Why Are Most Long-Distance Flights Scheduled Overnight?

[Hornbein]

Why are the great majority of airplane flights overnight, even ones that could be done during the day?

I facetiously hypothesized that sunlight damaged the planes so they are sheltered during daylight hours. But then I came up with a reasonable theory.

Spoiler

I figure the planes are more profitably used for shorter distance flights during the day.

 

[Baluncore]

Why are the great majority of airplane flights overnight, ...

The majority of takeoff and landing cycles, or a majority of air miles?

 

[Hornbein]

The majority of takeoff and landing cycles, or a majority of air miles?

If there are 10 twelve-to-sixteen hour flights from A to B, nine of them will be overnight. Flights from B to A, same.

 

[Borek]

At first sight planning a 16 hours flight that doesn't include a night sounds like an interesting astronomical/geographical challenge.

 

[mcastillo356]

Hi, I've found this link. Hope (It's been quickly done) it's useful.
https://www.flyingmag.com/guides/flying-at-night-what-you-need-to-know/
Best wishes!

 

[Baluncore]

A 16-hour intercontinental flight would require two crew shifts overnight, but would also cross time zones, so I think timing would have more to do with ground activity than the flight. Ground crew do not want to handle aircraft and baggage between 11 PM and 7 AM, so arranging arrival for an early morning slot would dictate the departure time.
It is often the same aircraft that flies the return route after 8-hours on the ground. That puts the crew back home, after two shifts and 2-days away.

Red-eye. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eye_flight

 

[snorkack]

At first sight planning a 16 hours flight that doesn't include a night sounds like an interesting astronomical/geographical challenge.

Trivial for the westbound. Just fly west with the sun.

 

[Borg]

Also, most people living around airports don't want planes taking off and landing in the middle of the night so that they can sleep.

 

[Hornbein]

At first sight planning a 16 hours flight that doesn't include a night sounds like an interesting astronomical/geographical challenge.

I'm trying to avoid sleeping on the plane. I'm willing to break up the flight into eight hour chunks but its hard to find two such flights entirely within the hours of 8am to midnight. If flight times were uniformly random them a third of flights would fall into that category.

 

[Hornbein]

Also, most people living around airports don't want planes taking off and landing in the middle of the night so that they can sleep.

That would work in my favor. However....

Jet airplanes are much quieter than they were in my youth 60 years ago, and new airports are an hour away from the city.

 

[snorkack]

I'm trying to avoid sleeping on the plane. I'm willing to break up the flight into eight hour chunks but its hard to find two such flights entirely within the hours of 8am to midnight. If flight times were uniformly random them a third of flights would fall into that category.

Again, depending on direction (And season, on high latitudes of either hemisphere).

 

[russ_watters]

I'm trying to avoid sleeping on the plane. I'm willing to break up the flight into eight hour chunks but its hard to find two such flights entirely within the hours of 8am to midnight. If flight times were uniformly random them a third of flights would fall into that category.

We'd have to know the route. Again, because of the rotation of Earth it's difficult to avoid when flying east. An 8 hour flight might cross 5 time zones. So it costs you 13 hours when flying east and 3 when flying west. Much longer than that it has to be overnight to avoid the constraint of neither end being in the middle of the night when flying east.

...but if it's more north-south that can change things.

 

[phyzguy]

I'm trying to avoid sleeping on the plane.

Why? The best way to get through a long-distance flight is to sleep as much as possible. I routinely take a long distance flight (about 12 hours) that leaves at airport1 around midnight and gets into airport2 around 8AM. I get in my seat and go right to sleep. When I wake up, they are serving breakfast before landing. It takes some practice to learn to sleep on the plane, but if you can do it, it makes the flight much more pleasant.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Why are the great majority of airplane flights overnight, even ones that could be done during the day?

Objection. Assumes facts not in evidence.

US-Europe flights are predominantly overnight. Europe-US flights are predominantly daytime.

A plane flying east-west crosses a little less than one time zone per hour. If you have a flight longer than 6 or 7 hours wil be overnight in one direction. Because math.

 

[Hornbein]

Why? The best way to get through a long-distance flight is to sleep as much as possible. I routinely take a long distance flight (about 12 hours) that leaves at airport1 around midnight and gets into airport2 around 8AM. I get in my seat and go right to sleep. When I wake up, they are serving breakfast before landing. It takes some practice to learn to sleep on the plane, but if you can do it, it makes the flight much more pleasant.

I can't do that. For me airplane sleep is worse than nothing. I do better staying awake the whole time. It's the lesser evil.

 

[JT Smith]

Objection. Assumes facts not in evidence.

Yes, I'd also like to see the evidence.

I went to Australia and back last year and from my limited sampling it's exactly a 50/50 thing.

 

[JT Smith]

I can't do that. For me airplane sleep is worse than nothing. I do better staying awake the whole time. It's the lesser evil.

So then stay awake on a night flight. I have a friend who (says he) does that.