batman Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 we will be booking flights next month,i wondered if anyone has any advice on flight times which would be the best,to fly through the night or by day we have got 3 children 6 ,18 months and 16 .cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kdal Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hi Batman, People will have different opinions on this one!!! We flew on a mid-day flight which suited us perfect, our children were 13 and 15 at the time. I cannot sleep on flights anyway so the midday one was good as there was lots of TV entertainment and eating to do!! Also had a good book and read nearly the whole way. We stopped in Singapore for about 3 hours stretched our legs and the kids had a Burger King there, then we flew on to Brisbane. Arrived Brisbane about 7pm ish (cant remember exactly), so by time we spoke to relatives it was time for bed and we slept like babies. Although all this took 2 days (with time differences) it felt like we had just been travelling all day (which we had). Didn't get any jet lag so all in all was a good flight for us. Coming home was different story they changed the flight time to later so by the time we were boarding we were all worn out and then trying to sleep on the aeroplane was a nightmare for me (although the kids slept). I felt i had been awake for days and was wacked by the time we finally reached the Uk which seemed to me take an eternity. Dont worry about your little ones on the plane as when we travelled there were lots of little ones and they were up and down the isles and no-one was upset by it, and staff on the plane were fantastic with the children. Good luck with what you decide :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mrs C Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey Kim, Which company did you fly with? Batman, Good Luck with your trip and your new life in Oz. April Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kdal Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey Kim,Which company did you fly with? .. Hi April, We went with Singapore Airlines and couldnt fault them. Staff were really attentive, food was great, Entertainment system was great as so many movies and then the kids could play each other on the playstation too! The boys didnt get bored at all and quite enjoyed themselves playing and watching TV all day!! You could even have cocktails, they made up Singapore Slings which were really nice. Couldnt fault them at all and I have to say was dreading the flight but there was no need as it was a pleasure to relax and do nothing for the day and be waited on!! And as I say we only had a 3 hour stop in Singapore then onto Brisbane and it was time for bed. I will definately be looking to fly with them again when we go to Australia again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gary12 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 we will be booking flights next month,i wondered if anyone has any advice on flight times which would be the best,to fly through the night or by day we have got 3 children 6 ,18 months and 16 .cheers We have always chosen to fly in the evening. We are off to Oz at the end of the month for a 5 week holiday/reccie :jiggy: OUr flight leaves at 6pm, so I know that within a couple of hours after the initial excitement has gone our youngest (18mth) won't be able to stay awake and our 4 yr old is just a sweetie, he has been known to drop off before take off and wake up 12 hours later when the seatbelt signs go on. Even if he doesn't I know that he will be happy at the chance to sit in front of the tv for hours. We then stop in Singapore for about 7 hours, which we hope to just wear them out then again an evening flight arriving in Melbourne early in the morning. Evening flights have worked for us and we hope they will again, by the time they are changed into their pjs and settled down it passes a fair bit of time. It also gives us plenty of time to get to the aiport without getting up at the crack of dawn. One tip if you do have an early morning flight, I never get the kids dressed, I just take them out of bed at the last minute into the car then get them dressed at the airport. good luck Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Greetings! I'm with Michelle on this one. We fly in the evening. When your kids are older - I'd do what's best for you (the adult) but when they are younger, we find night works best. We just took our 3 (10,8 and 3) and departed at 10:35pm and the longest flight was first and our youngest was able to sleep for a longer chunk of time. Found the night flights sometimes have vacant seats and we had an extra for our 3 year old to stretch out a bit. We then had a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong and flew again departing at 11:35pm their time. Once again with the time difference a large chunk on the second flight was sleep time. The older two were in video/game heaven and didn't care but for our youngest I was SO THANKFUL he slept for about 5 hours on the first flight and 3 on the second. Doesn't seem like much but it helps. On the way back, we found it harder but that was because we really didn't want to come home and knew we faced a 5 hour train journey back to Cornwall at the other end. We have decided that when we go for good, we will break the journey but for the reccie we're glad we did it all in one go. We flew Cathay Pacific this time and couldn't fault them. Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gary12 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Forgot to mention, we decided on Singapore Airlines rather than Emirates as we wanted to get the biggest chunk of the flight over with first and from what I can remember via Dubai is only about 7hrs on the first leg of it. Price wise there was not much between the two. We have also booked a seat for both our children even though the youngest is under 2. it is expensive but in terms of luggage and room we felt it worth the extra money. best wishes Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Working to fish Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Well for us we have booked a night flight, leaving at 10.10pm. Last time we flew to oz it was a morning flight. This time round we're hoping that we may get a bit more sleep. Will let you know once we're there if this works out better. We're hoping our 3 year old will be totally knackered by the time we take off and nod off peacefully. (fingers crossed). eddie,tina:idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 cheers guys for the replys very helpful,just waiting for the interest free credit card to come through and we will be booking flights cant wait .swaying towards the night flight at the minute but if every other decision we have come to during this journey to oz is to go by we will definately be changing our mind:smile:thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Broughtons Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hiya, We flew to Oz first time at night, arrived early hours of the morning in Melbourne (about 5). We then got a couple of hours sleep got up and kept going through the day. No jetlag! This time we flew in the afternoon, got to Melbourne about midnight, slept till morning - serious jet lag! This is just our experience though, others have different times that work for them. Felicity:wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hiya, We flew to Oz first time at night, arrived early hours of the morning in Melbourne (about 5). We then got a couple of hours sleep got up and kept going through the day. No jetlag! This time we flew in the afternoon, got to Melbourne about midnight, slept till morning - serious jet lag! This is just our experience though, others have different times that work for them. Felicity:wubclub: I echo Felicity My family is in Perth and I work full time in the Uk. There is a really BAD flight one can catch at about 10pm on a Friday at Heathrow - already zonked after a full week at work. This connects with the Red Eye Special from Singapore or KL and gets one to Perth around 1am on Sunday. (It also isn't terribly fair on the family to expect them to turf out to the airport at dead of night!) I've had trouble with jet lag every time with this idea. I find that it is much easier to adjust after a midday flight from London and a mid-afternnon arrival in Perth. I lways get some jet-lag going from West to East. That has happened throughout my life (we were an expat faily livig in Malasyai, with my sister & I commuting between Malaysia and school in the UK 3 times a year.) I've never really had jetlag coming back to the UK. If we land in the morning, I can manage till bed at around 9pm. If we land at around 5pm, I have no problems at all by next day. I've a feeling, though, that because it is usually colder in the UK, this might help with staying awake till a normal bedtome and not feeling terribly sleepy during the day. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 My preference is for the late night leaving Heathrow - I usually have such a busy day with a lot of walking around London once I arrive on the train from Cambridge. Last time I came back, I was asleep before the wheels were up and didnt wake up until the meal before Bangkok. The flight gets in very early in the morning and I can usually keep going until about 7pm then I am back in the usual sleep routine. Going back to UK, they have changed the time of my favourite flight. You used to be able to get a flight which left about 9pm so I worked all day then flew out after work - was knackered and slept pretty much all of the way to Singapore. Personally I always go Qantas because I love the frequent flyer points I get! I have tried many other airlines but they are consistently good in comparison so have no problems with sticking with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcocainmel Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 We have always come to Oz on a night flight from the UK. This time we left at 9.15pm. The flight arrived here about 5.30am. We drove straight to our accommodation, we all managed to stay awake all day (me, oh, 3 boys aged 5, 3 and 14months at time). The boys finally crashed at 5pm and us about 6pm. We all slept till 7am the next morning and none of us had jet lag!! Our 5 year old was very pleased with himself as he stayed awake during the whole flight, our 3 year old slept the full 24 hours literally, and our 14 months old slept about half the flight. To be honest we have flown with the children and without them and in my opinion its far easier without (i am not saying to leave them at home btw)!! as you can get more rest during the flight. Not really sure if there is a good time to fly with children, but we came night flight as we were hoping they would be tired!! Hope this helps Deb xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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