After midnight arrival (such as 2AM) transcons -- Why? Who?
Oct 8, 2015, 10:09 pm
#46
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA GS 1MM / Hilton Diamond / Bonvoy Gold / Hertz PC
Posts: 396
Finally un-lurking...count me in the camp that is a huge fan of the 5/6pm when I can swing it. For starters, time permitting, it allows you to work in an airport happy hour, which tends to make things a little rosier, especially if you're sitting in back. Once on the east coast, even if it's only a few hours of sleep, it allows for a full "reset" at home or hotel. Nap, shower, change, etc. Makes a huge difference for me.
The nightmare scenario of a packed redeye in Y is avoided...and nightmares are, in fact, scary.
The nightmare scenario of a packed redeye in Y is avoided...and nightmares are, in fact, scary.
Oct 16, 2015, 10:01 pm
#47
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA 1K, Citi Prestige, AMEX Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 720
Irregularity of 5:55pm SFO-IAD
Does anyone know the logic behind the irregular 5:55pm (sometimes 5:56pm) SFO-IAD flight?
That flight hits an incredible sweet spot for me. I can basically fulfill all my afternoon commitments at work then be at a 9am meeting in DC without being wrecked from a red-eye. Getting to IAD at 2am comfortably leaves me time for three full R.E.M. cycles in my hotel, a magic threshold that makes me much sharper and more productive. Plus obviously traffic is never a problem getting to a hotel at that hour. By contrast, I often can't get out of work in time for the ~4:15pm flight, while the later (~10pm) flights kill my productivity.
I agreed to attend a 9am meeting in DC the day after a 3-4pm commitment in SF assuming I could take that flight in a couple of weeks. It seemed to be available for dummy bookings a couple of months ago. Yet when I actually went to book the 5:55pm flight, it seems to have been cut back from 6 nights a week to just Sundays.
I know this flight has existed and disappeared before. Is there some logic to the pattern (like only during daylight savings)? Am I the only one who loved that flight? (Or should a "real flyertalker" thrive on red-eyes?) I really wish that flight were dependable.
That flight hits an incredible sweet spot for me. I can basically fulfill all my afternoon commitments at work then be at a 9am meeting in DC without being wrecked from a red-eye. Getting to IAD at 2am comfortably leaves me time for three full R.E.M. cycles in my hotel, a magic threshold that makes me much sharper and more productive. Plus obviously traffic is never a problem getting to a hotel at that hour. By contrast, I often can't get out of work in time for the ~4:15pm flight, while the later (~10pm) flights kill my productivity.
I agreed to attend a 9am meeting in DC the day after a 3-4pm commitment in SF assuming I could take that flight in a couple of weeks. It seemed to be available for dummy bookings a couple of months ago. Yet when I actually went to book the 5:55pm flight, it seems to have been cut back from 6 nights a week to just Sundays.
I know this flight has existed and disappeared before. Is there some logic to the pattern (like only during daylight savings)? Am I the only one who loved that flight? (Or should a "real flyertalker" thrive on red-eyes?) I really wish that flight were dependable.
Oct 16, 2015, 10:54 pm
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,714
Code:
flight | orig | dest | equip | departs | from | to | days --------+------+------+-------+----------+------------+------------+--------- UA517 | SFO | IAD | 320 | 17:55:00 | 2015-10-01 | 2015-10-13 | MT RF U UA517 | SFO | IAD | 320 | 17:56:00 | 2015-10-07 | 2015-10-21 | W UA517 | SFO | IAD | 320 | 17:55:00 | 2015-10-15 | 2015-10-16 | RF UA517 | SFO | IAD | 320 | 17:55:00 | 2015-10-18 | 2015-10-22 | MT R U UA1108 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 17:55:00 | 2015-10-23 | 2015-10-23 | F UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 17:55:00 | 2015-10-25 | 2015-11-01 | U UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-10-26 | 2015-11-16 | M RF UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-10-27 | 2015-11-10 | T UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:58:00 | 2015-10-28 | 2015-10-28 | W UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:49:00 | 2015-11-04 | 2015-11-11 | W UA1687 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 17:55:00 | 2015-11-08 | 2015-11-15 | U UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-11-17 | 2015-11-19 | TWR UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-11-20 | 2015-11-20 | F UA1408 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-11-24 | 2015-11-24 | T UA486 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-11-25 | 2015-11-25 | W UA517 | SFO | IAD | 319 | 17:12:00 | 2015-11-28 | 2015-11-28 | S UA1412 | SFO | IAD | 320 | 17:12:00 | 2015-11-29 | 2015-11-29 | U UA517 | SFO | IAD | 738 | 16:52:00 | 2015-12-01 | 2015-12-01 | T UA517 | SFO | IAD | 739 | 16:48:00 | 2015-12-02 | 2015-12-16 | TWRF UA517 | SFO | IAD | 739 | 16:51:00 | 2015-12-17 | 2015-12-23 | MTWRF UA517 | SFO | IAD | 739 | 16:51:00 | 2015-12-28 | 2016-01-04 | MTW UA517 | SFO | IAD | 739 | 16:51:00 | 2016-01-05 | 2016-02-10 | MTWRF UA517 | SFO | IAD | 319 | 16:51:00 | 2016-02-11 | 2016-09-30 | MTWRF
Oct 16, 2015, 11:44 pm
#49
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: TPE, SF, DC
Programs: UA Lifetime GS 4mm
Posts: 891
6p SFO-IAD 2a better upgrade %
I have flown this flight 4x this year.
I'm batting 2/4 upgrades for 6p flight, much higher % vs other time slots.
I'm batting 2/4 upgrades for 6p flight, much higher % vs other time slots.
