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What Time Do You Fly? Morning, Noon Or Night?

August 5, 2009 at 2:40 PM | by JetSetCD | 13 Comments

You're about to book a flight and you're sitting there, just staring at your departure time options, all of which suck. Take the 6am? Perhaps the noon flight? What about that red eye? The questions of when in the day to hop a flight is really the most stressful part of making plans for your travel days.

So let's discuss: what is your favorite time of the day to fly? We'll weigh the pros and cons of morning, afternoon and evening flights, and we want to hear from you, whether you've got more to add or simply a solid answer. Help a frequent flyer out, yo.

Morning Flights (between 5am-10am)

· Pros: The most obvious pro of a early flight is arriving earlier and thus having the rest of the day (or a whole day) to get exploring your destination. We also love how subways, buses and other public transportation are less crowded at dawn, before rush hour, and how you can easily be just as anxious about your flight as about scoring some coffee. If you miss your early flight, then you've got the rest of the day to try for stand-by on another. Not to mention that the earliest flights are often cheapest.

· Cons of morning flights: Waking up before dawn or not sleeping at all or—horror of horrors—oversleeping. Then you spend the first hour or so of your day figuring out how to get to the airport, when public transportation might be less crowded but is also less frequent; mornings are the best time to opt for a taxi or town car ride. If your early flight is sparsely booked, it could be canceled in favor of sending you out on the next, more revenue-getting flight. And let's not even discuss morning security lines; bring your patience and a good book.

Day Flights (between 11am-5pm)
· Pros: Obviously these are the most convenient departure times, allowing you to sleep in and take your time. Public transportation is often running its normal schedule and all of the airport shops and concessions are open. Also, if you have a window seat, you can enjoy awesome scenery like in our photo above, from an afternoon departure from Hong Kong.
· Cons: You'll either have to take off work for the day or leave on a weekend, and your whole day is pretty much devoted to travel. Flights during these premium hours are often more booked and more expensive to book, and the airport is usually at its busiest.

Night Flights (between 5pm-5am)
· Pros: Evening flights allow you to work a full day and then fly, so that you eliminate having to ask for a day off. You've got time to get to the airport, transportation is still running, and maybe a friend or spouse is also off work to drive you to the airport. It is also totally fine to have one or two drinks at the airport bar without looking like a lush, and getting stuck with a middle seat on the flight means you aren't missing any cool sights in the darkness outside.
· Cons: You end up like our friend above, trying desperately to sleep off a boozy dinner, and you still wake up at an ungodly arrival hour with a crick in your neck. You are perhaps tired from working a full day, and would like nothing more than to just go home. Security lines are often bloated between 6pm-9pm with passengers of international flights (especially from the east coast to Europe) heading out.

So, we're curious as to what time you make a dash to the airport. Tell us what team you're on—Morning, Noon or Night—in comments below.

Related Stories:
· Are You Flying More This Summer Because Of Cheap Airfare? []
· What Kind Of Flyer Are You? Window Or Aisle? [Jaunted]
· Jaunted Open Threads [Jaunted]

[Photos: Jaunted]

13 Comments

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Return to » What Time Do You Fly? Morning, Noon Or Night?

  1. catawba57

    Jaunted Member

    Noon-ish

    Travelers should be mindful of the hotel check-in/check-out times so they're not shlepping luggage with them for five hours until the hotel room is available. I enjoy traveling midday.
    August 5, 2009 at 3:18 PM
    #Permalink

  1. juliana

    Jaunted Contributing Editor

    Mama always told me...

    to take the morning flights. those ones usually go off on time, provided there aren't any weather delays.
    August 5, 2009 at 4:09 PM
    #Permalink

  1. zeverson

    Jaunted Member

    Whatever's cheapest

    But never before 9 a.m.
    August 5, 2009 at 5:35 PM
    #Permalink

  1. kjb

    Jaunted Contributing Editor

    Morning Man

    Always the first flight of the day, even if it's that 5:30 wacky departure--especially if I have to connect somewhere.

    However, if it's way cheaper later in the day--money talks.

    August 5, 2009 at 5:38 PM
    #Permalink

  1. Brett Snyder

    Jaunted Reader

    Stop the Myths

    I'm an early morning guy without question. But can we please stop perpetuating the myth that airlines cancel flights that are lightly booked? That airplane has a route planned for the rest of the day, and if that first flight cancels, then the rest of the day is shot.
    August 5, 2009 at 7:46 PM
    #Permalink

  1. Kitty Howlett

    Jaunted Reader

    luggage woes

    Any hotel worth staying at will be more than willing to take your luggage off your hands for the day & often, if there is a vacant room, or someone has departed early, they're willing to let you check in early too (but don't count on that, if you want to have access to a room immediately after getting off a red eye, just book the night before your arrival & let the hotel know that you'll be getting in a 5am!). The added bonus of leaving your luggage at the frontdesk, prior to check in, is that they'll often take the time to move your bags to your room, which means you won't have to lug them yourself. :)
    August 7, 2009 at 9:14 AM
    #Permalink

  1. markj

    Jaunted

    Depends where...

    Flying cross country I prefer night flights -- staying on one coast or the other morning is the choice. I do feel there is a huge difference between a flight at 6 AM and 7AM. Flying on the six means getting up before 5AM, which tends to put me in a red eye funk, where as the 7am means getting up before 6, which I find more manageable.
    August 7, 2009 at 9:35 AM
    #Permalink

  1. Sharon Hurley Hall

    Jaunted Reader

    Morning for me

    Since I work for myself, I don't have to worry about missing a day at the office, so I usually opt for a morning flight on the way out and an evening flight on the way back. That gives me an extra half day or so at my destination.
    August 7, 2009 at 6:55 PM
    #Permalink

  1. OreoCookie

    Jaunted Member

    I prefer...

    early/late afternoon when departing for a city destination, early morning when coming back (before work) in order to stay one more day. If going to a BEACH destination, as early as possible, so I can have some time on the beach the first day AND time to go grocery shopping for the condo! :)
    August 11, 2009 at 7:34 PM
    #Permalink

  1. Christopher Gamblee Wallendjack

    Jaunted Reader

    Morning, definitely

    I usually don't travel too far away from home on trips, so if I surrender a little sleep and get an early flight, I've got the full day at my destination. Midday is such a waste. Your morning is shot prepping for the trip and by the time you get there, there's not much day left. Longer flights, though, it's really a crapshoot - it usually comes down to "What's cheapest?"
    August 13, 2009 at 11:38 AM
    #Permalink

  1. marebear

    Jaunted Member

    It all Depends

    Normally, if I fly to Asia, all the flights leave at noon from ORD. If I fly to Europe, they leave at night (same for South America). If I'm flying domestically, I always shoot for early afternoon (with ORD, naturally delays occur).
    August 17, 2009 at 9:58 AM
    #Permalink

  1. Samer Hassouneh

    Jaunted Reader

    No Choice

    I usually don't have a choice since I fly overseas from Seattle to the middle East. If at all possible, I try to fly in the evening for my outbound flight due East (to Europe). That allows me to work that day, and thus not have to take the day off. Any way you slice it, a long 9 hour flight, followed by a layover and yet another 5 hour flight does take its toll. One of those days when I'm filthy rich, I'll fly Business or first class only. Till that day comes, traveling will continue to be a major nightmare.
    August 17, 2009 at 3:50 PM
    #Permalink

  1. TheArmandoShow

    Jaunted Member

    Depends.....

    I travel for work and if I can, I like flying in the afternoon before and flying out the evening of my last day there.
    August 18, 2009 at 1:38 AM
    #Permalink

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