For the first time in its more than 50-year history, Southwest Airlines has officially started operating red eyes—overnight flights that have earned the nickname because they are so fatigue-inducing that they leave passengers and crew alike with tired, bloodshot eyes.
Of course, red-eye flights have been pretty standard in the aviation industry for decades, but for the fourth largest airline in the United States, they are a complete unknown for the 21,000 flight attendants at the Dallas-based carrier.
It’s probably fair to say that many of Southwest’s flight attendants are a little apprehensive about their new schedules—so much so that they are desperately seeking advice from their peers at rival airlines who have routinely worked for red eyes.
Earlier this year, one Southwest Airlines flight attendant wrote on a private Facebook group: “I’m so scared. I have trouble staying awake already during normal business hours!!! Reporting for a trip at 11 pm at night??? Good heavens!!!”
Those sentiments have been shared by Southwest flight attendants on other social media platforms and private groups, all seeking advice from crew members on how best to survive overnight flights or how to even avoid them altogether.
Interestingly, many flight attendants responded that they loved working red-eyes, although they were self-professed ‘night owls’ and cautioned that ‘early birds’ should probably try everything in their power to avoid working overnight flights.
If, however, a red-eye flight just can’t be avoided, crew members at airlines like United and Delta suggested transitioning a day before the red-eye by staying up later and rising later. If possible, an afternoon nap is also a must.
No matter how much sleep you get before an overnight shift, however, your body will still be producing melatonin at the point it thinks it should be asleep, so caffeine in its many different forms was unsurprisingly a top tip.
Other flight attendants suggested trying to keep your mind and body active during the flight was essential, especially when all the passengers have fallen asleep, and not much is happening in the cabin – if you spot a flight attendant playing a Nintendo Switch on a red-eye, they are trying to keep themselves awake!
Thankfully, many Southwest flight attendants don’t have to worry about regularly working red-eye flights anytime soon. The airline operated its first overnight flights on Valentine’s Day and in a statement, a Southwest spokesperson said that they would only make up a “small portion” of the airline’s overall schedule.
For now, at least, Southwest is operating just one red-eye flight on five different routes:
- Las Vegas (LAS) to Baltimore/Washington (BWI)
- Las Vegas (LAS) to Orlando (MCO)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Baltimore/Washington (BWI)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Nashville (BNA)
- Phoenix (PHX) to Baltimore/Washington (BWI)
Yup, Southwest flight attendants based in Las Vegas should be most concerned about working red-eye flights, although there is set to be an expansion in the coming months with plans in the works to operate up to 33 daily red-eyes by June 2025.
Get a good rest / sleep at home before you start the graveyard shift. When you arrive, try to go to sleep immediately at your location with black out shades. Eat well before your shift.
My wife is a flight attendant and flies all niters from other countries exclusively. She sleeps in on the day of trip. She sleeps a lot on layovers unless they go out sight seeing or shopping. She sleeps in late on the night back. The next day back, she sleeps all day. She flies about 7- 8 all night flights and month. Plus layovers.
AGet plenty of rest backup plan 5 hour energy drink helped me when being a long haul truck driver
Honestly, power through. I have worked horrid graveyard shifts off and on for years. Try to keep the coffee consumption to a minimum and don’t blame your schedule on anyone including your employer. It’s strictly business.
Set healthy boundaries with what’s realistic for your body and leave the shifts to those who do well with night shifts. I think it depends on how your body responds to erratic schedules. As you age this can cause mental health issues so maybe only do this on the weekends where it’s been socially acceptable to party at a young age then going back to a regular work week. So rotating and limiting those kind of shifts. Know your limits. It’s not worth chronic health problems. ThetaHealing naps, meditations, face masks, noise canceling devices and supporting your body nutritionally and in other ways such as mindset, releasing past trauma and healthy routines that support your body and job requirements is also something to think about. Just a few ideas. I’m healing from chronic fatigue so these are things that have helped me.