Flight times & young children

[Mangomumma]

Our holiday in May got cancelled due to covid. We're thinking about booking something for the autumn in Europe.

Wondering what people's thoughts / experiences are with flights at early or late times with young children?

The kids will be 4 & 1 & I'd normally try & get daytime flights but they can be so expensive! Flying really early or late is much cheaper but I don't know whether I want the hassle of the disruption to their routines.

Overnight flights can work well if the flight is long enough and you think your DC will actually sleep.
They’ll be rested when you land and your fellow passengers will be pleased as well. It also reduces the amount of time you have to keep them occupied on the plane.
Takeoff is the easiest time to get your dc to sleep as there's little activity in the cabin and the soothing engine noise is loudest.
We go through as much of our sleep routine as possible, including putting on pyjamas, reading books, and singing quietly or giving them earbuds and an mp3 player loaded with calm music. (I think my neighbors would rather hear quiet singing than loud crying.) We tell the kids that it's going to be a long, boring flight and its best to go to sleep, so that they understand what we're expecting.