Ridiculously early flight times

[Deleted User]

I can never see the point in having a hotel room and then leaving it at 3-30am for a stupid 6am flight. Now we are retired and try to allways have two weeks holiday if we only get half a day on the first day but are wide awake and ready to holiday when we get there instead of an early start and knackered by dinner time.

MobileSaver

andygb wrote: »

I am sure that there must be an alternative later flight to catch if it bothers you that much, or maybe try a different airport.

Sadly that's the problem, there isn't a convenient alternative. The nearest airport is 2 hours away and there's only one flight a day to Nice @ 7am. The other local airports are pretty much the same with the latest (and only) flight being 7.45am but that's half an hour further away so nothing much gained.

The only real alternative is as someone suggested travelling all the way down to Heathrow but that would mean an extra 4 hours travelling (including an extra hour in case of any traffic problems) each way so still not particularly convenient.

I guess I've been spoilt as this is the first European trip I've taken since moving away from "down south" a few years ago.

MobileSaver

missbiggles1 wrote: »

You do know that Nice and Marseille are a looooong way from each other and cover totally different areas, don't you?

Ha, ha, yes! We just wanted a few days somewhere on the French Coast so changing to Marseille was not a problem.

shrimper1 wrote: »

if we only get half a day on the first day but are wide awake and ready to holiday when we get there instead of an early start and knackered by dinner time.

Finally, I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this way!

hollydays

Can't believe the op things a 7am flight is early.
Travelling down the night before and staying in a hotel is an option.
Otherwise, don't leave your holiday planning so late if it's an issue.

alanrowell

Consider yourself lucky that you can get a direct flight. Some of us invariably end up having to fly via another airport - a recent trip meant getting up at 4:00am for a 6:30am flight to Amsterdam in order to catch a 12:30pm flight.

MobileSaver

hollydays wrote: »

Can't believe the op things a 7am flight is early.
Travelling down the night before and staying in a hotel is an option.
Otherwise, don't leave your holiday planning so late if it's an issue.

It's an international flight so recommendations are to be there two hours before the flight leaves and I live two hours away so that would mean leaving the house at 3am. Even if I stayed at an airport hotel, it would still mean waking up at around 4am. I can't believe anyone would disagree that 3am/4am is early!

It wouldn't matter if I booked this 6 months ago, my local airport only has one flight a day and that's at 7am.

alanrowell wrote: »

Consider yourself lucky that you can get a direct flight.

Well yes, there is that to be thankful for. As someone else mentioned it's all about priorities and for me I think I'd rather have to get up at 3am/4am than take the risk/hassle of a non-direct flight.

Fluffi

I love early flights too - you can snooze/doze on the plane and by lunchtime you can be catching on your sleep on a sunlounger by the pool!

(Whereas with a mid-morning/lunch flight its early evening by the time you get to your destination and the whole of the first day is wasted on travelling).

arthurdick

maman wrote: »

I hate early return flights. I don't want to pay for a night in a hotel just to get up and leave straight away, might as well have gone the night before. The later the better IMO and have a good plan for what to do on the last day. I really don't understand the people who sit around the hotel hugging their packed suitcases!

totally. absolutely bang on..we always do that, our good plan is...
home flight 19:45, so have more or less a whole day, vacate room between 11-12, leave luggage in the hotel luggage room, go down the beach, nice long walk along the ocean, pop up to the town, have something to eat, do a few shop's last minute fridge magnets, then cheap fags or spirits or both. go to whatever was our favourite bar, have a few cold beers and cocktails in the sun, say ttfn to all the locals and barstaff... after a couple of hours go for a nice meal, then slowly walk back to hotel to get ready to go ... that's our way anyway, and i love it

hollydays

MobileSaver wrote: »

It's an international flight so recommendations are to be there two hours before the flight leaves and I live two hours away so that would mean leaving the house at 3am. Even if I stayed at an airport hotel, it would still mean waking up at around 4am. I can't believe anyone would disagree that 3am/4am is early!

It wouldn't matter if I booked this 6 months ago, my local airport only has one flight a day and that's at 7am.



Well yes, there is that to be thankful for. As someone else mentioned it's all about priorities and for me I think I'd rather have to get up at 3am/4am than take the risk/hassle of a non-direct flight.

Getting up early for an early flight is very normal .most flights even europe I prefer to be there 1.5 hours before, even when I used to live 45 mins from an airport.i think your being spoilt. Do you expect them to abolish 7am flights for you?

rustyboy21

arthurdick wrote: »

totally. absolutely bang on..we always do that, our good plan is...
home flight 19:45, so have more or less a whole day, vacate room between 11-12, leave luggage in the hotel luggage room, go down the beach, nice long walk along the ocean, pop up to the town, have something to eat, do a few shop's last minute fridge magnets, then cheap fags or spirits or both. go to whatever was our favourite bar, have a few cold beers and cocktails in the sun, say ttfn to all the locals and barstaff... after a couple of hours go for a nice meal, then slowly walk back to hotel to get ready to go ... that's our way anyway, and i love it

I am different.


I love early morning flights for the reasons I have given above, getting there earlier in resort, no delays, full day at resort etc.


I do like lunchtime flights home though. It would be one of these if you return on the inbound flight you come on usually. I hate hanging around a resort waiting for the inevitable. I would rather get up at round 8ish, have breakfast and then set off for the airport. Check in, get lunch and then board. Get back to UK round 5ish and then an hour home. Ring the Chippy and get them to deliver something English ! lol Then a lovely night in my own bed.


Each of us is different it would seem.