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Old Jun 11, 2011, 11:30 am
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ThatT1Feeling
 
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Which Sleeper Service routes actually work well?

While I know it created some furore hereabouts when it was introduced, I quite like the principle of the CW Sleeper Service. I have taken a few sleeper service flights from the US East Coast but the service never seems to get to "lights off" quickly enough. There's always too much faffing about for my liking and too many people wanting to introduce themselves over the PA. Generally however my "next day" has not been too bad and the extra hour of sleep snatched by not eating on the plane has been a godsend.

However this morning I was on the MCT-AUH-LHR Sleeper Service and have been feeling knackered all day.

The Food options in the lounge at MCT were abysmal which was just as well as there was nowhere to sit other than on the floor in the small kids' room there. The lounge is not large and is shared with every other airline so it was absolutely packed.

As a Sleeper Service the timing also leaves a lot to be desired. Theoretically it is great as you leave MCT at 00:01 (coach to aircraft but at least F and J pax get a separate coach) but then you land in Abu Dhabi 45 minutes later, so you get 20 mins sleep if you're lucky, followed by cleaners coming onboard, handbaggage security check, then about 20 more minutes till new passengers board so you have just dozed off again when you get bumped around yet again with the new pax finding their places.

Today we eventually left Abu Dhabi just after 02:10 local time, with cabin lights off so a chance to snooze off again, only for the lights to be switched back on full, then off again, then on full again then off again.

Then the personal introduction announcements from the flight crew and CSD, then the announcement about the IFE. Finally almost 3 hours into a 9 hour sleeper service, the cabin was quiet with lights off. All on the dreaded G-ZZZ 777 fleet with no AVOD so it wasn't even possible to line up some videos while waiting for quiet time.

So my question is what routes work really well (if any) from a Sleeper Service perspective, with a late enough departure, good food in the lounge, rapid boarding, quick lights out and a long enough flight time for it to really really work??
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