So, this isn't a MR topic, but FT is full of knowledgable people that know their creative routing..

The challenge is this: My boss needs to be in Washington DC in the evening of the 23rd and has to do a presentation in Seattle Washington at 9am on the 24th. I've been trying to find a way to make it work, but so far the best return flight is IAD->SFO->SEA departing at 10p and arriving at 8:30a+1. For whatever reason, I don't see any red eyes out of DC to the west coast. Heck, if I could get him to PDX by 5:45, I could have him on a private airline and in by 7:05... but that routing seems to unfeasible as well.

Any advice? I've even been trying to get a r/t from places like NYC, but with little luck. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

From ITA:
Fare A1:
UA 7793 IAD-YYZ 809p-944p
UA 8279/AC 141 YYZ-YYC 1055p-110a+1
Fare B1:
AS 2539 YYC-SEA 630a-715a
$480 one way

However, a 1:11 connection in YYZ seems like it would be very tight for border control (might be okay if the inbound is on time and no checked luggage?). Maybe someone who has made a similar connection could clarify. Also check the reviews of YYC at www.sleepinginairports.com.

I can't find anything, even crazy anything that would leave DC after 10PM and reach SEA by 8AM or PDX by 7AM. (Cathay has flight from JFK at 11PM to Vancouver, but that wouldn't work either.)

Can he leave DC before 10? What is the earliest acceptable departure?

Otherwise, you and your boss will need creative thinking: Skip one of the events, be represented by someone else at one of them, make his presentation by video conferencing, hire a private jet, etc.

The problem with the situation as posed is that, as you've found, airlines don't fly transcontinental red-eyes from East to West. Because flight time averages around 5 to 6 hours, you're looking at an arrival time just 2 or 3 hours later than take-off, at least in adjusted time. That means that any late-night departures will drop passengers off in the wee hours of the morning at their destinations. Even if local landing regulations would allow this, there wouldn't be a huge market for it at all. To get passengers to arrive early morning on the West Coast, obviously, would require a wee-hours take-off, which faces the same challenges.

Unless he's up for hiring a private jet, your boss is going to have to change an appointment at one end. My suggestion is that he move back the SEA presentation to noon and take the early morning Alaska Airlines flight out. It leaves Reagan at 8:00 AM and arrives Seattle at 10:50 AM. Let us know what you decide!

[Deleted. Duplicate info posted in error. You seem to know about UA225 + UA1424, and that's the best I can find.]

I'm glad I wasn't missing anything! Your solution is actually what I came up with in the end. It turns out he merely wanted to be back by 9am, and the presentation was actually at 12:30! With that new info, I got him on the AS flight from DCA, but man that was frustrating to try and find with those restrictions.

Interestingly, I've noticed that the same aversion to early morning flights isn't as strong going west to east. There seem to be more 5am and 12:30am flights than from the east coast west.

Thank you all for your suggestions! They were spot on!

Slightly OT - for some airlines, the midnight flights are/were absolutely critical - they fly the midnight red-eyes back to the east coast to reposition the aircraft. This allows the airline to have the AC "working" east to west as the time zones shift during the peak flight hours each day - benefit from being able to hit peak times for departures in four different time zones. Flying overnight keeps utilization numbers high, but it's a lot less prevalent a practice than it used to be (low yields on red-eyes).

On-topic - glad there was an easy resolution to the problem. I enjoy the DCA-SEA flights on AS in F.

Since this has nothing to do with a mileage run at all, I am moving this thread to TravelBuzz! which is a more appropriate place to discuss this issue.

Also, the OP might want to consult a travel agent.

Kind Regards


rcs85551
Moderator, Mileage Run forums

Notwithstanding the cheeky suggestion to consult a travel agent ...

I'll go ahead and post another routing question. I have a friend who needs to get from Columbus, GA (CSG) to Cairo Egypt (CAI) in 31 hours. The departure would need to be after 9pm on 23rd October and he must arrive in Cairo by 8am on Saturday 25 October.

The closest "big" airport to Columbus is ATL.

The only solution that I can find that comes close is fly Delta from ATL to LHR and connect to BA. But it leaves ATL at 10:20pm and it's not possible to drive from Columbus to ATL (90 mins) in time to make the flight.

Any suggestions? Drive to other airports nearby? Creative routings through Eastern Europe for the Middle East?

Wow. I think your friend and your boss need to make their plans more realistically and understand you can't be in two places at once, no matter how hard a lot of us try!

I believe the last flight of the day from ATL is to TLV but it's still around 10:30pm or 10:40pm I think.

If there were some way to get to ORD or JFK in time for one of the daytime flights to LHR, that would work. But I don't see that happening either within those time constraints.

^

According to delta.com TLV goes at 22:40, arriving at 16:25, which should be plenty of time to get to CAI by 0800 (even by bus/taxi). I've never been to Israel so not sure if the border is open 24h if you have to go by land. I would guess there is a lot of extra security for TLV flights tho.

If you could leave any earlier there would be lots of options via LHR or even AMM or DXB

Thank you both for your suggestions. I took another look at the Tel Aviv flight. The trouble is that it lands at 4:25pm and the only flights out of TLV that he could make to CAI are connecting flights which don't arrive until 9:15am - so it doesn't work.

Unless, I'm missing something and please tell me if so.

I understand that some people make the drive from Israel to Egypt or take a bus, but I'm not sure if he is up that kind of adventure.

Regarding the suggestion to take a day flight out of ORD, JFK, or IAD - yes, that's a great idea and I've looked into that as well. The trouble is that even the earliest one that I can find - which is the Virgin Airways JFK-LHR at 7:30am and arrives at 7:10pm will not work. I cannot seem to find a connecting flight from LHR to CAI that would get him there by 8am the next morning.

It's frustrating because, in theory 31 hours should be plenty of time to go from the US East Coast to Egypt, but without a personal plane it's a tough one to do.

Any further suggestions?

Take the first flight the next morning and get to Cairo by 9:30 a.m. - it's one of those "something has to give" (either departure time, arrival time, or attitudes toward other conveyances) situations.

Sorry to say, but I don't think your friend is being very reasonable.

Basically, you're eliminating the possibility of flying on the 23rd by saying that he can't make a 1030 flight. Not too many flights leave Atlanta (or any east-coast airport for that matter) after 11pm.

So what you're really saying is that he can leave on the 24th but must arrive in Cairo by 8am the next day.

And that's the part I'm not sure is reasonable. There are plenty of options to get him/her there in the morning, but not by 8. There's a Delta flight from JFK that arrives at 935, for example.

A flight from the US to Cairo is long and crosses 6 or 7 time zones. There's an EgyptAir flight that leaves JFK at 630p on the 24th, doesn't arrive until 11:30 on the 25th.

There are a couple early-morning flights from the northeast to Europe (example: 845a JFK-LHR), but since your friend cannot fly out until late on the 23rd, after the flights have ceased, there's no way to make any of them.

So basically, your friend has the option of being more flexible on the 23rd and flying out of Atlanta earlier...or being more flexible on the 25th and arriving slightly later.

The 25th seems to be the way to do it, because arriving at 935am doesn't seem to be that much difference than arriving at 8am. And if they're expecting everything to run on a Switzerland-like schedule in Egypt, they've got another thing coming anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I was not missing anything then and it is not possible to make this work within the parameters given.

One note though, there are indeed early 6am flights from ATL on the 24th that would connect with the day-time departures from IAD, JFK, and ORD to London. But even taking those day flights doesn't help because they arrive LHR after 7pm and there are no good connections to Egypt.

Is there a day flight from the US to any other European destination, other than London?