Time travel problems.

[howard2107]

I have always been curious as to how aircrew who fly long haul cope with the constant changes of time zones, or even worse (in my opinion) crossing the date line. It must be confusing, or do you receive some sort of training?

Cheers.............Howard

[west lakes]

An answer comes from one of my friends who, last month, did 3 trips west and 1 east.
The person involved was sure that the airline was experimenting to see how much cabin crew could take before they broke!!

[Diplome]

We are speaking of highly trained professionals. They are trained to adapt..though the Morlocks can make functioning rather difficult...but they battle through and carry on.

[west lakes]

but they battle through

That they do and I have nothing but admiration for them.

(one of who I know is over the Atlantic as I type)

[TightSlot]

Let's see if I can help...

I work for ANZ based at LHR: I fly as Cabin Crew to either LAX (Local -8hrs) or HKG (Local +8hrs). Passengers often ask how we manage, so I'm not surprised that you should do the same howard2107. In no particular order, these points are how I usually respond.

• Everyone has a different strategy for coping - there is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer.
• Pilots tend to be significantly more conservative with managing their rest than cabin crew, as you might expect, and indeed wish for - their trip patterns may well be different, and more taxing in terms of time variations from those of the CC.
• It is in many ways more difficult to be a passenger than a crew member when coping with time changes, especially when travelling on business. CC are not required to be in an office environment when away, dressed neatly and speaking and thinking coherently and generally behaving in a manner that justifies the expense of the trip in the first place. CC can sleep as long as they want, when they want and can dress and relax as they want.
• Many crew manage the time change by simply not adjusting to local time at destination, or by only making minor changes. In HKG, for example (where I am now), most crew will sleep until the early afternoon and then really come to life at night - In LAX, I'm in bed by 19:00 and asleep by 21:00 - In LAX you get very used to sitting in hotel lobbies for free wi-fi at 04:00, and I'm the Marriott Lobby coffee carts' first customer when it appears in the morning.
• PPRuNe users are often disparaging about the crew rest bunks, but these can be essential for helping us to cope with the time change; take HKG for example. We have an early morning departure for HKG-LHR - you can rarely get to sleep (before the 06:00 report in the lobby) for more than an hour or two at most. That sleep is sufficient to get you through the initial half of the flight, but your performance will fall off of a cliff unless you can get your head down for a short time. Crew rest enables you to function throughout the rest of the duty, and also when you land and have to drive home safely.
• In my view, Naps are the secret to success. At each end of the journey, if you find yourself nodding off, take a nap. The ideal duration is 30-40 minutes - this way you will awake significantly refreshed, but won't be in such a deep sleep that you take ages to recover. This is another area where business travellers suffer in comparison to crew - only the most enlightened business meetings will allow those participating to take an hour out for a rest.
• Have a pre-sleep routine that tells your body that you are now planning to sleep. This can be a hot drink, warm bath, shower, walk around the block, whatever. If it doesn't work, and you find yourself lying wide awake in bed, get up and do something else - you can't 'force' yourself to sleep, and you'll just educate your own body that lying in bed doesn't necessarily mean sleep.
• Finally, be very careful with booze. Used carefully, it can assist, but the problem is that it doesn't lend itself to being so used. I have a routine in LAX when I first arrive at the hotel - I always have a drink in the bar before bed: 1 x G&T is not enough, 3 x G&T is too much but 2 x G&T and I will sleep for about 8 - 10 hours. The third G&T makes all the difference: It adversely affects the quality of sleep and you will carry it with you in the morning, and to a lesser degree for the rest of the day.
• You can train your mind to cope with jet-lag, and your body, but not your bladder, which will carry on merrily on UK Local for quite some time. Carry a nightlight for hotels, or memorise the route so that you can find your way to the toilet without thumping your shins on the bidet, sink, bedside table, suitcase, television etc. that will somehow be in your way. Thumping your shins will ensure that you do not go back to sleep for some time, as will turning on any lights in the room to check for blood!
• Always check the clock in your room when you arrive - the previous occupant may well have set it for an 05:00 wake-up, and at that time of day, those occupying adjacent rooms will hear you cursing as you desperately try to work out which button turns it off.
• Finally, turn off the mobile phone, or at least put it in 'aircraft' mode. Nobody who loves or even likes you should be calling you while sleeping, and as to everybody else, they can go hang.

I think that's it - now, back to bed for a nap!

[TSR2]

Very well explained TightSlot. Obviously the voice of considerable experience.

[Veronicaian]

I am totally agree with Mr.TightSlot.

i think he provided us some useful information here.
So,
Follow according to him.

You also take help from me . You also can asked questions frequently.

Thanks
______________
5 star hotel

[howard2107]

Thanks a lot. so basically you develop your own routine and manage it to suit your circumstances, and it appears that there is no right or wrong way to cope.

I have worked nightshifts and found it easy to adjust to being 12 hours out of sync without problems, but I am only in one time zone. the only problems i encountered was during the summer, i would return home about 7.15am, sit out on the patio with a beer and a curry.......the neighbours thought i had a problem

Cheers..........Howard

[ulxima]

I work for ANZ based at LHR

Flight HKG-LHR, 14th October 2010.
I saw one of the most beautiful flight attendant I have ever seen. Absolutely stunning, I could not stop watching at her for the whole flight!

I know, it is OT but I had to write it. Sorry guys!

BTW: your post is

Ciao,
Ulxima

[TightSlot]

I saw one of the most beautiful flight attendant I have ever seen

That would have been me, of course

[MathFox]

What TightSlot wrote on Oct 24th fits with my (passenger) experience on business trips to the US and there is a noticeable difference between US east and west coast experience. East coast (6 hour time difference) being easier than the 9 hour difference with California.

My routine:

• Go to bed early (no drink needed), skip dinner if sleep is too prominent.
• Do some computer work in the early early morning before breakfast buffet opens.
• Be first at breakfast
• Waste some more time till 8:30 or so
• Work the day
• Have dinner
• Sleep

I guess TightSlot has it easier, because her report and arrival times are more or less the same every trip. I found that early morning reports or late arrivals make travel harder.

[ulxima]

That would have been me, of course

I did not dare to write it, of course

Ciao,
Ulxima