Night flights with children?

[User2309]

Found a great deal on a holiday in June 2022, in a place we have visited before so we know we like it. Everything is fab but the flight home to get the free child places it means we have to fly back at midnight, landing here at about 230am...would you pay extra for the better flight and therefore possibly not be able to afford to go (already have holiday plans for later in the year) or just suck it up, go with the flight. We would all have the sunday off (we would land early hours of the sunday morning) before back to school and work on the monday?

It would depend on how old the children are! My 4 year old would probably be ok but he’d sleep on the plane and in the car on the way home and then probably have a nap mid-morning and be ok. My 8 year old niece would be hell on earth and wouldn’t sleep a wink until the Sunday night, then probably still be knackered the next day.

And how their behaviour might impact the other passengers.

Is there any time difference and a possible jet lag ?

I would always pay for the better flight.

What ages are the children?

I used to live a long flight away from my family and painstakingly figured out that, for us, daytime flights worked best. That way if the children napped, it was a bonus and they were guaranteed to sleep the night after arrival. And if they didn’t sleep, ah least they weren’t sleep deprived and cranky as they wouldn’t normally have slept all through the day anyway. Whereas for a night flight, it would be hell when they didn’t sleep.

Yours is a bit different. What’s the cost difference? I think you would need to plan for at least the following morning off - I wouldn’t fancy landing to work at 9 after a 2.30am arrival, and I think it would be desperately unfair on children to go to school.

Having said all that, it’s only tiredness and not fatal. If you’re the type of family where a bit of crabbing is dealt with easily and without angst, go for it. If you’re all likely to be bad-tempered, irritable and upset, it could put a bad taste on your holiday memories.

So think about paying that bit more if you can. But if it’s truly late flight or no holiday at all, then probably I’d chose holiday.

Oh sorry I misread the Sunday thing. Having a full Sunday to recover is fine, unless you also will have horrific jet lag to manage

I agree that I would always pay for a better flight time.

I would pay extra for better flights tbh. I will change destination for better flight times even.

If it was flying all night, we have done that with our kids and that was easy they slept through. But the middle of the night will be horrible to disturb them, queuing at passport control, then the drive back from airport. Plus any delays, we never pick a flight that takes off on time.

If you do decide the saving is worth it to you, pack snacks for airport as you might find shops/restaurants closed in the terminal, take empty cups to fill from water fountains for the kids.

Have a lovely holiday

I'd never pay more for better flight times as times are not fixed and liable to change 12 hours either way.

Will you need to pay for an extra day in the hotel? It'll be a long day from check-out time til you're at the airport

I always booked day flights as night ones were awful for my kids. However, as @Crockof mentioned, flight times are variable by up to 12 hours and we have significantly more for day flights to then have them moved to night which has made me really angry as the airline knows why they are so popular

I did a few late flights with mine. (When we were living abroad to come back to UK rather than a foreign holiday- late night easyJet tickets were a fraction of the better flight times on non budget airlines, even with paying for assigned seating ). It was ok. Hard bit was getting sleepy children through passport control.
Just count the day after as a washout.

No. Its not a good time.

You're boarding the flight about 11.30pm, so the kids have to be awake until then. Then it takes off at 12, so the kids will be awake then. Then it lands 2.5 hours later so even on the off chance they drop off they're woken up again. Then they're navigating baggage claim absolutely shattered.

Regardless of having the Sunday, I think it sounds hellish for them.

It’s not so much the flight it’s the fact you’ll have to check out of your room by lunchtime. That will be a massive Pain with kids.
I would never do this and base rare abroad trips on where there is a reasonably timed flight.
I know lots of people who’ve done it though!

Really depends on your own children and how you think they will behave / react .
Or maybe you don’t know as you haven’t travelled during the small hours ?

My own DD was a honestly a delight to travel at any hours day or night . We were very very lucky with her .
We travelled extensively pre pandemic through numerous time zones and she was cheerful throughout .

I genuinely felt so bad for some other parents on some flights , especially transatlantic or long haul where they were having a very trying time .

If it was the difference between going on holiday or not I would do it !

All very good points.
They will be aged 4, 7 and 9. All well behaved (youngest may still have the odd wobble by then) yeah I would think we would pay something for the room but it's not much compared the extra the flight adds. The flight adds about £800....this is just an extra little week away as we like most other people had other travel plans cancelled over the last 2 years.
There will be no jetlag, we are in the uk and flights from spain so short flight too.

I always find that it's not the actual flight thats the problem, its the fact that if you have to be out of the hotel room by 12pm then it's a loooooong time to wait! If it was that or I couldn't go, I'd suck it up though.

We always pay for better flight times even just to Spain. We did the same ore kids. I don't want to be arriving somewhere at 4am, wasting the next day never mind with the kids in tow.

@crockof this is my thinking too...in fact the holiday we were supposed to go on last year we paid for a lovely mid morning flight that then got changed to a 530, we would of been getting up 230 to get ready to set off!

Children have travelled previously and have always been fine and actually really surprised me on just how well they fly!

I wouldn't pay £800 extra for better flights, I'd just suck it up and get on with it. If it was a night flight or no holiday I'd do the night flight every time! As people have said flight times can change or planes can be delayed to nothing is guaranteed anyway.

That said, I would not in a 1000 years pay 800 quid for a better flight! But at the same time, that day and night might ruin the memories of the whole holiday as it sounds absolutely grim.

I would rethink something else. I would go elsewhere, or at a different time.

It's fine, we've done it many times. They dim the cabin lights for most of the flight and it's quiet so even if they don't sleep its restful. If you can pay for an extra night wherever you're staying do so, as its rarely possible when you're there.

I’d take the late flight for that saving, but I know my 4yr old would be fine with it, would go to bed early on the Sunday.
If the kids will be ok go for it, they’ll likely sleep after take off then again in the car home.

I would consider other destinations with cheaper flights at better times of day, OP.
When planning holidays with my DC (they are now adult), I used to start by seeing what direct flights were available from our local airport at daytime hours, then if necessary considering connecting flights via London or Amsterdam, if that would also be daytime.
We were never so short of great holiday choices that we had to consider night flights, and I took them all over Europe and North Africa. I would not have subjected them to long haul, so jetlag was also only a couple of hours max. The only thing I couldn’t plan for was flight delays - we were sometimes stuck in airports for hours, which is a pain.

I really wouldn’t fancy those flight times on such a short flight and with the ages of your children- having to stay up really late because of the departure time, no time to sleep properly in flight as it’s so short, then having to drag them all through the airport on arrival which will likely be a long walk. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. I’ve done many an overnight with young kids but only long haul so everyone can sleep, then in the pushchair through the airport. £800 extra isn’t a small amount of money though- I’d probably look at going somewhere else entirely if it were me.