cbrown5294

Hi,
Considering taking this flight in C with my elderly parents. Any upshot with jet lag, customs, etc vs a traditional overnight flight? We live on the West Coast so normally do SFO or LAX-LHR but this time considering this day flight with a full day prior in the DC area to sightsee, etc
Last I heard you also get a full breakfast then dinner on this flight?
Thanks for the info!

Aspen

I have taken the IAD-LHR day flight a few times as well as the previous 9.30am UA2 departure from JFK to LHR and immensely prefer the evening arrival in LHR. I have definitely felt better jet lag wise and able to go 100% the next morning in London.
Suggestions: Hotels near both aerodromes in IAD and LHR the night before travel and the night of arrival so as to minimise the shuttle times.

IME Customs has often been better in the evening than early morning.

Markie

It usually makes the travel day go very quickly in my experience. It often sells out in C at weekends or heavy business travel days.

Only problem is if the flight is delayed (the plane used to come from South America and may still do), then Heathrow closes and you are stuck in IAD for the whole day.

JohnnyP

I take that flight every month -- it's fantastic if you can spare "losing" the day! Generally, the crews are either senior or newbies and very good. Lots of regulars on this flight.

The trick is to avoid sleeping/napping at all -- watch movies, read, talk, eat, whatever you need to do. Then upon arrival you'll get to your hotel by 11PM and have a good night sleep. Jetlag effect is very much minimized for your stay. In C, yes, you get a full breakfast and dinner before landing. In Y, it's a hot breakfast and a mushy sandwich and crisps before landing. I rarely upgrade the flight since the exit rows are spacious on the 763 and flight is relatively short if it catches the right winds. Outbounds on Sunday and Monday tend to fill the front cabin with fare-paying business passengers, so upgrades are often hard to come by anyway.

This flight is so helpful on jetlag, when I'm flying from the West Coast or Colorado/Texas, I'll often overnight in DC just to take this flight. Love it!

SEA1K4EVR

Keep in mind that depending on your fare rules the stopover in DC will likely increase the fare.

US_Usually

Never flew IAD-LHR, but once flew (on BA) from JFK-LHR daytime to get in position for an LHR-JFK Concorde return the next day.

It was an excellent experience - stayed awake on the flight, arrived LHR in the evening, went to the Hilton at Terminal Four for a great night's sleep, and was pretty much fine the next day. Definitely less jet lag than on typical evening flights from Eastern North America to Europe.

Give it a try!

Aspen

That wouldn't have been part of the retirement celebrations in 2003 that BA sold for $3000 for one-way on regular aeroplanes and the other supersonic?

IMHO well worth the $3g

rittenhousesq

Just want to concur that the daytime flight to LHR is my preference as well. If all goes well, you should be in your hotel bed by 11:30 (select your preferred hotel chain near the the airport), and ready to go the next morning. Also, In C you get two full meals.

DIRECT MERIT

Took this in Y (having flown down from JFK at 6am) last week. Relatively empty in Y+, in fact we pushed back 10 mins early. Good senior crew, but the thing I will remember is the breakfast - possibly the worst airline meal I've ever been presented with. Thankfully the connection was long enough for me to have had a full breakfast at IAD. The soggy roll snack wasn't at all nice either. But in terms of the dayflight vs the red-eye? Dayflight every time!

roberto99

I've done this flight a few times.

I was happy with the lack of jet-lag the first time.

I couldn't sleep most of the night after arrival the last time.

I've done the overnight flight many times and probably prefer it.

BDLORD

I love it!
It's my preferred way to travel to LHR as I have a place in Luton.
The bus get's me into Luton at around 11:30 and am in bed by midnight.
Ready to work the next day.

halls120

I flew this flight 3-4 times a year from 2002-2005, and I loved it. Beats the overnight flights hands down.

lhrsfo

IMHO day flights from IAD JFK ORD BOS and YYZ are the only ways to go if you are not flying from the West. However the catering in Y on UA and CO is the worst in the business.

EnvoyBoy

Key, as stated, is staying awake so you'll hit the sheets when you arrive at your hotel. I find the "lost" day actually incredibly found time. With the new C and the power ports, I get a ton of work done with no interruptions from staff, email, phone, etc. There's been times I've though about a LHR MR just so I could have two back-to-back days of incredible productivity.

mauiUAflyer

I almost always do the day flight flying from HI-west coast. One arrives in time to go to bed, and get and at at 'em the next morning.

This looks similar, but probably a few hours longer.

If I'm flying that way, I usually fly from the west coast, so as to get a 10+ hour flight, which is long enough to eat and get a full nights sleep. But I can certainly see the day flight from the east coast as being a very good thing. The red-eye isn't long enough for good sleep.