, however, was awful--both segments were barely two hours and on BNA-IAH, I was next to a Chatty Cathy who talked the entire flight. I was wasted by the time I got to ABQ and, even after a power nap, was groggy all day.
I would also say have a plan for how you're going to stay up until 4 a.m. or whenever. You can watch a movie until midnight and then pack until 1 a.m. but what are you going to do for the next 3 hours to stay awake?
It depends what you're doing after the flight. I slept most of the BNA-EWR flight and then was in pretty good spirits to board the 14-hour PVG segment, where I could doze off as needed. The ABQ trip, however, was awful--both segments were barely two hours and on BNA-IAH, I was next to a Chatty Cathy who talked the entire flight. I was wasted by the time I got to ABQ and, even after a power nap, was groggy all day.
I would also say have a plan for how you're going to stay up until 4 a.m. or whenever. You can watch a movie until midnight and then pack until 1 a.m. but what are you going to do for the next 3 hours to stay awake?
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- VapourTrails
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I'm the same, I've considered it and never gone through with it. I end up getting a few very unsettled hours sleep instead, My way around it is to completely avoid early morning departures, particularly if I am travelling alone. The last time I saved over $100 with an early departure I actually felt quick sick with tiredness - the whole day was ruined, to me, not worth it. I get a later flight or go the day before, which I usually can do because I don't travel for work or very short notice.
Next year I fly international to NLK - can't wait! We are getting an early flight - no choice, but flying to SYD the day before and staying right next to the airport across the road - plan of strategy that helps.
I actually spent the night at MEL once, in the terminal, the only other time I flew internationally and again early morning. While not my idea (young and naive) - am never doing that again and wouldn't need to. Probably wouldn't even be allowed to now either.
& =
[Edited 2014-12-04 23:49:23]
Next year I fly international to NLK - can't wait! We are getting an early flight - no choice, but flying to SYD the day before and staying right next to the airport across the road - plan of strategy that helps.
I actually spent the night at MEL once, in the terminal, the only other time I flew internationally and again early morning. While not my idea (young and naive) - am never doing that again and wouldn't need to. Probably wouldn't even be allowed to now either.
& =
[Edited 2014-12-04 23:49:23]
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- shamrock350
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've done it plenty of times but usually after a nightshift at work! It's a lot easier for me to stay up but that's because my body seems to have adjusted to the rhythm of working odd shift patterns, leaving work at 5am and catching a 7am flight is a breeze compared to attempting sleep when you know you have to be up far earlier than you'd normally like to be. The only problem is staying awake the rest of the day, you'll never get enough sleep on the flight so you're probably going to end up very groggy and unable to function properly, it's almost like being hungover.
If I'm not working I'll try and get some sleep the night before, it really isn't worth the tiredness I feel later in the day. The other option is to get a nice mid morning or lunchtime flight, you can go at your own pace and enjoy the flight and day with a proper nights sleep to back you up, it's usually cheaper too!
If I'm not working I'll try and get some sleep the night before, it really isn't worth the tiredness I feel later in the day. The other option is to get a nice mid morning or lunchtime flight, you can go at your own pace and enjoy the flight and day with a proper nights sleep to back you up, it's usually cheaper too!
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've done it a couple times where I was out late enjoying time at home and have to head back to school in the morning. It's normally not that bad. Catch about two hours on the plane and end up being fine for the next day. I'm not one who can easily sleep on a plane, so being exhausted helps a lot.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've done it a few times. Coffee helps a lot. For some reason it seems that most of my flights tend to depart super early in the morning. Once I arrived in Athens from Zurich at midnight and my flight to Amsterdam was scheduled to leave at 6 am, so I would have had to get up at 4 and paying $$$ to stay in a hotel for 4 hours just wasn't an appealing option so I just camped out at the Athens airport. Sat myself in front of a 24 hour coffee shop, connected to wifi and surfed the night away.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I have done it before, but I wouldn't rush to do it again! I'd much rather wake up at 0300 or whatever having had some semblance of normal sleep.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
More times than I can remember - at least 50. Living 250 miles from London means I'm often on an overnight coach/train to take an early flight.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
Done at least three times
Once on the first LHR - AMS flight and lived nowhere that had transport links to the airport. Got their at about midnight and then waited
The other two times were at LGW one was a BY flight to LXR and the other a Balkan Air flight to Varna. Both involved wandering, drinking coffee and trying to find somewhere comfortable to sit.
