It took me a few long-haul trips before I figured out the optimal length of a flight, here’s the logic I’ve arrived at for choosing the length of long-haul flights when you have options:
- US to Europe or the Middle East: My optimal flight length is 10 ½ hours, long enough to take-off, sleep for 8 hours, have breakfast, and then arrive
- Europe or the Middle East to the US: Typically you’re only napping when traveling this way, so my optimal flight length is the one that maximizes time on a wide-body and minimizes time on a narrow-body
- US to Asia: Flights that leave in the late afternoon or early evening are best for resetting your schedule to Asia time
- Asia to the US: Again, you’re probably only napping when traveling in this direction, so maximize time on a wide-body and minimize time on narrow-bodies
Happy Wednesday!
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