Sydney to London and Return Flying in Daylight

[Peter-R]

My Wife is claustrophobic and its best for her to fly in daylight.
The last time we went to UK we flew Royal Thai in First Class and due to a maintenance issue the flight out of Bangkok was delayed 12 hours and we flew the whole way in Day Light.

We need to go to UK next May for a wedding and I would like my wife to come (currently she is suggesting I go alone)

so does anyone know how we can make this trip flying in Daylight?

Overnight stop overs are not an issue and if there must be a night bit I want to keep the flight short

your help will be appreciated

 

[elbarto]

QF 29 is through the day from HKG-LHR but it will probably be gone by then. However we were requested to have the window shades closed the whole flight. One of the Asian airlines will probably be your best bet with an overnight stop at their hub.


Sent from my iPad using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[richie9x]

Going there should not be a problem as you are traveling west with the sun. Just pick a flight that leaves Sydney in the morning. Have a night somewhere in Asia. Then get a morning flight from Asia to London.

Coming back will be more difficult as you are going against the sun. You would likely have to have 2 or even 3 stops to make it all in daylight. Maybe London to somewhere in the middle east (Dubai, Istanbul, Amman) an overnight stop and then a morning flight to Singapore for example. Get an early morning flight from Singapore back to Sydney.

Or you could go around the world. If you keep traveling west you are flying with the sun. So go with a round the world ticket. Making your return via US or Canada. Again you would need likely need two stops - one on the east coast of the US and one on the west coast.

 

[Simo]

When I flew back from HKG the FA's closed all the window shades to black the plane out.

A few people opened the blinds and they where then asked to close them.

 

[rlarosa]

My partner and I are heading of the the UK in December. We're flying with Singapore Airlines. We're taking a late afternoon flight to Singapore but there are plenty of flights that leave in the morning and are therefore daytime flights. We're stopping for a couple of days to break up the journey, then flying SQ318 to London. It leaves Singapore at about 2pm, and arrives in to LHR about 6pm, so there'll be a fair bit of daylight on that flight ......

Rob

 

[harvyk]

Or you could go around the world. If you keep traveling west you are flying with the sun. So go with a round the world ticket. Making your return via US or Canada. Again you would need likely need two stops - one on the east coast of the US and one on the west coast.

Around the world probably ain't an option as most flights that I am aware of fly over the pacific at night, unless you really want to do a milk run. (eg LAX-HNL-NAN-SYD might let you do it)

An option would probably be fly on larger A/C (eg A380's and \ or B747's) in larger J class cabins. (F class now likes using "mini cabins" which may go against helping claustrophobia). IMHO the width of the cabin would probably go a long way towards alleviating claustrophobic feelings.


Another option if you can nab it would be something like 16A and 16B on a B747. They are J class exit row seats on QF which give a massive feeling of space. I know it doesn’t help with the day light only flights, but you’ll probably find having such a large amount of space infront and \ or to either side would alleviating claustrophic feelings.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

My Wife is claustrophobic and its best for her to fly in daylight.
The last time we went to UK we flew Royal Thai in First Class and due to a maintenance issue the flight out of Bangkok was delayed 12 hours and we flew the whole way in Day Light.

We need to go to UK next May for a wedding and I would like my wife to come (currently she is suggesting I go alone)

so does anyone know how we can make this trip flying in Daylight?

Overnight stop overs are not an issue and if there must be a night bit I want to keep the flight short

your help will be appreciated

IIRC another AFFer in PER had a reason they wanted to travel in daylight to the UK & I believe they flew Emirates.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/your-questions/how-get-europe-back-no-21089.html

http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../daylight-flights-into-australia-24600-2.html

 

[Peter-R]

My Wife is claustrophobic and its best for her to fly in daylight.
The last time we went to UK we flew Royal Thai in First Class and due to a maintenance issue the flight out of Bangkok was delayed 12 hours and we flew the whole way in Day Light.

We need to go to UK next May for a wedding and I would like my wife to come (currently she is suggesting I go alone)

so does anyone know how we can make this trip flying in Daylight?

Overnight stop overs are not an issue and if there must be a night bit I want to keep the flight short

your help will be appreciated

Thanks so getting there is not an issue Syd HK then HK London can be done in daylight as can Syd Per -Singapore London
so the issue is now getting back Both singapore and Hong Kong to Sydney have a day light option so its just London to Singapore or London to HK

 

[casanovawa]

Hmmm, off topic but screw having some FA tell me to keep my blind down the whole trip...

I specifically always book window seats so i can look out the window and see some of the scenery... Who are they to tell you to keep the whole thing darkened the whole flight???

 

[aliens]

Hmmm, off topic but screw having some FA tell me to keep my blind down the whole trip...

I specifically always book window seats so i can look out the window and see some of the scenery... Who are they to tell you to keep the whole thing darkened the whole flight???

But if you you are transitioning your time zone the rest of the plane may be trying to sleep

 

[ozbeachbabe]

But if you you are transitioning your time zone the rest of the plane may be trying to sleep

Possibly, however IME more often than not it's due to showing an inflight movie & they need the cabin to be dark which is only achieved by everyone closing their shades.

