[capetonianm]

Novelty? I don’t even get that bit, let alone the tedium and discomfort of spending 21 hours in a metal tube breathing recycled bodily exhalations.
Class of travel is almost irrelevant.

[MartynSinclair]

Wow, some interesting comments. I have been flying for nearly 30+ years (passenger and pilot) and the day the gloss wears off a flight of any length, will be the day I retire. Sure the final hour or 2 can drag, but the opportunity to see the world and for the past 10 – 15 years being in the very privileged position of flying mostly C, sometimes F and occasionally PJ, I never get bored. BKK to Van Nuys with sometimes with required operational stops every 4 – 5 hours, would test the patience & resolve of most of you.

The secret for me is not to let time manage me, I control and manage time. A 20 hour flight, just divide it up into sections. I fly with the blinds up not down and if I know the route is going to take me over interesting surrounds, I make sure the cabin crew wake me. Plenty of films, plenty of time to read books and sleep and with live streaming of sports events now possible, a perfect way for me to manage time and relax.

“Killing Time” is my most hated expression and if that’s how any passenger feels about ultra long haul travel, I would think twice and perhaps change vocations, try another holiday destination or stop along the way.

I hope I am still young enough to enjoy a boyz weekend away in Sydney on direct business class flights each way…from London Heathrow or preferably a Northolt departure in a PJ..

Just to end, yes if I was doing this weekly or in economy, I agree, I would then be looking for the gloss….

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GivingupBA, Ekond222, alanred13

[GivingupBA]

[quote quote=933319] The secret for me is not to let time manage me, I control and manage time. A 20 hour flight, just divide it up into sections…. Just to end, yes if I was doing this weekly or in economy, I agree, I would then be looking for the gloss….[/quote]

I completely agree with you about “I control and manage time”. But I have a problem with flights over 12 hours (even in ‘J’) – my body lets me down and no matter how much I stretch/ exercise/ walk around the cabin, I’m not young and start to get very stiff and feel bad (Exactly this happened to me on my flight 2 days ago). I must get off and have a long proper walk. So no, LHR-SYD nonstop is an absolute no for me even in ‘J’. (And for me, doing it economy class is unthinkable for that and other reasons).

2 users thanked author for this post.

cwoodward, PeterCoultas

[canucklad]

For me there’s a lot of factors involved in surviving long haul that would also extend to ultra-long haul. Those factors are wholly dependant on class of travel .
And the objective is to avoid fatigue as much as possible !!

Fatigue might be too strong a word in the purely medical definition of the word, but the symptoms at a localised level flying long haul heightens (sorry for the pun) the causes.

First and foremost it’s the ability to sleep. ( I find it almost impossible to deep sleep sitting up ) meaning that Ultra Long Haul in Y for me would be an exercise in sleep deprivation torture ( Physical fatigue )

Add in the very annoying habit of cabin crew to insist that cabins remain in a darkened state for the majority of the journey thus removing the beneficial impact of the sun’s rays .
I really don’t get why a late night departing flight ex Europe to HKG means that the shades are down until an hour before you land . Just as the sun starts to set in HK ? that’s equates to 2 to 3 hours of sunshine in a 36 hour period !! ( Mental Fatigue)

Add in personal hygiene issues, can you imagine being in an enclosed space with people who haven’t bathed for at least 24 hours and it’s becoming a very unpleasant experience.
Personally if I haven’t had a proper refreshing clean (Shower) it adds to my feeling of listlessness (Mental fatigue)

Then there’s the whole cyclical eating pattern. Again using recent HK flights as an example…it’s bonkers to serve breakfast at 4.00 in the afternoon ? On a 20 hour plus flight my bowels wouldn’t know what to do .

As an aside, on a 20 hour flight just about everybody would be needing a number 2 . Something I try and avoid on my current long haul flights . I wonder what airlines would need to do to reduce the impact on all the sewage systems ?

1 user thanked author for this post.

PeterCoultas

[CityFlyer]

As it stands this route is impossible from a regulatory perspective – there is no dispensation to allow flight crew (both cabin crew and pilots) to be at work the insane hours that QF wants them to be. CASA usually folds to industry pressure but I hope in this case they stand their ground, or at least ensure sufficient measures are put in place to ensure all crew are fit to fly. They’d need 6 pilots alone for this if it did happen.

1 user thanked author for this post.

BA789

[CathayLoyalist2]

Out of interest what is the sleep rota for long haul /ultra long haul flights for pilots say HKG-JFK scheduled 15 hours?

[Author]

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