Possibly stupid question about Transatlantic flights

mdhughes03

Hi there
About to book flights for September from manchester to San Francisco (changeover either in US or at Heathrow)

I know that SF will be 8 hours behind us but I cannot get my head around what is the best time of day to fly out and back!

Outbound flight options are
08:15 arriving 14:20 local time SF (22:45 uk time)

09:50 arriving 16:45 SF (00:45 next day uk time)-thinking this might be best as it will mean if we go to bed at 8/9ish it will just be like staying up til 3am

10:40 arriving 19:10 SF(3:10 am next day uk)

Can anyone who's been there and done this give me an opinion on which flight will make it easiest for us to adjust?


Thanks loads in advance

richardw

mdhughes03 wrote: »

10:40 arriving 19:10 SF(3:10 am next day uk)

If you pick this one you'll be falling asleep on the flight and be waking up at 2am which may make you feel bad.

There's no getting away from it that 8 hours difference can really affect you jet lag wise.

If you can start staying up late before you go that may help.

Also consider stopping over somewhere in the east USA, not via LHR, and take it in stages, ie Philadelphia with US Airways, Chicago with AA, JFK with AA and Delta, nEWaRk with Continental.

mdhughes03

Thanks that makes sense. I'm looking at BA flights and there's stop overs in Chicago which may not be too bad.

DavidHayton

I have travelled to the west coast several times. I don't think that there is a lot of difference in the timing of the flight as far as jet lag is concerned: it takes me 4 days to get over the eight-hour shift whatever I do.

However, looking at these three flights I would go for the middle one (assuming equal prices). You don't have to get up ridiculously early to check in (possible with the first flight), and it is easier to cope with arriving in a strange place at 1 am (UK time) than 3.30 in the morning (third flight).

If you could stop over for a couple of days in Chicago, that would help your adjustment, but this is costly in terms of time if you only have a limited amount of time for your stay in California

David

richardw

Those BA flights are codeshares on AA aircraft so check both AA and BA websites for prices also consider a flight+hotel deal through an agent such as http://www.trailfinders.com/travel-centre/man with a stop over in Chicago

tingtong

mdhughes03 wrote: »

Hi there
About to book flights for September from manchester to San Francisco (changeover either in US or at Heathrow)

I know that SF will be 8 hours behind us but I cannot get my head around what is the best time of day to fly out and back!

Outbound flight options are
08:15 arriving 14:20 local time SF (22:45 uk time)

09:50 arriving 16:45 SF (00:45 next day uk time)-thinking this might be best as it will mean if we go to bed at 8/9ish it will just be like staying up til 3am

10:40 arriving 19:10 SF(3:10 am next day uk)

Can anyone who's been there and done this give me an opinion on which flight will make it easiest for us to adjust?


Thanks loads in advance

Personally, given the choice, I would always go with the earliest flight. I used to love getting into Vegas at lunchtime then just stay up til 9 or 10pm and get a good night sleep - although I have never suffered with jetlag on the way out.

One other thing to consider is the plane on the transatlantic leg. If you can get one where the outer seats are in pairs (assuming you are a couple) the journey will be more bearable as you will not disturb, or be disturbed by other passengers.

tarkytarks

We flew to SF last year direct with virgin from LHR I think the flight landed approx 2.15 in the afternoon US time and for me any flight that lands mid-afternoon will give you chance to get to your hotel and have a wander around - the trick is to stay up as late as you can and then crash for a full night of sleep. I don't suffer from jet lag going to the US but coming back it's much harder for me, especially as I really struggle to sleep on the plane. Last time when we had got home I went and walked around Sainsburys for 3 hours (yes, slowly up and down every single aisle!) to help stop me from collapsing into bed at 2pm!
Hope you enjoy your trip - I loved SF

jamesbrownontheroad

Going UK-US is a matter of preference, especially if you have to connect en-route. I recently did Dublin - Philadelphia - San Francisco and to be honest it was just depressing to divide it so neatly in two and board two six hour flights in one day!

Going US-UK, however, I would strongly recommend you connect as far east as possible, ie. try to go SFO-LHR/AMS/etc direct and then onwards to your local airport. With only a few exceptions (from some east coast US and Ontario / Qu!bec cities in Canada), all eastbound flights travel overnight, so you're best off getting as long and unbroken a flight as possible to maximimise your shut-eye.

PS. I also loved San Francisco, and came back engaged

lovebargainshatewaste

I would go for the first flight of the morning. I never have issues with jetlag going west, but going east is usually more troublesome with the body clock. Flights from the US to the UK are usually night flights, so try to get as much sleep on the flight as you can. You'll feel a bit groggy for a couple of days, but please remember that if you do have a nap, limit it to 45-60 minutes.

*just for info, I change time zones several times a week, so well practiced in how to avoid jetlag*

mdhughes03

Thanks for all the replies guys, really helpful Most of the US-UK flights connect at Heathrow so hopefully a bit of shuteye on the plane will help.

xx

ferf1223

tingtong wrote: »

Personally, given the choice, I would always go with the earliest flight. I used to love getting into Vegas at lunchtime then just stay up til 9 or 10pm and get a good night sleep - although I have never suffered with jetlag on the way out.

This is us...we'll always choose the earliest flight we can - flying to Chicago in September and opted for AA over Virgin as it meant arriving 4 hours earlier (I know Chicago's only a 6-hour time difference and not 8, but it's still enough)...we find that if we have a later flight, the day just vanishes...at least when we land earlier we feel like we can get a bit more out of our first day than just get to the hotel, shower, eat, crash. We do always stay at a hotel at the airport the night before an early flight out though...we like having a more gentle start to the holiday - I am terribly paranoid about traffic/transport issues when catching a flight, so this way, we can normally walk to the airport, worst case scenario.

We're always up at stupid o'clock the first few mornings no matter how late we try to stay up - but do always try to make it to 10pm local time at least before going to bed.