Which time to fly?

For those of yo who have gone back & forth many times between US & UK, is it better to fly at night and arrive in the morning in UK or leave early from US and srrive at bedtime in UK?

I've flown to Europe before and always did the all -ight flight and fighting to stay awake all the next day, but now I'm thinking that I'll be tired anyway from getting up early and flying all day so it would be nice to arrive and go to bed and wake up at normal UK time.

Which way is better? Tahnks!

depending on which state you are flying to or from you don't get much of a choice!

I tend to take the afternoon flights out of the UK to CA which gets me in by 4-5pm. That's reasonable to get a few hours in bonding with family, friends etc before crashing.

The return flight to the UK tends to be 7pm-ish which gets into the UK by 3pm. Thats not so bad either. When I have guests who arrive at 11am in the UK I give them a 9pm bedtime.

I always try to get a night flight from NY to UK because i can get a few hours sleep on the plane.. wake up and its morning and then just force myself to stay up all day and im back to normal the next day after a good nights sleep.

From UK to US I like to take a morning flight so i get to NY in the afternoon/evening and can have a chat with family when i get in and go to sleep as usual and im on US time.

I think either one works for me. I'm in MA so with the times if I take a night flight I stay up all night (can't sleep on the plane) and am ready to crash by 8pm the day I arrive in the UK. I've taken a morning flight where I had to wake up so early (3am) that I was still ready for bed at a reasonable time there (11pm or so). I didn't like losing the whole day on the plane though. I'd rather lose the night.

I prefer to take an afternoon flight back because then I'm back to the US and have no problems sleeping that night.

Like Olive said, where you're flying from dictates what sort of choice you have - if you're flying from the East Coast but not flying out of New England, you probably won't have any choice but to take a red-eye!  For example, the only three direct flights to the UK from Atlanta (BA and Delta, to Gatwick and Manchester) all leave after 6pm.

Another thing to consider is what sort of travel you're facing on the other end.  I live in the North East of England, so even if take a red-eye into London, I won't get home to Redcar until late afternoon.  It's easier to budget in that extra day for travelling, try to catch a nap on the plane the first night, stay up all day and go to bed at a reasonable hour the second night - I find that when I plan things this way I'm rarely jet-lagged upon my return to the UK.  Flying to the US is another barrel of monkeys entirely!

It also depends on what you plan on doing when you arrive. Is the UK airport you're flying to in your destination city? Wait. That was confusing. I mean, when you land in the UK, are you in the city you need to be in? Or is there more travel involved? When I used to come to the UK from the northeast US, I always took a night flight so I'd arrive in London in the morning. From there, I needed a train to Wales which was nearly another day's worth of traveling. It just meant that I wasn't wasting a precious day of my holiday, even though I was exhausted once I arrived in Wales.

It just meant that I wasn't wasting a precious day of my holiday, even though I was exhausted once I arrived in Wales.

very true... and I learned the true value of a minicab driving me home with luggage in tow was priceless!!

OK, thanks, eveyone for your input!

Next question - I gather from Olive's comment that it is worth it to pay a little extra to hire a car for the drive to Northampton rather than taking trains & buses while schlepping  luggage?

I travel from London to New York, so it's a relatively easy flight.  When going to NY, it really depends on if I'm by myself and how much holiday I have left!  I can work a half day and get a 6pm flight which is still a reasonable time to arrive in NY, have a bite to eat and then go to sleep.

On the way back to London, I prefer to get the redeye and go straight to work from the plane.  I always feel like it's a wasted day if I take the morning flight and get in to London in the evening.  And as far as goign to work straight from the plane, if I went home, I'd just go to sleep and that makes the jetlag worse.  So you've got to try to stay up and if I'm going to be useless, I'd rather be useless at work! 

I did the redeye thing for years. Nearly all the flights out of Boston land in London at seven or eight in the morning. I *hate* it. I don't sleep well on planes, and I was a complete zombie next day. Adding the overnight to jetlag and it took me days to recover.

Finally, I found *one* flight out of Boston that lands at Heathrow at, like, 8:30 at night local time and its companion return leaves at around five in the evening. Perfect! I get in, have a big meal and a bottle of wine, go out like a light and wake up the next morning all adjusted.

That said, most seasoned travelers opt for the redeye. I guess seasoned travelers learn to sleep on the plane.

how much luggage will you have and how many are you?  that will dicate if you take train or hire care to northampton.
also- where in the US will you be flying from?

I'll be flying out of PA so I have to do a connecter flight. That's why I'm trying to keep things simple on the UK end! My new plan is to take the day flight, get in to London at 10pm and stay at the airport Hilton and go up to Northampton the next morning. If only driving was the same as here, I'd rent a car!

Thanks, Nan

PA.... philly to gatwick?  USAir do that flight.

i live in peterborough, but work near northampton.  i actually prefer flying into birmingham airport.  but only if you want to drive from airport - northampton. 

Hi, we used to live in Northampton. If you're planning on taking the train, it's going to be a bit of a hassle for you. Northampton trains leave from London Euston, which only connects to the Northern line tube (black).

What we've had to do in the past was get the Piccadilly line (blue) from Heathrow all the way to Leicester Sq, then switch to the Northern line and go up to Euston station or else continue on the Piccadilly to Kings Cross and switch to the Northern Line there and then double back to Euston. Either way, it's a big pain in the backside. It takes about an hour to do this and it's a nightmare with lots of luggage.

Take in the coach/National Express is a longer journey (about 4 hours) but at least you can get on at Heathrow and get off at Northampton.

To be totally honest, I'd rent a car and drive it. My husband and I did that with me driving. I'd never driven a day in the UK before and although it was scary at first, you'll be on the motorway most of the way, which is just like a US 4-lane highway. It's faster and a lot more convenient than taking the train.

Kwilkins - As much as I'd love to rent a car - and I am pretty confident and gutsy, I don't think I should drive there!! Especially alone. Taking the coach sounds like a better option. Or I tohught of using a car service to drive me.- more $$ but might be worth it?
Where are you know, if I can ask?  I may have more questions for you about Northampton!

Meggles - I've already booked my flight into Heathrow. I'm meeting up with some clients there as I fly in & out. If I flew into Birm - I'd have to go through AMsterdam so I opted for a more direct flight. Isn't Peterborough near Northampton? Do you want to meet for a lunch? I'm sure I'll have more transportation ?? for you!

Stoatula- Are in in Boston? I'm from NH originally and have many friends who live in Boston - love it! Did you used to live in the UK?  I'm doing the only daytime flight into Heathrow - gets in at 10pm so like you, I should be able to go to sleep and get up normally, I hope! I won't stay at the Hilton as I thought - it's $500/nt!!

Thanks for all your help, Nan