Last edited by npei; Oct 17, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Oct 17, 2015, 12:10 am
#50
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: UA Plat, AS MVP, HH Gold, MR Gold
Posts: 1,848
I really appreciate one going the other way: US (RIP?) has run a BWI-PHX-SEA that leaves around 7:20pm. That lets me almost finish the day in DC (a couple hours more in the city than UA's 5:00 IAD-SEA nonstop, and half the price), and land in SEA at 1:40AM; my head hits the pillow in my own bed at 2:30. I've used it on most of my DC trips in the last few years.
I don't get up at my normal waking time the next morning, but even if I get up at 10, I can still teach my class or make a day with family the following day, instead of burn it as a travel day (and pay for the extra hotel night).
I don't get up at my normal waking time the next morning, but even if I get up at 10, I can still teach my class or make a day with family the following day, instead of burn it as a travel day (and pay for the extra hotel night).
Oct 17, 2015, 12:23 am
#51
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA 1K, Citi Prestige, AMEX Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 720
If by move up a bit you mean an hour, well, that's kind of a big difference for a flight that I can barely make by having a car waiting for me right outside my office... I'd say the 4:55pm flight is more like a later 4:15pm flight than an earlier 5:55pm one.
Do you know how far in advance they make these decisions? I could have sworn they were selling seats on a later flight (for the same day in November) back in early September. Would they have sold me a seat and then moved me to an earlier flight?
Do you know how far in advance they make these decisions? I could have sworn they were selling seats on a later flight (for the same day in November) back in early September. Would they have sold me a seat and then moved me to an earlier flight?
Oct 17, 2015, 1:05 pm
#52
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: IAH / HOU
Programs: UA GS, DL-Plat, Hilton Gold, IHG Platinum, Hyatt Somethingist, Marriott Titanium Lifetime
Posts: 2,859
Sometimes the airline just needs to get planes back to the East Coast so they can start flying people west early in the morning. If they already offer a true red eye or two adding another flight at 6 pm is probably a better proposition.
Oct 17, 2015, 5:12 pm
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
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Posts: 12,714
If by move up a bit you mean an hour, well, that's kind of a big difference for a flight that I can barely make by having a car waiting for me right outside my office... I'd say the 4:55pm flight is more like a later 4:15pm flight than an earlier 5:55pm one.
Do you know how far in advance they make these decisions? I could have sworn they were selling seats on a later flight (for the same day in November) back in early September. Would they have sold me a seat and then moved me to an earlier flight?
Do you know how far in advance they make these decisions? I could have sworn they were selling seats on a later flight (for the same day in November) back in early September. Would they have sold me a seat and then moved me to an earlier flight?
Oct 17, 2015, 8:05 pm
#54
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: PDX
Programs: DL Plat, UA Plat 1MM, AS MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, Avis Presidents Club, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,938
These are starting to show up in the other direction as well. Noticed UA add a ORD-PDX flight around the holidays that leaves ORD at 12:18am and arrives PDX at 2:57am. Thats a westbound redeye. Painful but lots of mileage availability..
Oct 17, 2015, 9:00 pm
#55
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 304
I'm definitely in the camp of loving the odd-hour flights. The 6pm->2am options are great IMO. As others have noted, they land at 11pm PT, which is about an hour or two before I usually go to bed. So I'm going to bed at my 'normal' time, but I get a full day on the west coast.
The other ones I like are the REALLY late redeyes, e.g. leave SFO/LAX at 1am and arrive 9am. It's late enough that I'm usually so tired I can (sort of) sleep. UA doesn't have too many of those anymore.
The worst, for me, are the early redeyes... 9pm->5am. Too early to sleep, and then I get there and it's already morning, but too early for any business meetings.
The other ones I like are the REALLY late redeyes, e.g. leave SFO/LAX at 1am and arrive 9am. It's late enough that I'm usually so tired I can (sort of) sleep. UA doesn't have too many of those anymore.
The worst, for me, are the early redeyes... 9pm->5am. Too early to sleep, and then I get there and it's already morning, but too early for any business meetings.
Like others have mentioned, the worst part about getting in that early (~ 0200) is how slow luggage can be and the lack of transpo if you didn't drive yourself.
Oct 17, 2015, 11:10 pm
#56
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP,2MM, DL Gold,Starwood PLT
Posts: 3,876
Those type of flight work perfectly for me. Arrive 1 to 2 am no checked, car service arranged for the pick up, home in 20-25 minutes ( no traffic that time of night) quick shower after a long day, hop in bed and probably get lucky since i was gone a few days and missed, sleep by 3 up and going with working from home by 9am. Much prefered to the getting home at 6am .
Oct 18, 2015, 12:29 pm
#57
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,130
Those type of flight work perfectly for me. Arrive 1 to 2 am no checked, car service arranged for the pick up, home in 20-25 minutes ( no traffic that time of night) quick shower after a long day, hop in bed and probably get lucky since i was gone a few days and missed, sleep by 3 up and going with working from home by 9am. Much prefered to the getting home at 6am .
Oct 18, 2015, 8:52 pm
#58
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Another reason could be increased options for connections from Asia. I just booked a ticket for a friend where the transpacific flight did not get into LAX until 3pm and that's too late for the 'regular' connecting flights back east. With jet-leg on such an itinerary it really does not matter that one arrives at an odd hour.
Oct 28, 2015, 11:10 pm
#59
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I'm not sure if it still exists but four years ago I did what was then UA 225, a 10 PM IAD-SFO departure. We had really bad head wings and the flight took six hours. I got off the plane at SFO at 1:30 AM. It was absolutely brutal and it didn't help that I fell asleep on the flight and couldn't get to sleep until almost 4 AM at my hotel 
Oct 29, 2015, 11:03 am
#60
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: DEN
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