Hours on a plane

[OnlyMark]

Just a quick thing for you to answer -
If you were to fly somewhere, what is the maximum length of time you'd feel able to stay on a plane for?
I mentioned in another thread, Quantas will do a 17 hour non-stop between the UK and Aus. Could you do that?
For me six, and at the very maximum, seven hours on a plane at any one time is about as much as I can now take. I've done ten plus a few times before and hated it. Flying to Zambia from Spain was a 6 1/2 and a 6 1/2 with a stop in Dubai. That was about my limit.

The question is, at what point when arranging to fly away somewhere would you look at the flight times and say to yourself that you'd try and find a permutation that would split it up?

[Voy]

I used to do the 13 hour non=sop from NY to Bahrain. as preferable to about 20 with a stop in either London or geneva. BUT - I was in 1st class and it was the 747 with the upstairs, and I would get the seat to the right of the top of the stairs and have room to lie down flat. which made it work. They don't let you do that any more...

and even with stops the last time I went to Oz: NY - LA - Hawaii - NZ - Brisbane... I got sick from dehydration etc.

net net - more than about 6 any more I'd try for an overnight!

[lumi]

Short flight times are always easiest but if I am going a long distance (e.g. UK to Australia), I would take the longer flying time rather than 2 less direct flights with several hours gap in between. It all depends on my ability to get enough rest which is usually dependent on the passengers around me and airline service as to how comfortable I am on longer flights. I've had awful trips which were broken into smaller flights because the time when I was naturally tired and needed to sleep, they were serving meals or I had to disembark etc. At least on a 17 hour flight I have much more flexibility as to when I sleep and can get in longer sleeping sessions.

[suzanneschuelke]

I will take a nonstop even in coach, but if I have a stop, I try for it in the middle. So, I'd rather go to Dubai through Amsterdam which splits it pretty much in half than through Atlanta which is 1 1/2 hours then 13. Time is about the same but not experience.

[tiltedflipcurves]

Me too on preferring nonstops; on a long flight I do stretches in the galley area, and can get some sleep.

[shrjeff]

i prefer non-stops because there's no anxiety of missing a connection... when i need to connect i try to take an afternoon flight, sleep on a hotel at the transfer point, and then continue the next day... this works out perfectly for me going west to the states...going east it's a bit of a problem so i take long stopovers...

[tzarine]

i also prefer nonstops. i remember the first time we took tzarevich from lyons to hong kong. he did well as a toddler

however when we had free tix via miles home from the maldives, there were many stops:
male-colombo-singapore-milan-newark

w layovers in singapore & milan
changi was quite diverting

[rikita]

so far i have always gone for the cheaper flights, and they usually have more stops (and take longer altogether). if the non-stop flight was cheaper, i'd still prefer having a break if i have time to stay somewhere for a few days, otherwise direct is better - not sure how long i could "take" though, i had twelve hour bus rides and was alright with those, but there was a little bit more space than on a plane ... this is for traveling by myself - traveling with small child i don't think more than five or six hours would be a good idea ...

[Baz Faz]

Flying Europe to Bangkok non-stop is about 11 hours and that's long enough. But the airlines that fly non-stop are more expensive. This last January we flew Paris to Bangkok return for about £350 on Qatar. This meant a plane change in Doha in the middle. Doha is Qatar's home and so planes fly in, disgorge their passengers and then fly back again. This meant 8 or 9 large planes converging and departing in a very short time frame. In the middle of the night the hordes of tired passengers trying to pass through security were horrendous.

[tzarine]

baz,

yes those late night security waits are truly grueling

[Baz Faz]

Tzarine, the crazy thing is that every one of those passengers waiting to go through security had come off a flight which meant that they had already passed through security at the previous airport.

[welle]

I prefer non-stop no matter how long the flight. I might get the aisle seat so I can walk around a bit if I don't think I'll sleep most of the way.

[ninchursanga]

When I lived in Nevada I flew directly to San Francisco from Zürich at least once and the flight lasted an eternity. I thought I would die of boredom on that plane. Anything that is longer than 7 hours is not for me. I blame my adhd brain cause I really start to go bonkers after 7-8 hours.
My alternative though was flying through somewhere on the east coast with a few hours layover and then going on another flight that lasts another 5-6 hours.
So for me, either way was always a bit of a torture which is mainly because I cannot sleep on planes. If I could only sleep - then I'd take the non-stop flight anytime.

[kuskiwi]

Non stop all the way if possible. Dubai Auckland - 15 hrs. BA Auckland - 12.30 and far pleasanter than getting on and off, more security, more grotty airports and less chances of being delayed by incoming flights etc.

[Netsuke]

Dec 11, 2016 12:51:41 GMT 2 OnlyMark said:

Just a quick thing for you to answer -
If you were to fly somewhere, what is the maximum length of time you'd feel able to stay on a plane for?

I mentioned in another thread, Quantas will do a 17 hour non-stop between the UK and Aus. Could you do that?

Living in the arse-end capital of the world, you have no choice in the matter, except if flying to New Zealand 3 and a half hours which is quicker than flying from Melbourne to Perth - 4 hours, all your flights are at least 8 hours plus. If choosing Air Asia, all their flights land in KL, then another flight to your destination. Cathay Pacific fly to Japan via HK, thankfully Jetstar fly direct - 10 hours.

My longest flight was to London. China Southern fly via Guangzhou, a bit over 9 and a half hours for the first leg, then 13 hours for the second.

[OnlyMark]

It's took some hours of permutations but I've managed to sort out some flights from Lusaka to Malaga for the summer. None over four hours.
So it is - Lusaka, Harare, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Frankfurt, Malaga and the same return. Total is 25 hours. But even the most direct ones are not far off that anyway. Plus it was 200 euro cheaper for some reason.

[Hedonista]

For me it all depends on the comfort, if travelling economy then 6 to 7 hours maximum, so if I could not afford or justify the cost of a flat bed then I would choose an airline that split the route up, have done this in the past. But with a flat bed, a few stiff drinks and some sleeping pills I am happy on a 13 hour flight and would be fine on 17 for sure.