I remember being surprised at how many others were doing the same
Once on the first LHR - AMS flight and lived nowhere that had transport links to the airport. Got their at about midnight and then waited
The other two times were at LGW one was a BY flight to LXR and the other a Balkan Air flight to Varna. Both involved wandering, drinking coffee and trying to find somewhere comfortable to sit.
I remember being surprised at how many others were doing the same
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've done it a few times. I was once out at a club in Singapore and around 2am I booked a UA flight to HKG departing 3.5hrs later. I left the club, went home, took a shower, and took a cab to the airport.
On another occasion, a much more painful one, I was out until around 4am at a club, went home, took a shower, then drove from SIN to KUL to catch a flight to BTJ (Banda Aceh, Indonesia).
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On another occasion, a much more painful one, I was out until around 4am at a club, went home, took a shower, then drove from SIN to KUL to catch a flight to BTJ (Banda Aceh, Indonesia).
Cheers
Coal
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
| Quoting shamrock350 (Reply 3): I've done it plenty of times but usually after a nightshift at work! |
I pull an all-nighter whenever I can; Almost always before a flight, well, a long haul / international trip / flight at least.
I usually finish work at 1am and always pick flights for the first day off work so I usually work until 1am, go home, spend an hour or two packing my luggage, quickly clean up, have a shower, and then either catch a taxi or public transport to the airport. As long as my flight is before 2pm or so in the afternoon I always stay up the night before. I am just used to it and am probably excited to fly! Plenty of time to catch up on sleep on the plane
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
A few months ago, I was flying back from OKC to SZG on OKC-IAD-VIE-SZG.
I woke up to use the toilet and noticed my mobile was flashing. Instinctively, I picked it up and had an email from UA saying my OKC-IAD had been canceled. The alternative that UA had automatically booked me on was to wait a day and take OKC-DEN-ORD-LHR-FRA-SZG.
So, I called UA (and to my shock spoke to someone in the US!) and got rebooked on OKC-IAH-IAD-FRA-SZG.
But the flight to IAH left at around 6:30am (vs. 11am) and, it being already 2am (having gotten into bed at 12:30am) I just stayed up.
I am flying TATL next week, the night before I have a work function that is quasi-mandatory. The thing I will go to will probably last until 11:30 pm, and I am flying on the first SZG-FRA flight at 6:50. The airport is only 15minutes away. But I'm probably going to stay up, and sleep on the FRA-IAH segment.
I woke up to use the toilet and noticed my mobile was flashing. Instinctively, I picked it up and had an email from UA saying my OKC-IAD had been canceled. The alternative that UA had automatically booked me on was to wait a day and take OKC-DEN-ORD-LHR-FRA-SZG.
So, I called UA (and to my shock spoke to someone in the US!) and got rebooked on OKC-IAH-IAD-FRA-SZG.
But the flight to IAH left at around 6:30am (vs. 11am) and, it being already 2am (having gotten into bed at 12:30am) I just stayed up.
I am flying TATL next week, the night before I have a work function that is quasi-mandatory. The thing I will go to will probably last until 11:30 pm, and I am flying on the first SZG-FRA flight at 6:50. The airport is only 15minutes away. But I'm probably going to stay up, and sleep on the FRA-IAH segment.
