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Will the sun set on polar route in June?

Will the sun set on polar route in June?

Old Mar 11, 2016, 6:38 am
  #1  
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Will the sun set on polar route in June?

We're flying YYZ-HKG near the end of June. We depart around 10:00 am. Will the sun ever set? Any recommendations on whether one side will be better for attempting to sleep? Thanks.
TornCalfGuy is offline  
Old Mar 11, 2016, 6:48 am
  #2  
 
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Window shade. These are those things the FAD close as soon as the flight is in the air. Rest assured you will be plunged into jet lag inducing darkness as soon as it can be forced on you.
Transpacificflyer is offline  
Old Mar 11, 2016, 7:43 am
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One of my favourite flights was departing from London to YYZ around 5pm during winter. It was one of the longest sunsets I have ever seen. Lasted like 5 hours.
cooleddie is offline  
Old Mar 11, 2016, 8:05 am
  #4  
 
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Forgetting the flight. June/July in HK is a disgusting time. The excessive heat is a wall of water. If you going on business. Take clothes to change 3 times in day. I'm in HK end of April. Much better travel time.
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Old Mar 11, 2016, 12:42 pm
  #5  
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Thanks, Silvercity. We're going from Dulles to Chiang Mai via Toronto/Hong Kong. We're also going to Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and a Cambodian beach island. Between the mugginess and the start of rainy season, the weather may not be ideal. But it's the start of summer for my wife (a teacher) and daughter (a student), so we're going when we can.
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Old Mar 11, 2016, 1:23 pm
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It's almost impossible to predict if the sun will set, as it's actually dependent on the route taken ... which can & will change, right up until departure time.

If you go on a truly polar route (ABERI, DEVID, RAMEL, ORVIT) then in June for sure it will be sunny for the entire flight. However, if you end up taking more of a subpolar route (which can easily happen, it's mostly based on winds) then you might end up flying through the night.

In my experience, the YYZ->china routes tend to be more likely than not to be polar, while the china->YYZ flights are more likely to be subpolar, often completely south of Alaska. I'm guessing it's all about winds over the pacific ...

Looking at the routes of todays flights, demonstrates exactly that trend:
AC 15, YYZ-HKG, Polar route (see in flightware)
AC 16, HKG-YYZ, Subpolar route (see in flightware)

If those trends hold true, then your flight over there will be in all daylight, and the return flight will fly through the night.
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Old Mar 11, 2016, 1:33 pm
  #7  
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Old Mar 11, 2016, 2:10 pm
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Thanks, canopus27. I was asking specifically about the flight to Hong Kong. My understanding is that the jet stream often leads to subpolar trips from East to West. Again, I don't know what the jetstream is like in July, but I'm guessing the long return flight, which goes from Seoul to Toronto, won't be polar.
TornCalfGuy is offline  
Old Mar 12, 2016, 1:27 pm
  #9  
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That flightware link is pretty cool. It didn't work properly on my phone, but I was just looking on my computer and I got to see the whole path, so thanks again.
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