Non-Stop International Flights from RDU (best, schedule, county)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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HOWEVER, this is somewhat of an outlier because you start out in the early morning and get to London (ie 'barely' Europe) at 9pm. Also, if the flight is delayed at all, then it doesn't fly that day at all, and is rescheduled for the following morning. Anyone want to know why? Anyone want to know if it's possible to connect to say Rome or Budapest? Big red X there.
Here are the reasons why 99% of flights are red-eye to Europe
1) Flights are not generally allowed to be scheduled to arrive at very late night hours due to noise abatement. They arrive at the destination country in the wee hours when it is permitted to make an approach to land
2) You can't connect in Europe even if you made it to London at 9pm, for reason 1 above
3) Red-eyes allows for maximization of the scheduling of a plane, as the same plane may be used for other purposes during the daytime hours (ie domestically or return flight overseas)
Here is my one experience with a daytime flight from JFK to LHR. Back in the day when I was living overseas and flying very frequently, I had the bright idea of taking the daytime flight to London and spending the night there before my onward connection to Asia. I was flying business and got to the airport at 7 am (ish) and was told the flight had been cancelled. I protested, saying they could have called me -- they had my hotel number, I had reconfirmed, etc. (This is late 90s before cell phones). The desk agent then asked me if I'd like to fly Concorde -- it was leaving in a little while.
It was cramped, yes, but fast and fun. And, we got through immigration super fast and our luggage was waiting right on the other side.
Glad to hear about your good fortune for a memorable experience.
It was cancelled because any appreciable delay results in the plane being scheduled to arrive past the time it is permitted to due to noise abatement.
That's a huge savings. How far a drive is it to Dulles from Chapel Hill?
Depending on the route, it's about 4.5 to 5.5 hours without traffic, and unless you drive overnight, you're likely to run into traffic issues. I drive from Chapel Hill to the DC area often to either stop there or continue farther north, and I think it's way too far and too congested to drive there just to catch a less expensive non-stop flight to Europe. The amount of time and money invested just doesn't seem like it would be worth it.
It sounds like it may have worked well for a couple others here, especially when there's been access to free parking and possibly a place to rest or sleep, but that drive before and after an international flight is not for the faint of heart. I really can't imagine preparing for an international trip and then packing everyone and everything into the car and driving to Dulles and paying to park there or checking into a hotel and then going back to the airport and then facing the reverse when we got back. Ok I actually can imagine it which is why I wouldn't do it.
RDU may not be the biggest airport, but I've always been able to find what I need without driving to another airport, although Greensboro has always seemed like a reasonable option especially since I'm on the western side of the Triangle. I really do hope some of the non-stop flights return, but in the mean time, I'd take a connecting flight any day before driving to Dulles.
Depending on the route, it's about 4.5 to 5.5 hours without traffic, and unless you drive overnight, you're likely to run into traffic issues. I drive from Chapel Hill to the DC area often to either stop there or continue farther north, and I think it's way too far and too congested to drive there just to catch a less expensive non-stop flight to Europe. The amount of time and money invested just doesn't seem like it would be worth it.
It sounds like it may have worked well for a couple others here, especially when there's been access to free parking and possibly a place to rest or sleep, but that drive before and after an international flight is not for the faint of heart. I really can't imagine preparing for an international trip and then packing everyone and everything into the car and driving to Dulles and paying to park there or checking into a hotel and then going back to the airport and then facing the reverse when we got back. Ok I actually can imagine it which is why I wouldn't do it.
RDU may not be the biggest airport, but I've always been able to find what I need without driving to another airport, although Greensboro has always seemed like a reasonable option especially since I'm on the western side of the Triangle. I really do hope some of the non-stop flights return, but in the mean time, I'd take a connecting flight any day before driving to Dulles.
We've used RDU->PHL->BUD and it was a wonderful experience.
I was a former IAD flyer, then I converted to RDU and never looked back, many of the reasons you pointed out there. The other thing I mentioned is customs is far slicker at RDU and also less dangerous in the days of COVID, considering that IAD is a MAJOR int'l hub.
For good reason. Two actually. But I'll wait for that counterexample from the poster who challenged me on my "absolutes" before providing those reasons.
You mean like this one I posted yesterday? That you never responded to?
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
Here's a link to a Google Flights listing for a $764 roundtrip United/Lufthansa flight leaving Dulles/IAD at 8:25am, arriving in London at 8:55pm, return flight leaving London at 7:45am arriving at IAD at 11am: https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/kPiU
There ARE daytime flights to London from DC which is what I was talking about. I gave an example yesterday if you had bothered to read my reply. If you had some inside info on why there are MORE overnight flights, why not just share that nicely? Why you gotta be a jerk about it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by summers73
Incidentally, all European trips are red-eyes departing from US. All of them. You show me one that is not and I'll humbly admit I'm wrong.
Waiting for the "humbly admitting" part...
You've been given two different examples of flights to London.
I love maps, so the Explore feature is fun to play around with and see where the bargains are. Here's Explore from RDU, but you can change it to whatever airport you want to leave from: https://www.google.com/travel/explor...gA&tcfs=UgJgAQ
1) Flights are not generally allowed to be scheduled to arrive at very late night hours due to noise abatement.
For example, LHR has a curfew that takes effect at 11 pm, although there are exceptions for delayed flights, emergency diversions, and a very limited number of flights by low-noise aircraft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by summers73
For good reason.
It's not easy to fill a daytime eastbound to Europe. AA 142 was usually about half-full. Can't make money with a half-full 777 across the pond. You can make money with the same number of passengers on a 787, but there aren't enough 787s to go around. (Hardly any 787s were parked during the pandemic.) After enough A321LRs and A321XLRs have been delivered, I think we will see more eastbound daytimes to Europe.
You mean like this one I posted yesterday? That you never responded to?
There ARE daytime flights to London from DC which is what I was talking about. I gave an example yesterday if you had bothered to read my reply. If you had some inside info on why there are MORE overnight flights, why not just share that nicely? Why you gotta be a jerk about it?
Waiting for the "humbly admitting" part...
You've been given two different examples of flights to London.
London is BARELY Europe, and is useless unless your final destination is London or nearby because THERE ARE NO FLIGHTS LEAVING FROM THERE THAT SAME DAY TO GET YOU ANYWHERE ELSE
I'll admit it's not NEVER. The verbiage is incorrect. The itineraries you mentioned are useless for those wanting to get to the mainland, because they are stuck at Heathrow sleeping in the airport overnight or having to get a hotel room. Personally I hate London, worst faux-European city ever. But that's another story.
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Ok I actually can imagine it which is why I wouldn't do it.