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- UnitedFlyer
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I did it once, although I had little choice. Flew home from IAD to MFR, arriving around midnight or so, then had a flight to ANC at 6am the next day....Went home, took a shower, and then straight back to the airport. Tried to sleep on the flight out of MFR, but the QX flight attendant leaving out of MFR would sing every announcement, and there seemed to be many...
RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I did it once, although not entirely on purpose. I had left some packing to the last minute and was up later than I intended to be. The van service was picking my up really early that morning, around 2:30 (I'm always their first stop), so at that point I had only a couple of hours before I needed to be up. I did try to get at least some sleep, but it just didn't happen. I did get a nice nap on my first segment, and I was connecting to a redeye flight to Europe it did make it easier to sleep on that flight.
RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've often considered it but only done it once as I was working the night shift before my domestic flight down south. I'm looking at booking a UA flight from WLG-DTW via MEL early next year and the day before I'm working till 11pm. Due to the flight times and the fact I'm working the night before, I'll most likely stay up till I'm on the NZ flight to MEL then have a cat nap and sleep on the UA flight.
Doing shift work certainly helps as your already use to staying awake for 24+ hours
Doing shift work certainly helps as your already use to staying awake for 24+ hours
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- Osubuckeyes
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
Did it in college a whole bunch. It seemed easier for me personally since I was normally up past midnight anyways. Typically when I had a 6am Sunday return or Friday 6am departure I would be out till 2 or 3 am, go home sober up a bit and head to the airport. 90% of the time slept the entire flight. The only thing I would say is the one time it really sucked for me I went CLE-MEM-BNA and total flight time was barely 2 hours so I felt miserable the next day. Other than that going cross country is doable.
Also, be careful and set some alarms in case you do fall asleep. Twice I accidently fell asleep after a night out and missed my flight. Ended up with a 9 hour layover in SLC all hungover as a result.
Also, be careful and set some alarms in case you do fall asleep. Twice I accidently fell asleep after a night out and missed my flight. Ended up with a 9 hour layover in SLC all hungover as a result.
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- BubbleFrog
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I'd do a lot not to have to stay up. Did it two or three times to catch an early FR flight home when at uni, and once or twice involuntarily when too excited. But generally, no.
2 hours sleep is better than none for me.
The good thing about my usual departure airport (EDI) is that it actually makes a lot of sense to stay at an airport hotel or with friends the night before a (fairly) early flight. As a closure of the Forth Road Bridge due to an accident or what have you at the wrong moment will definitely make you miss your flight, it's a lot safer to stay south of the river the night before a morning flight. At least when it's for a holiday -- missing a work flight due to unforeseeable traffic doesn't bother me half as much (though it still does).
And it's a nice start to the holiday, too.
Doing it again in a week, when we're flying out of EDI at 8:25 to catch out AMS-YYZ flight later in the day. Looking forward to some bubbly the night before... much better than starting the day at 5:00 and be jittery about the bridge...
2 hours sleep is better than none for me.
The good thing about my usual departure airport (EDI) is that it actually makes a lot of sense to stay at an airport hotel or with friends the night before a (fairly) early flight. As a closure of the Forth Road Bridge due to an accident or what have you at the wrong moment will definitely make you miss your flight, it's a lot safer to stay south of the river the night before a morning flight. At least when it's for a holiday -- missing a work flight due to unforeseeable traffic doesn't bother me half as much (though it still does).
And it's a nice start to the holiday, too.
Doing it again in a week, when we're flying out of EDI at 8:25 to catch out AMS-YYZ flight later in the day. Looking forward to some bubbly the night before... much better than starting the day at 5:00 and be jittery about the bridge...
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- spacecadet
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I've always gone to bed early before an early morning flight. Some sleep is better than no sleep at all for me; I can't function for more than a few hours out of the day without sleeping the night before. I might make it until 1PM or so, but then I'm out whether anyone (including me) wants me to be or not.
