Hi all

I'm travelling next week AKL-BNE-DXB-GLA (EK435/EK27) and would like some advice on how to sleep as to arrive in Glasgow with the minimal jetlag effects.

I have no status with EK (only *G), but have signed up to Skywards. I intend on using paid generic airport lounge access where I can.

The Air New Zealand forum has a NZ1/NZ2 Sleep Strategy page which helped me last time I went to the UK but this time I'm going the other way.

What would you do? Try stay awake till DXB and then try sleep DXB-GLA?

Which part of the journey do they fly in 'night mode'?

Of course I am stuck in Y, which certainly doesn't help. I'll ask at checkin for the cost to upgrade but I suspect its out of my reach. (Cant check online as flight booked by company TA)

Cheers

Matt

Stay awake for about 4-5 hours after the dinner service out of BNE, then sleep until the breakfast service into DXB (skip the snack half way through). Then try getting 2-3 hours on DXB-GLA.
That's about it.

Have done GLA-MEL return often and my experience is to sleep when you can i.e. if you nod off go with it rather than trying to sleep X hours before or after wherever. It will also depend on whether you are on the flight which gets into GLA at 11.30 am or the one which gets in at night I guess. We're always on the former and manage to get sleep between DXB and GLA as well as out of MEL with little naps in between.

Thanks ozTennis. I get in midday to GLA.

New to Emirates here - do they have any sort of paid standby upgrade / plusgrade system in play?

People have reported getting email offers for paid upgrades in case they have unsold inventory in J. You can also enquire at check-in if paid upgrades are available. Sometimes, they have nice offers.

my strategy is to fly in J or F and have a couple of bottles of Dom/Veuve to help you nod off

I do a lot of long and ultra-long haul Y travel on EK. My advice would be to:

Definitely bring/ask for: earplugs, eyeshades
Possibly bring: bottle of water, noise isolating earphones, neck cushion

The only strategy is sleep whenever possible. Take an aisle seat towards the back of the plane as it's likely to be less full. You won't care about lavatory noise as you will have earplugs and eyeshades. On the GLA-DXB leg you want to be in rows 46+ in the 2-4-2 configuration. I would probably ignore scheduled meals in favour of sleep: if you wake up and need food, you can get snacks between meal services like biscuits. More water.

Different for everybody as the answers here show. There's no right or wrong way, just what works for you, and you'll only find out by trial and error.

For me - no eyeshades and no earplugs necessary. Sleep when I'm tired no matter the time of day or night on my watch. It won't be a great sleep so I can still drop off at a normal hour at my destination, but it'll be enough I won't fall asleep with my head in the soup at lunch.

I've never felt the lethargic feeling for days or wobbly legs and cloudy head that some people report.

Good advice from eternaltransit re what to take with you.

AKL-BNE will be daylight/dusk. BNE-DXB you will be flying with the night and DXB-GLA will be a daylight flight. My experience flying from AKL to GLA albeit via SYD or MEL is that because I am acclimatised to NZ time I find it fairly difficult not to go to sleep as soon as we take off from the Australian departure point. On my last couple of trips I have had dinner on the AKL - OZ leg and not eaten again until breakfast on the OZ-DXB sector.

Pax on the DXB-GLA leg will be a mix of people starting their journey in DXB and passengers like yourself who have transferred directly from another flight. In my experience this means that there may be more "buzz" on this leg as many pax are wide awake.

I hope you are made as welcome in Scotland as I always am in New Zealand and that the Games are good to you. (Wee assumption about the purpose of your trip!)

If you really want to sleep, then take a window seat. In an aisle seat, you may be disturbed by people passing in the aisle brushing against you, and by people in your row rousing you to allow them access the aisle. If you have the misfortune to be in a row with someone with a weak bladder, they can be up and down like a jack-in-the-box all through the flight.

It goes without saying that you should bring earplugs and eyemask (I always have a pair of each in my carryon). Sleep when your body tells you to.

On arrival in GLA, expose yourself to the daylight as much as possible, try not to go for a nap in the afternoon, but allow yourself an earlier night than you would normally take.

If you take rows 46-50 on the 777-300 you'll avoid the brush past problem as the configuration is 2-4-2. I suppose I am usually an aisle person and perhaps I have been lucky in that I haven't had a problem in a long time with people getting up and disturbing/waking me up to get out of the row. YMMV.

Thanks! Correct Assumption. I am looking forward to the Whisky selection I hope to find!

Thanks eternaltranist et al, These are some good tips. I'll go revise my seating selections and find some eyeshades. Never thought I could stoop to a funny neck pillow but sounds like its time I give it a go!

I Appreciate your comments