Best UA Aircraft/Seats for Redeyes?
 

I may start taking more redeyes from the West Coast to DC and curious to know people's preferences for aircraft and specific seats when trying to sleep on domestic overnight flights. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I have sleep ok on tcons in E+ with an eyemask and earplugs. YMMV.

If you can pull it off, do SFO/LAX-JFK on p.s. in C and pick up the puddle jumper to IAD. If you get lucky, you might be able to find the old-config 747 and do that one in C.

Otherwise, they're all about the same to me. Decline service when you get on the flight and pass out fast.

I've found that p.s. C is really the only thing I can get much reasonable sleep on.

Worst F for a red-eye is probably the domestic 763, followed by 1A on an Airbus.

As for E+, 9ABC on a 752 is good (though I have found pax inevitable step on your feet in the middle of the night hanging out outside the lav :mad:). I suppose 9F would be OK. 12A/F on an Airbus lacking 11A/F is okay. The lack of much recline is still bothersome, though.

It's too bad there aren't more international birds on the redeyes. I can sleep in C without much problem.

What about the 757 in FC? Worse than the slaveship 767?

I find that if I'm not sitting in F, I always go for the exit rows. A320 exit rows are good, as I've found that they don't leak as much air as the 757 does. I would bring a small pillow, and an eye-cover.. Another benefit of the exit row is that the exit row in-front of you won't be able to recline.. You can also get out without making your seat mates get up..

I find domestic F, especially on A319/320, to be not so comfortable. I like row 6 (E+ bulkhead) on A319/320. I can slump down with earplugs and eyemask and usually get in a couple of hours of sleep that way on a redeye.

Otherwise, 3-class C/F is really the only way to sleep comfortably for me.

Row 6 on the A319/A320 is the best in E+ by far...if you are at the window, you can easily get up to go to the restroom without disturbing those in 6BC. Row 9 on the 757 is awesome although you do have people that tend to congregate in this area. I avoid the exit rows over the wing because in the event that I do want to look out the window, I prefer not to be staring at a wing.

21J (preferred for overhead space), 21A (next best) on the domestic 763.

Add a glass of wine+sleeping pill+blanket and you have a nice nap. Better than first on that airplane.

I just flew LAX-IAD this weekend on the red-eye. Sat 1J on the 763 and had no real problem sleeping. Propped my feet up on the bulkhead wall, reclined, brought an additional pillow and propped it against the window, and woke up right when we landed.

But definitely like others have said above, if you can swing a p.s. flight and and get into C...I can definitely sleep like a baby on that!

+1 If the objective is to sleep well the entire time (without getting up to use the lavs), as these are better than what F can offer.

However, if you are in F there is nothing better than 5 E/F. Being in the middle, you don't have to worry about anyone waking you up to go to the lav. Also, you don't have to worry about waking someone else up to use the lav yourself. Being in 5, you can put your briefcase/smaller carry-on behind your seat to allow you to stretch out your legs. However as noted, row 21 in E+ has much more leg room than anything F can offer.

If you are tall and thin, go for 21. If you are short and wide, go for 5 E/F. If you are in between, try each to see what works best for you. Do note that IME 5 E/F tend to be available longer than 21 A/B/H/J. How far in advance you book and when your upgrade clears may impact your ability to secure the seats.

On a 319/320, I would avoid 1B like the plague on any redeye. I recently "scored" a free upgrade, only to be put in this seat. The FA had to keep the galley light on for a good portion of the flight for service reasons, and it shined on me and kept me awake. I also got bumped regularly by lav users. If you get this seat, at least bring eye cover -- and maybe some shoulder pads as well.

I don't think so...I'll take the 757 any day over the 767 2-class. Seats are a good inch wider on the 757, and despite not being a widebody, more spacious and roomy than the 767. F on that 767 is just horrible...I avoid it like the plague (although stuck on it soon on a trip to Hawaii in December--when we booked it, it was a 757--it got changed recently...thank God it's from the west coast and not ORD-OGG).

My 2-cabin mainline rankings are as follows:

1. 777
2. Airbus Twins
3. 757
4. 767

And I believe it's probably close to the consensus of most on FT.

No, the 763 slaveship is the worst there is IMHO. Although the 757's recline is poor and even at that the person in front of you almost ends up in your lap when he/she reclines, the seats are wider than the 763's. And service gets done more quickly, so less disturbance by the crew = more time to sleep.

Although aisle seats on the 752 are annoying in that every time someone walks by, you can feel them "thudding" on the floor... the aisle seems to transmit vibrations much worse than other planes do.

I've noticed that when I'm also sitting in the window seats of the 752 in F. It's really annoying, especially when you are trying to sleep.

You won't be able to do this under the new routing rules. Hub-hub routings are nonstop only, and other domestic routings can only stop at hubs, one of which JFK is not.