I did try this before one of my NRT-JFK flights once, and it was a big mistake. I thought "it's a 12 hour flight, I can sleep on the plane and be refreshed and ready to go when we land". Problem is I can't sleep at all on planes, at least not in economy. (I did manage to sleep ok in lie-flat business class the two flights I tried it.) Best cure for my 1PM narcolepsy is to put me on a plane in an economy seat. I don't feel any less tired; just can't sleep. So the flight itself was torture and I was DEAD at the end of it. I feel like my wife probably had to carry me off. I don't remember how I got home. My sleep schedule was screwed up for weeks afterwards.
I did try this before one of my NRT-JFK flights once, and it was a big mistake. I thought "it's a 12 hour flight, I can sleep on the plane and be refreshed and ready to go when we land". Problem is I can't sleep at all on planes, at least not in economy. (I did manage to sleep ok in lie-flat business class the two flights I tried it.) Best cure for my 1PM narcolepsy is to put me on a plane in an economy seat. I don't feel any less tired; just can't sleep. So the flight itself was torture and I was DEAD at the end of it. I feel like my wife probably had to carry me off. I don't remember how I got home. My sleep schedule was screwed up for weeks afterwards.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
| Quoting 777ER (Reply 14): Doing shift work certainly helps as your already use to staying awake for 24+ hours |
I have done it a few times, one time I finished a shift at work at 2am, went home had a shower, and returned back to the airport at 4am for a 5am departure.
I'm a shift worker (at the airport) so it doesn't bother me what time I get up...some days my shifts finish at 3am...other days they start at 3am...so I'm used to sleeping or getting up whenever.
But it all depends on what I'm doing when I arrive, if I have a full day ahead of me I try to get a few hours sleep and just get up early...
When I used to live in Tasmania, I would fly to Melbourne during the day, have a big night out in the bars and clubs, then return to the airport early in the morning for the first flight home...saved paying for accommodation as a university student
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
I am doing it on Jan 1 — taking a super early flight LHR-JFK, so I'll party all night and since London Transport run the tube all night on New Year's Eve, I'll take the Picadilly Line to T5 at around 4.30am, hot breakfast in the lounge, and hopefully sleep all the way to JFK, land at 11am and party on! Let's see if it works in practise.
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
| Quoting cedarjet (Reply 19): I am doing it on Jan 1 — taking a super early flight LHR-JFK, so I'll party all night and since London Transport run the tube all night on New Year's Eve, I'll take the Picadilly Line to T5 at around 4.30am, hot breakfast in the lounge, and hopefully sleep all the way to JFK, land at 11am and party on! Let's see if it works in practise. |
A full trip report is now requested!!!!
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- BubbleFrog
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
| Quoting klm672 (Reply 21): A full trip report is now requested!!!! |
I would like to second that. I shall be touching down at AMS at about the same time....
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- dc9northwest
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RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
Yes, I have done this.
It was my first year in college and so I took the cheapest flight out, at 6:00am. There was no convenient public transit to get to the airport at 4:30am in time for the flight, so I got to the airport at around midnight and studied Calculus. Anyway, I think my original flight was cancelled or delayed and i got rebooked on a DC-9-30, my last time flying one.
It was my first year in college and so I took the cheapest flight out, at 6:00am. There was no convenient public transit to get to the airport at 4:30am in time for the flight, so I got to the airport at around midnight and studied Calculus. Anyway, I think my original flight was cancelled or delayed and i got rebooked on a DC-9-30, my last time flying one.
RE: Early Morning Flight- Ever Just Stay Up?
| Quoting LOWS (Reply 20): Good lord, I can feel the hangover already... |
| Quoting klm672 (Reply 21): A full trip report is now requested!!!! |
| Quoting BubbleFrog (Reply 22): I would like to second that. I shall be touching down at AMS at about the same time.... |
More than happy to oblige! Especially in this case, not knowing how to post photos on this site will be a great advantage for once.
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