Redeye Readiness

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Every time I work a redeye flight I ask myself, “why did you bid this trip?”

Working redeyes for a commuter is hard work, it can be hard work for even those flight attendant’s who live in base if they don’t prepare properly.

First, you should know that sleeping on a redeye flight (at least domestically in the United States, with a minimum crew) is unacceptable and not permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration. So, you can’t plan on taking a nap while working your 6 hour flight to Boston. Now you might be thinking, but you’re working for 6 hours, surely you can find something to do. Well, that’s not always the case.

For the most part 90% of passengers sleep, or at least try to, on a redeye flight. After doing our initial beverage service on a redeye, we’re pretty much done for the next 5 hours. There may be a call button here and there, and a few requests for food, but mostly, there’s a whole lot of nothing. That makes staying awake hard!

So, how do I prepare for a redeye? Well, the night before I stay awake as long as I possibly can. Saturday night I worked a redeye to Boston, so Friday night (Saturday morning) I stayed awake until 3:30am. I had the help of a whole pot of coffee and a ton of work to do on this blog, along with a task list from Mike at UPGRD, but it kept me busy and awake. 3:30am was my magic number. You see, 3:30am in Phoenix is really 5:30am in Boston, the same time my redeye flight landed the next day. Because I slept until 11am, I was better prepared to stay awake without needing a nap through the day and for my flight.

Now I mentioned that Mike gave me a task list.. Well, I didn’t complete everything. I packed my TripAdvisor notebook from TBEX’10 and planned to hand write some blog posts and updates to help pass the time on the flight, which I did. Before I knew it we were on our final approach into Logan.

For passengers taking a redeye flight can be very uncomfortable. You’re in a cramped airplane seat for 6 hours, supposedly sleeping, but without the comforts of home or a hotel. I recommend you pack a neck pillow (or smaller pillow) along with a blanket. Additionally, you should try to pack an eye mask and ear plugs. This way you won’t have to see or hear the other passengers who may be just as restless if not more than yourself.

If you’re not planning on sleeping or know that you won’t be able to, be sure to bring magazines, books, movies or your computer with you. This way you have something to help you pass the time while other passengers are passing…… well, you know.

Redeyes aren’t comfortable or relaxing but they do provide you the best travel time to another city having you arrive just in time for a business or for family event. And, that’s precisely the reason why they’re called “red eyes”

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