Advice please: daytime or overnight?

[Alsacienne]

I am hoping to fly to Nairobi later in the year from Basel or Strasbourg ... and have the 'choice' with various airline cartels offering both day or night flights based on whose aircraft is operating the code share on any given date.

Flight time is around 10 hours, give or take transfer times on the ground, and there is very little time difference.

Could anyone more experienced than I give me their thoughts about the advantages or disadvantages of flying by day or by night. I will be travelling in Economy (bargain basement) class.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

(By the way, whenever I fly, I need to use a battery-operated CPAP machine when I sleep if that changes things.)

[Hartington]

I don't care which direction I'm going (north, south, east or west) it's a day flight for me if I can get it. I just find everyhing easier to cope with that way.

[Yellow Pen]

Take the day flight. NBO isn't really that long a flight from Europe and spending 8 hours of the long haul leg upright in an economy seat is much more pleasant in the day time. Eat a meal, watch some films, eat another meal, get off, go to hotel, shower, sleep soundly in a proper bed. Compare with eat a meal, have a drink, try to sleep overnight upright (with CPAP machine getting kicked about), get off dirty, sweaty and tired, go to a hotel where you're too early to check in, sleep for a couple of hours then get up and spend the rest of the day feeling fuzzy before going back to bed. It's a no brainer for me.

[PAXboy]

Agreed. In Y, daylights are preferable. They can be fun and the view can be good, dependent on routing. Watch the moving map and look out of the window. If not at a window, when you go to the loo, look out the porthole of the exit doors.

[Alsacienne]

Thanks for your help! I too had thought about daylight flights ... knowing the problems with jet lag and lack of sleep I get when crossing the Atlantic from the US ... but wasn't sure. This will influence my choice of carrier as well as the price. Again many thanks.

[Mr Mac]

I have done this route a good number of times and would agree that if in Y class then go on a day time flight (Nairobi is busy in the evening with a number of arrivals from Europe) but if in Business, and you can sleep on planes, then go overnight, and chill out by the pool - Serena Nairobi by choice. If on work same hotel but pool has to wait !.

[angels]

Another vote for the day flight.

Travelling is knackering anyway, so by the time you get your hotel you will be ready for a light ale and a kip -- at the proper time rather than during the day.

[Hotel Tango]

Day flight vote for sure. I never felt better than when I travelled eastbound on day flights - and that includes flying Business Class (which I do on all L/H flights).

[Albert_Ross]

I go for night time flights. I live in the UK and work in Nairobi on a long term contract (been there since 2001). I tend to sleep on all flights, and like to be awake for a few hours after landing. KLM / BA tend to land at about 20:00 / 21:00, so it is almost bed time when you get there, (but not when you left), so I tend to be wide awake, and have a disturbed nights sleep when I get there. Overnight KLM (means I can leave Manchester at about 16:00), or Emirates do it for me.