 

[casanovawa]

Yeah they might, and they probably get eye shades included in their flight pack as well... I have tried to sleep on planes before and had people talking around me, people pass by/bump me on the way to the toilets, people watching movies and /or moving in their seats that made it harder... When i want to sleep i don't jump up and down demand the FA's tell everyone else to do nothing that might annoy or interrupt me??

Sheesh I have paid the ticket and unless i read a restriction like that prior to booking it i would be highly unimpressed... There are also all sorts of totally unreasonable people i accept that might need a suggestion from the FA's after a certain amount of time and I'm not talking about having the blind open the whole flight either, and i might try to minimise my effect on others as i try to be somewhat considerate, but every time i popped it open or if i opened it a 1/3 way and get some FA on my back they might get a serve back...

The fact is i wouldn't be the only one who derives some of my enjoyment of the trip from looking out and i don't deserve to have my rights over ridden just so some others can have all their preferences met... Suck it up a bit people...

 

[rockyroad]

...The fact is i wouldn't be the only one who derives some of my enjoyment of the trip from looking out and i don't deserve to have my rights over ridden just so some others can have all their preferences met... Suck it up a bit people...

Well why not use an external speaker plugged into your iPod, iPad, laptop, etc and play your music REALLY loud, then sing along and maybe dance on your seat? OK sure you would probably not do that as it would intrude on other passengers enjoyment of their flying experience. You might just consider that bright sunlight streaming in from an unshuttered window, may be just as intrusive to your fellow passengers as would loud music, singing or dancing on your seat. The sunlight's penetration into the cabin space is not just restricted to your eyes. Everybody sees it.

Mate you are in a confined space and sometime, just maybe, perceived personal rights needs to be put on hold.

 

[fjc]

Around the world probably ain't an option as most flights that I am aware of fly over the pacific at night, unless you really want to do a milk run. (eg LAX-HNL-NAN-SYD might let you do it)

I also hate flying at night (not claustrophobic - just like a bed) and have looked at this routing a couple of times as part of a OW RTW ticket. However, when I last checked, NAN couldn't be included in a OW RTW ticket (if that is what the OP is considering).

Can anyone explain why the airlines generally don't have daylight flights into Australia? I've seen somewhere that the staff don't like them but the airlines persist. Now, QF proposes to cut out the SIN - SYD daylight flight.

 

[Hawkeye]

However, when I last checked, NAN couldn't be included in a OW RTW ticket (if that is what the OP is considering).

It can be included on an xGLOBx (Global Explorer) fare, but not an xONEx (Oneworld Explorer) fare. This is due to the greater number of airlines available, beyond the standard Oneworld Alliance.

 

[scaredeycat]

Hmmm, off topic but screw having some FA tell me to keep my blind down the whole trip...

I specifically always book window seats so i can look out the window and see some of the scenery... Who are they to tell you to keep the whole thing darkened the whole flight???

I also prefer flying in daylight for the same reason and hate having the shade down. My solution is to stand around the galley area where I can discretely look out without disturbing the rest of the passengers. It may not be as comfortable as reclining in J, but I think it's important to stretch my legs during long haul segments.

 

[richie9x]

Around the world probably ain't an option as most flights that I am aware of fly over the pacific at night, unless you really want to do a milk run. (eg LAX-HNL-NAN-SYD might let you do it)

Yes now that you mention it most are overnight, except that there are direct flights from HNL leave early in the morning. So the OP could do something like LHR-xLAX-HNL on one day and HNL-SYD the next day. Although come to think of it a few more hours in an plane is probably not such a good idea for the OPs wife.

 

[sinophile888]

Peter-P, I hope this helps. I think I am the poster to whom ozbeachbabe referred.

My daughter and I flew to Europe and the U.K. over Christmas last year. I cannot fly at night after an unfortunate incident flying into Shanghai. So I overcame the problem of getting to Europe by flying:
PER -> SIN on Qantas, overnight at the Changi Crowne Plaza,
SIN -> DXB on Emirates, two nights in Dubai and then
DXB -> FCO on Emirates.

Return journey was
LHR -> DXB on Emirates, two nights in Dubai,
DXB -> SIN on Emirates, another night at Changi CP then
SIN -> PER on Qantas.

All the flights departed in the morning and none was longer than 7 hours. I paid for an exit row seat for both QF flights and asked nicely and was given exit row seats on all the EK flights. (I hatched a cunning plan for the EK exit row seats and it worked a treat.)

If you don’t come from Perth, you would need to substitute another Australia to SIN flight but I’m sure there are daylight flights possible from most capitals.
Surprisingly, this route was cheaper than flying all the way with either Qantas or Emirates.

Hope this helps as I landed in Rome feeling great and the same back to Perth.

 

[Timba-Jet]

Can anyone explain why the airlines generally don't have daylight flights into Australia? I've seen somewhere that the staff don't like them but the airlines persist. Now, QF proposes to cut out the SIN - SYD daylight flight.

Not happy that QF has changed LHR-SIN-SYD from daytime to nighttime flights when QF32 transitions to QF2

 

[ozmille]

Not happy that QF has changed LHR-SIN-SYD from daytime to nightime flights to night when QF32 transitions to QF2

Same here, loved the evening arrival into SYD, straight to bed and beat the jetlag...