CX F Day or Night Flight US-HKG
 

Am deciding on a daytime morning or a midnight departing flight on CX in F US-HKG. Any opinions on which might be better. This is a leisure trip, no rush or appointments. Thank you.

It is such a long flight that it really doesn't matter

I usually prefer the red-eyes from SFO/LAX to HKG. It's a 15-hour flight (or 16 from East Coast). The red-eyes at least allow you to sleep a decent amount whilst the daytime flight is just 15 hours in constant daylight and you'd have probably had a good night sleep before the flight. I don't know if CX Studio can keep you entertained for that long.

If you are in F and want to enjoy F, then the daytime flight. If your aim is to arrive refreshed, or at least adjust to jetlag better, then take a night departure.

If the question is Y, I would always take the night flight as the day flight is 12-15hrs of sitting there while everyone around you is restless and not sleeping.

+1

For a 10 hour flight with no work schedule, I'd go for a daytime flight to actually "get" something out of flying F.

But these ~15.5 hours give you plenty of time to do both. I'd go for the midnight departure flight.

Do they not always shut the blinds? Last time I took CX885 (dep 11:25) they sure did :confused:

if your goal is to "maximize" and don't fly F too often, then I take this as a simple translation of "I don't want to sleep most of the time" to enjoy the big seat, snacks, drinks, and just be conscious of the F experience for as long as possible.

If you don't want to sleep most of the time, ergo you should take off in the morning/midday and get a lot of sleep the night before. That's the bottom line. Because if you takeoff at midnight, I suspect you're gonna be tired.

of course, a lot of this just depends on you knowing your own ability to sleep and sleep habits. For me, on ex-US red-eyes, I can sleep 10+ hours. They're usually at the end of hectic business trips and I am ready to crash. That's what F is for, for me. Basically sleeping most of the flight in F after a comfortable snack and perhaps a movie or TV show. I often skip breakfast entirely, sleeping until the "30 minutes until landing" announcement.

So everyone "maximizes" different, but my guess is if this is a new or rare experience for you, you'll want to be awake and alert for most of it. Hence, take off in the morning or midday.

Well, if I were to take the morning daytime departure I sure would hate it if the cabin crew asked all of the F pax to shut their blinds. I resent that - why not simply announce that the amenity kit contains an eye mask, and for those at the windows, they can always lower their blinds. I simply cannot stand it when during a daytime flight in J or F they 'force' the entire cabin to sit there as if in a bat cave! The other cynical reason is that the crew wants to lull folks into sleeping in order to lessen their workload. Again, what good is giving out eye masks?

It's not a conspiracy. They will definitely ask you to close it. You're allowed to say no.

The bottom line is a lot of guys flying CX J and F really like to sleep. That's why we book it in the first place. I'm in that camp. And a lot of pax at the window don't seem to care. How many times do you see guys sitting at the windows sound asleep.

I don't see any problem with CX asking people to close them, but ultimately the pax having final say. Personally, I love this policy. You can open the shades if you like, it's your entitlement. True, you may be the only pax in F with the windows open.

Again, what about the eye masks? The eye masks! I've been on plenty of flights and have never asked anyone sitting at the window to lower the shade. I simply put on the provided eye mask - the one in the amenity kit, or if on JAL regional they have them for the asking, ditto ANA et al.

Sleeping and jet lag are my two main criteria.
Night flights work best for me. Stay awake as long as possible (like 3 am California time, then try to sleep 9 hours (Melatonin helps). Next day in Asia stay active/outside, go to bed not earlier than 9 pm, take one Melatonin, try to sleep thru.
That is my strategy minimizing jet lag.

I don't normally sleep with a bandana around my head at home. Do you?

I can sleep with an eye mask, but prefer not to.

Personally, I love the fact CX asks people to close them, so the general default condition of the cabin is dark. If you prefer the whole cabin to be blazing with light, you should just know that's generally not CX's style. And if it's really an issue you don't have to fly them. They're not going to change it for you. You have your opinion, and a bunch of us prefer it the other way. I love light but when I need to sleep, I prefer dark more. There are definitely times I wish the cabin was light on a day flight. But there are many, many more times I'm very thankful the cabin is dark. I fly them so much inevitably I get both experiences but I absolutely trend towards the "I prefer it dim" camp overall. So I'm okay with this...I know when I pay for CX J or F, I'm likely going to get a relatively dim cabin.

All CX is doing is ask folks to close them. You don't have to. If you can't handle even being asked, or will feel embarrassed as one of the few folks with a window open, then it's hard to say much more. I don't think it's a big deal. Some people open them. It's within your right sitting at the window seat.

Ordinarily I would say take the day flight to experience F, but I'd probably take the night flight on such a long sector. Even with sleeping you will still have time to enjoy it, and 15-16 hours awake in a tin can will get VERY boring whatever class you are in.

Haha the age old CX blinds debate. I think it comes down to the fact that just one bright window can light up an entire cabin of sleepy pax...and IFE screens, but I see where you're coming from.

I am probably alone in this, but I actually like taking CX 889 doing JFK-YVR-HKG (I know this sounds like a nightmare to almost everyone else). The flight departs JFK at around 10 pm and arrives in Hong Kong at 6 am.

But I'd eat and relax + enjoy F for the first 5-hour segment, stretch out a bit during the break, and then for the 13-hour YVR-HKG segment, have a more "formal" dinner, sleep for 8 hours, wake up for breakfast, and arrive in Hong Kong ready to roll. I also find that personally my jet lag is greatly helped with this combo.

Solid advice actually. CX888/889 are not for me, but it sounds like something the OP is looking for. Kinda best of both worlds thing.

+1

I've done this route a few times in F, also for leisure. I stay awake through dinner then sleep until 3-5 am HKG time. I force myself to stay awake the rest of the day, and jet lag is a minimal problem the rest of the trip.

You still get to experience the food, service, entertainment, etc. but also get to sleep soundly on a plane - a novelty in itself, if you think about it, and a big reason to fly first.