I have to fly to Tokyo in the morrow, and I bloody well have to check in here in Bangkok at 4:50am?!? Even the birds aren't up yet....who decided we all have to be kit packed & ready for inspection at this un-Godly time of the day? Wouldn't a nice 'lie-in' reduce the jet lag that I never suffer eaisly? Does the pilot wake up in the small hours and inform the wife 'now is a good time to fly'??? Come on...this ain't cricket (fair play).
Did market research dictate this as a positive move, or is there something here that is beyond my perspective?
I'd like to know!
2006-10-17 00:59:01 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Most likely this is due to the other flights that plane is supposed to be sent on. Since that is a fairly long flight (6 hours or so?), the plane probably services the round-trip route--- takes off Bangkok, goes to Tokyo, passengers leave and new ones board then back to Bangkok. That lets the airline get the maximum number of long-haul trips in using one plane. If the flight left later in the day, it might not have enough time to change over and get back to Bangkok, which means either the airline would have to buy another plane, or would be offering that trip less frequently. Turning over a big plane like that takes a lot longer than turning over a smaller jet, so you lose a lot of those flying hours, and most airports have restrictions on when the big plane can land. So they have to fit 2 6-hour flights and a 2-3 hour (or more) changeover in the short window where both airports will let those big planes land and take off.
It's pretty painful but it's the same way when you fly between the US and the UK--- one direction you're getting out of bed in the dark and the other direction you're leaving at bedtime. But if an airline wants to offer daily service to far-away places, it's either this way or they have to buy twice as many planes.
2006-10-17 03:38:07 · answer #1 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is really early and I sympathize with you. I think the reason they choose that time is because if you look at the scheduled arrival time it is probably around 8:00, 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning which allows the traveler to get off the plane and go to work or a meet with the client. The airlines have it all planned out so that is why the departure time is usually unfavorable.
Sometimes the airline cannot get a favorable time slot for departure because the government or country wants to give that favorable time slot to its own national carrier so passengers fly that airline over the outsider.
2006-10-17 08:47:49 · answer #2 · answered by potatochip 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In addition to all the other answers above, the crew may be based in a city that is later than your time zone - thus their internal clock is much later than 5 am. I do sympathize with you though. However, once you bite the bullet and get up and get there, you will probably be happy to have it over with early in the day.
2006-10-17 16:42:37 · answer #3 · answered by 13th Floor 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wonder how long airport check-in and security checks will be for you. Here in the States you have to be at the airport like three or so hours before scheduled departure just for check-in and to get through security...did that in 2004 to get to Oklahoma...
2006-10-17 19:51:14 · answer #4 · answered by carledwards99andtonystewart20fan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is often to do with arrival time rather than departure times
2006-10-17 15:21:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